PUBLICITY FOR WORK

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28299, 10 June 1957, Page 8

PUBLICITY FOR WORK

Plans For Next Season

After an approach to the Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr S. W. Smith), the New Zealand Water Safety Council has an extra £5OOO available to btfild up advertising which could be spread over two or more years, reported the chairman (Mr Baxter O’Neill) at the council’s annual meeting in Christchurch on Saturday. “Together with an original grant of £5OOO, this makes £lO,OOO available to us this year,” said Mr O’Neill. The balance-sheet of the council showed a deficit of £415 on last year’s workings. The largest item of expenditure was radio advertising—£2293, said the secretary (Mr S. Higgins). The Physical Education Department representative on the council (Mr D. R. Wills) asked whether the money being spent on radio advertising was having any effect.

“I know that as far as stickers are concerned, they create little attention. Recently I sent letters to 16 persons with water safety stickers on them, yet when I asked them what was written on the sticker, none of them had noticed that there had even been a sticker on the envelope. “There is no proof that radio advertising is successful, but I feel it must be doing some good,” said Mr E. Marris. “It is part of our whole campaign of publicity, and repetition does seem to bear results. As far as Holger-Neilson resuscitation is concerned, we find that more women come forward than men, which would indicate that more women listen to the radio than men.” Next Season’s Campaign Next season the campaign will commence on a national scale on October 20, with an opening speech by the Minister of Internal Affairs. This recommendation froni the national committee in Wellington was unanimously approved by the council. A large number of other recomfrom the committee were also approved. A series of articles will be written by prominent public sportsmen and women, and will be released before the opening of the campaign. This year, the National Water Safety Day will be organised under the leadership of the New Zealand Surf Life-saving Association.

The council approved an advertising campaign for the 1957-58 season which included time on all commercial radio stations, working up to a peak during December and January (£1200); periodical display advertising to follow the same pattern as for radio (£1200); and grants to local water safety committees (£1600). In addition, the extra £5OOO granted by the Government will be used for the publication of a Water Safety booklet, with 250,000 copies (£2600); posters (£1000); and the reissue of 500,000 water safety stickers (£750).