Thursday, November 24, 2016

ADVERTISING MEDIA PLANNING : A Comprehensive media plan on Buruli Ulcer


A COMPREHENSIVE ADVERTISING PLAN ON BURULI ULCER

Buruli Ulcer is endermic in Sub- Sahara with West Africa recording the most cases. Buruli Ulcer is a chronic debilitating skin and soft tissue infections that can lead to permanent disfigurement and disability. It is caused by mycobacterium Ulcerans bacterium. It prevalence in Ghana began in 1971 with Ga west recording the most cases. Communities in the Ga West municipal assembly with this disease includes Amasaman, Okushiebiade and Kutunse. Targeting Okushiebiade, we gathered that inhabitants in this community have traced the case of the disease to spiritual forces. Okushiebiade community is a Ga dominated community made up of ten thousand inhabitants. Their occupation is farming and are highly exposed to the Buruli Ulcer disease due to lack of portable water in the area.

As a result, victims are compelled to visit and seek spiritual treatment rather than medical.

However, our mission and focus is to create awareness, change perception and entreat infected persons to seek early medical treatment in a period of one year.

Below is a comprehensive advertising plan on the disease for the people of Okushiebiade over a period of one year.

 

             Situational Analysis of Buruli Ulcer in Ghana

Through the calendar year of 2015, Amasaman District recorded the highest number of Buruli ulcer cases in Ghana.

 

Sensitisation Background of Buruli Ulcer

In 2014, Ministry of Health records pointed to the fact that Ga West district record the highest number of cases, averaging to two cases per month. In this regard, the Government chose the Amansaman District hospital as center for free treatment of Buruli Ulcer. The Ghana Health Service used community health services to medically examine and treat some victims advising them on the need for medical treatment.

It is worthy to note that children under (15) fifteen years are most vulnerable: on a positive side, 80% of cases can be managed using a combination of anti-biotics.

In the previous campaign we embarked on, the effectiveness of the campaign against the disease didn’t not achieve much due to lack of funds to disseminate the message to the people. We have however restrategised and have come up with a stronger message which will be properly budgeted and funded by a non-governmental organization and World Health Organisation.

 

Marketing Objectives / Strategy

 

Sensitisation Objective

To increase awareness by 50% among natives between the ages of 15- 40 years in Okushiebiade over a one year from November 2016 to November 2017.

Budget

An amount of GHS 50,000.00 will be used for this campaign.  

 

 

Category Competitive Analysis

·         Ghana Health Services: GHS is a government institution funded to treat the sickness. Over the years the institute used more scientific words to communicate to the people hence the message didn’t gets to the natives. The institute used flyers and broadcast media to campaign. However, it is significant to note that 70% campaign budget was geared towards broadcast precisely television advertising while 10% was directed to the production of awareness flyers and 30% health scanning. This yielded little since the natives with their occupation had little time to watch television, this made it impossible for them to get the message. Personnels employed to distribute the flyers couldn’t get the message to the indigenes due to their deplorable roads to the community.

 

Advertising Objectives

Increase awareness and change perception on the causes of Buruli Ulcer from an initial target of 10%, with the goal of achieving 50% awareness over a period of twelve months.

 

Media Objectives

To use broadcast and print media to increase awareness and change perception on Buruli Ulcer as a spiritual phenomenon.

And the need to use potable water for human consumption and household activities and seek medical treatments. To which we hope to achieve by

1.      Reaching 40% of children and women who are the most vulnerable to this disease.

2.      Increasing awareness by using broadcast and print media in the community over a year.

 

Media Strategies

The campaign will be done over a period of 12 months through the effective use of both above the line and below the line advertising mediums. 

We will also be using television, radio, flyers, posters, banners and information centers to create awareness.

Broadcast

 

Radio

As the primary medium for the sensitisation campaign, radio has local coverage availability, high frequency, reaches special kinds of target audiences and supporting medium.

The selected radio stations are;

Obonu Fm: It’s a local radio station that airs in ga and Okushiebiade is a ga community. Therefore, the message will reach most of the natives in Okushiebiade.

Peace Fm: it is also a local radio but airs in twi. This will help carry the message to natives of Okushiebiade who are not Gas.

Adom Fm; it is a local radio which also airs in twi and can also get the message to the ethnic groups in Okushiebiade since twi is mostly understood by many ethnic groups.

 

Television

Obonu TV: It is a local television station which airs in Ga and would reach a large number of people in that community.

UTV: It is another local television station that has the highest National Reach and airs in the Akan language. It will reach the natives of Okushiebiade because of the mixture of ethnic groups though the community is highly dominated by Gas.

TV3: It was selected because it airs a lot of series and African movies, hence the campaign will be scheduled during those African movies and series to reach the target audience. 

GhOne: It airs a lot of entertainment programmes therefore, a lot of youth in that community will available to watch them. The campaign will be scheduled for prime time, between 7:30pm – 8:30pm, where most of the youth will be home watching programmes.

 

Outdoor

As another primary medium to use for the campaign, a combination of posters and bill boards will be used to create the awareness that Buruli ulcer is a disease and not spiritual.

Also, posters, banners, billboards, etc. under outdoor has broader reach and multiple exposure which will help change the perception of Buruli ulcer being spiritual. So it will be designed using simple words and striking images to create awareness and change perception.

 

 Summary

Radio was chosen because, Okushiebiade is a farming community and they mostly listen to radio whenever they go farming. Television is also for visual mass awareness and visibility, though it is a very expensive medium that will impact reach and frequency.

Print will be used to support the messages being carried out to create awareness and change perception as well.

 

Checklist

·         During the research, our team identified the target audience as natives between the ages of 15- 40 years.

·         Because our target audience include both children and adults, the timing and the mediums chosen are good. Since the older ones who listen to radio whiles the younger ones are in school and after school, the young ones watch television.

·         The budget for broadcast is GHS 20,000.00, which will be able to cater for television campaigns, which are the most expensive, within the 12 months period for the campaign including radio.

 



 
GHANA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM 

LECTURER: MR. YAW ODAME GYAU

COURSE: ADVERTISING MEDIA PLANNING

CLASS: L 400 PUBLIC RELATIONS
 
NAMES                                                                                        INDEX NUMBER

WILHEMINA VANDERPUIJE                                                     BACS17936

HELENA MAAME ESI MENSAH                                               BACS17888