Catch 22@PJ: Effective Marketing and Sensitivity

Nowadays, raising public awareness is a difficult task as people are distracting by many other means of publicity and promotion. In order to get attention from general public for a particular cause is a pre-requisite for public awareness raising. It is no point of running a public awareness campaign if we are unable to attract the interest of them first. Many public campaigns failed due to the dullness of the marketing strategies. While developing an innovative publicity strategy is a must, some time the content of the visual aids can cause some disturbance. For example, we might advocate some value by putting a visual that cause uneasiness to some quarters, and this might attract critics although it is for a good intention.

In raising public awareness on challenges facing the people with disabilities, numerous attractive slogans and visual aids have been used to attract the public attention. While the impact was great, the negative responses from some quarters were equally big. For example, placing the notice board with the phrase of "Since you are occupying my car park lot, please bring along my disabilities with you" at the dedicated car park lot for disabled people raised some objections whom saying that it is tantamount to cursing people. Another incidence of getting able guests to sit on the wheelchair was criticised too for being disrespectful to the guests. It is understood that while some people are sensitive due to superlative believe, the people with disabilities themselves felt nothing wrong about this.

We are in the Catch 22 situation now. While it is important to get message across, careful considerations on sensitivity has to be observed as well. We must accept that various stakeholders have different value and believe, and hence accommodating to as many of them is crucial or else public awareness campaign can be failed miserably. Having said this, if a visual aid is fundamentally needed, then it is the duty of project proponents to educate and to convince the objectors on the necessity of having such. Here, consultation is important.