GHANA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM
COURSE: ADVERTISING MEDIA PLANNING
A MEDIA PLAN ON THE EFFECT OF INDISCRIMINATE DISPOSAL OF PLASTIC WASTE ON
WATER BODIES,
A CASE STUDY OF JAMES TOWN.
PUBLIC RELATIONS (B) LEVEL 400
(TOP-UP WEEKEND)
NAME: NANA AGYEMAN BIRIKORANG - BACS 17812
BLOG:www.nanabkorang.wordpress.com
JESSIE YIRENKYI
- BACS 17942
thehotchamber.blogspot.com
SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS:
Indiscriminate disposal of waste can be described as disposal of solid and liquid waste without taking necessary measures (Abdullahi,1988). These wastes among the lot are made up of faecal matter and plastic waste contributing the majority. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP 2010 report on "Clearing the waters" has identified indiscriminate refuse as one of the main cause of water pollution. It adds that water contamination of ecosystems affect humans directly by destroying fisheries or causing other impacts on biodiversity that affects food production. The most worrying aspect of this activity is that most polluted water ends up in the ocean causing series of damages to coastal areas and fisheries and worsening our ocean and coastal resource management challenges
(UNEP,2010). Thus the survival of all aquatic living organisms and the smooth functioning of the ecosystem are at stake.
BACKGROUND STATEMENT:
James Town is one of the oldest districts in the city of Accra lying along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea and located directly east of the Korle lagoon.
As part of communities that emerged in the 17th century, it witnessed its major development by the end of the 19th century and became a place of commercial activities and residence.
Formerly known as British Accra, James Town is a fishing community primarily inhabited by the people of Ga. Due to the main stay of the people of James Town being fishing, most of the indigenes are fishermen. With this, most women are into the local fishing industry: fish mongers and vendours of smoked fish.
PROBLEM STATEMENT:
Water forms seventy percent of the world and as such is necessary for the survival of man and aquatic organisms. This case is not different from James Town where largely depend on the lagoon for their survival. The fishes and other aquatic organisms living in the lagoon depend on the indigenes and vice versa. These organisms can only thrive in clean water bodies but this necessity has been breached by the human activities of the people of James Town. The James Town community is made of drainage systems leading to the lagoon. These drainages originally meant for the passage of drains into the lagoon has become the dumping site for waste. The non biodegradable nature of some waste materials like plastics poses a great threat to the lives of fishes inhabited by the lagoon. With this, the fisher folk who form a majority of the James Township will be affected. This goes a long way of affecting their livelihood.
OBJECTIVE:
To sensitize the people of James Town on the dangers of polluting the lagoon and it's adverse effects on their lives.
MEDIA OBJECTIVE:
(A) Generate awareness on the dangers of polluting the lagoon and its effect on their lives. The demographics of this target are:
1. Males and females from the ages of 12 and above.
2. The fisher folks and the non fisher folks.
3. The formally educated and the traditionally educated.
(B) Achieve the following communication goals.
(C) Provide full year media support to generate awareness on the subject matter through out the year 2017 with additional weight in June and July.
(D) Schedule advertising run Mondays, Saturdays and Sundays.
MEDIA STRATEGY:
Looking at the important nature of the issue at hand, the media plan recommends the mixed type media strategy. That is television as the primary medium with news paper, radio and outdoor as the secondary medium.
(A) TELEVISION (TV):
Television provides:
*high reach/ awareness builder
*sight, sound and motion.
*immediacy of message.
*targetability
The following spot television programmes will be used:
*Obonu tv (“Kusum gboo”- tradition never dies)
*GTV (Ga segment of the breakfast show and Adult education in Ga)
(B) NEWS PAPERS:
It provides
*targetability
*editorial compatibility
*repeat exposure
The vehicles to be used are:
*Junior graphic (to reach out to the children within the target)
*Daily graphic
*Ghanaian times.
In addition to this, the editors of the afore-mentioned media vehicles would be pitched with feature stories on the subject matter.
(C) RADIO: Radio provides the following:
*sharp audio
*targetability
*high reach/ awareness building.
The radio vehicles to be used are:
*Obonu fm
*unique fm
*community radio
(D) OUTDOOR:
Outdoor media provides:
*broad reach
*multiple exposure
*target selectivity
A combination of posters and fliers will be used. In addition to this, focus group discussion will be organised with the support of the traditional area. This will be aided with flip charts to educate the people on the dangers polluting the lagoon.
SUMMARY:
The people of James Town due to their low income status and the nature of their fishing activities depend more on radio for information than the other media vehicles. The plan will span the year 2017. However, heavy advertising will be heightened in the rainy season, June and July. This is due to the high tendency for disposal of waste into drainage systems in the community. The various selected media are financially prudent and can reach the target.
EVALUATION:
A pilot plan on the strategy will be conducted to ascertain the effectiveness of the plan before it is rolled out. The post-buy analysis will be in place to make sure that the adverts are running on schedule. As part of post analysis, surveys will be conducted in the mid part of the year to ascertain the success of the plan. However, some changes will be made when necessary.
CHECKLIST:
Through formal and informal research, a lot of information were collected in reference to the makeup of the people of James Town, their attitude towards and the usage of the various media vehicles. The message will be schedule in the continuous mode and in both English and the local language.
