Multiplatform campaign kicks off for the 2011 census
Marketing for the 2011 Census goes live 21 February with a communications strategy designed to give blanket coverage of the 26 million households across England and Wales.
The results of the census will be used to shape investment in key public services during the next 10 years and high response rates will be essential for accurate forecasting. Census Day itself is 27 March.
The creative platform for the campaign focuses on the concept of “help tomorrow take shape”. It features purple origami items building on the census’ purple C logo identity that are crafted into objects such as buses and hospitals. These represent the public services that are prioritised and planned using census information.
The television ad launches tonight across multiple channels, including during Coronation Street on ITV and C4, C5, Daybreak/GMTV, top Freeview satellite stations and pay per view platforms, as well as ethnic stations.
The campaign also includes outdoor, experiential and public relations activity.
The second phase of the campaign goes live on 18 March when census questionnaires have begun arriving through letter-boxes with call to action TV ads. The third phase of the campaign begins on 7 April and reinforces the need for everyone in every area to complete their census form. The outdoor campaign supports the work of the census collectors calling on households who have not yet responded.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) devised the communications strategy for the census together with agency Bray Leino.
As well as a national outdoor presence, the television campaign will be supported by an ONS purple origami branded double decker bus that will appear in London this week before taking a nationwide tour.
