[NLA] Discussion: Working effectively with the media

[Gina Cooke]

There are advertising entities who specialize in putting inserts into
plastic magazine holders in doctors' offices. The magazines (and their ads)
may change from month to month or even week to week, but the holders are
always there. Also, the audience is more generalized than when advertising
in a particular magazine.

Gina Cooke
Literacy Program Consultant
The Discovery Alliance



----- Original Message -----
From: "Mary Hendrick" <mhendrick at rrohio.com>
To: <nla at lists.literacytent.org>
Sent: Friday, January 04, 2002 11:49 AM
Subject: RE: [NLA] Discussion: Working effectively with the media


> Without seeing the image of the advertising it is difficult to determine
> precisely the target audience.  From the wording, I would assume it is a
> promotional ad for Toyota's involvement with NCFL.  Not only is that an
> excellent way to polish their reputations, the ad could lead readers to
> inquire about contributing money or time to such programs, or to find out
> more about programs in their area.  It's doubtful that the ad is designed
> to recruit adult students directly (many of whom can't read at that
level,)
> but it could be used to encourage readers to refer those in need of adult
> education.  Periodicals subscribed to by elementary educators would be an
> excellent target for this ad.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Thomas Sticht [SMTP:tsticht at aznet.net]
> Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2002 9:19 PM
> To: nla at lists.literacytent.org
> Subject: [NLA] Discussion: Working effectively with the media
>
> Regarding the use of the media, while browsing magazines a while back at
> Borders I came across an ad in Harper's about the National Center for
> Family Literacy (NCFL). The ad was sponsored by the Toyota company. With
> a little more browsing I came across the ad in Newsweek and the UTNE
> Reader (the latter advertises itself as the best of the alternative
> press). In the latter mag for February 2002, a major part of the ad
> stated,
>
> Quote:" NCFL is the leader in parent-child learning. It is a powerful
> way to develop learning skills in young children by helping
> disadvantaged parents complete their own education and learn important
> life skills at the same time.
>
> Toyota has provided support to more than 150 family literacy programs
> across America. By supporting NCFL, we hope that the book on missed
> opportunities will one day be closed forever. "end quote
>
> What I first found of interest was that the ad was not about adult
> illiterates and how we should pity them and volunteer a helping hand to
> raise them out of their misery because they can't read. I still have an
> ad like that from the early 1980s, and it seemed to me then and now to
> demean and shame adults who need to further develop their literacy
> ability. Instead, it was about NCFL as an organization serving adults
> and children.
>
> I thought that would be a good model for advertising the Adult Education
> and Literacy System (AELS) of the United States. The message could focus
> on the AELS as an education system for adults who want to continue their
> education, perhaps to get a high school credential and go on to further
> education and/or training. The ad could tell what the AELS is, what it
> does, and how to learn more about the programs the AELS offers in the
> reader's local community. So the idea of what should be the focus , that
> is, the message, of an AELS campaign ad was what I first thought about
> after seeing the NCFL featured in the Toyota ad. [I didn't like the part
> about "complete their education" because it implies that education can
> be complete and I think that is wrong and I didn't like the part about
> "we hope that the book on missed opportunities will one day be closed
> forever" because it is not particularly clear what it means but it could
> imply that the need for an AELS will go away once we get some other
> education problem solved and I think that is not a good message because
> the need for an AELS serving lifelong learning grows with each year in
> my opinion].
>
> Then I got to thinking about the magazines in which I had found the
> Toyota/NCFL ad. Newsweek has a pretty broad circulation to a fairly
> general audience I guess, but to me Harper's seems selective of more
> literary, essay oriented readers, and the UTNE Reader, an alternative
> press, has a very selective readership I would think. So I wondered for
> whom the Toyota/NCFL ad's message was intended? Would many potential
> adult students for the NCFL be reading these mags? What do other NLA
> members think? I also wonder about these mags as message bearers for an
> AELS campaign. What about magazines concerned with automobiles,
> motorcycles, hunting, quilting, fashion, etc. I think they would have a
> different readership than the ones I found the Toyota/NCFL ads in. Who
> should such ads try to reach?
>
> The coincidence of finding the Toyota/NCFL ads while the NLA was
> discussing the way to engage the mass media offered me a chance to
> concretize the discussion a bit around issues of what the message for a
> pubic awareness campaign for the AELS should be, who the audience(s)
> should be, and how the message  should be disseminated. Perhaps NLA list
> members will want to go to their Borders or Barnes & Noble book stores
> and enjoy a cup of coffee while searching for the Toyota/NCFL ad in
> various magazines. The weekend is coming up!
> _______________________________________________
> NLA mailing list: NLA at lists.literacytent.org
> http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/nla
> LiteracyTent: web hosting, news, community and goodies for literacy
> http://literacytent.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> NLA mailing list: NLA at lists.literacytent.org
> http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/nla
> LiteracyTent: web hosting, news, community and goodies for literacy
> http://literacytent.org
>