Client: U.S. National Association of the Deaf.
Product: Newspaper insert/stand alone brochure piece to encourage young people to think about hearing protection. As an insert in the weekend newspaper and also handed out at assorted music festivals and gigs.
The campaign line is ‘DON’T LOSE THE MUSIC’
Objectives: Communicate to young (16-24 year old) music fans (initially in the Chicago area) that exposing their ears to loud music can cause permanent hearing damage. This should be done in line with the general ethos behind ‘Don’t Lose The Music’ which is that music is an important part of people’s lives so they should take steps to protect their hearing now so that they can enjoy music for years to come. To do this it is important to use the right tone of voice (see below). Successful solutions will ultimately combine the campaign messages and advice with an attention grabbing piece of editorial design.
Your insert/brochure within the Chicago tribune newspaper should encourage young people to visit NAD’s website (with a hypothetical link to www.dontlosethemusic.com) for more information about hearing protection. Consider how to get young people to interact with the campaign, for example by entering a competition to win concert tickets, an iPod etc.
Target Audience: 16-24 year old music fans, specifically in the Chicago area as this has been identified as one of the most ‘hip’ cities in the country with more forms of entertainment available than almost any other.
Tone: Factual. Informative. Entertaining and using the right vernacular to capture the attention of your audience. NAD is not trying to be preachy, rather it wants to highlight an important health risk to young music fans, many of whom are not aware of the issue.