MONDAY, APRIL 14, 1986
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CAMPAIGNS AIM AT INCREASING AWARENESS
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THROUGH CAMPAIGNS, THE GOVERNMENT SEEKS TO INCULCATE IN PEOPLE A GREATER AWARENESS AND CONCERN ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE COMMUNITY, AND AN EVER INCREASING AMOUNT OF RESPECT AND CARE FOR THE IR OWN AND OTHERS' SAFETY AND WELFARE, THE DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SERVICES, MR JOHN CHAN, SAID TODAY (MONDAY).
THIS YEAR, MR CHAN SAID, THE GOVERNMENT WOULD RUN 13 MAJOR PUBLICITY CAMPAIGNS AND TWICE AS MANY MINOR ONES WITH THE ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE OF MAKING HONG KONG A CLEANER, HEALTHIER, SAFER, AND HAPPIER PLACE FOR ALL TO LIVE AND WORK IN.
THE CAMPAIGNS WOULD BE RUN BY THE PUBLICITY DIVISION OF THE GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SERVICES (GIS), MR CHAN TOLD A LUNCHEON MEETING OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF TSIM SHA TSUI EAST. SOME WOULD BE CONTINUING CAMPAIGNS SUCH AS FIGHT CRIME, ANTI-NARCOTICS AND ROAD SAFETY, WHILE OTHERS WOULD BE NEW, FOR EXAMPLE CIVIC EDUCATION AND HOME SAFETY.
NOT ALL SUBJECTS LENT THEMSELVES TO PUBLICITY TREATMENT, AND SOMETIMES MUCH THE BEST WAY OF GETTING A MESSAGE ACROSS TO THE COMMUNITY WAS INVOLVING THE COMMUNITY ITSELF IN SPREADING IT, HE SAID. +THUS COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IS, IN MOST CASES, A KEYNOTE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S MAJOR CAMPAIGNS.+
+HER_,
GIS WORKS CLOSELY TOGETHER WITH OTHER GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS, DISTRICT BOARDS. AND VOLUNTARY AGENCIES TO ORGANISE A WIDE RANGE OF CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES. MANY OF THESE HAVE PRODUCED LASTING RESULTS, HE ADDED.
HOWEVER, MR CHAN POINTED OUT THAT THE GIS PUBLICITY BUDGET FOR 1986-87 INCLUDED $3 MILLION FOR ADVERTISING, $6 MILLION FOR GENERAL PUBLICITY PROGRAMMES AND $4 MILLION FOR MAJOR PUBLICITY CAMPAIGNS. AN ADDITIONAL $2 MILLION WOULD BE PROVIDED FROM OTHER GOVERNMENT RESOURCES FOR MAJOR PUBLICITY PROGRAMMES.
+BY COMPARISON WITH THE ESTIMATED ANNUAL BILLINGS HANDLED BY THE MAJOR COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING AGENCIES IN HONG KONG, WHICH RUN TO WELL OVER $100 MILLION EACH, OUR TURNOVER SEEMS PEANUTS, CHICKEN FEED OR WHICHEVER IS THE PRODUCT LIKELY TO BRING SUCH AGENCIES THE LEAST AMOUNT OF INCOME, HE SAID.
DESPITE THIS, GIS COULD CLAIM IT RAN THE LARGEST ADVERTISING AGENCY IN HONG KONG, BASED ON THE NUMBER OF CAMPAIGNS RATHER THẦN ON THE AMOUNT OF MONEY INVESTED, MR CHAN COMMENTED.
MR CHAN EXPLAINED THAT THE MAIN REASON FOR GIS BEING ABLE TO MANAGE WITH SO LITTLE MONEY WAS THAT IT DID NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR TELEVISION EXPOSURE, A MAJOR MEDIUM FOR GETTING THE GOVERNMENT'S MESSAGES ACROSS TO THE PUBLIC.
/+AND WE