Turning Point: Engaging the Public on Behalf of Children

Executive Summary

Turning Point: Engaging the Public on Behalf of Children presents compelling new findings from a recent public-opinion study conducted by the Advertising Council as part of its Commitment to Children. In addition to specific research findings, this report offers communication strategies that can effectively motivate the public to act on behalf of children. These strategies are the result of 30+ interviews with leading experts in marketing, advertising, communications, and community outreach, survey responses to individual concepts for communication, and learnings from the Ad Council's 8 years of Commitment to Children campaigns.

The goal of this report is to give advocates - from large organizations to small groups - new communication tools and ideas with which they can reach out to the public on behalf of children.

The Ad Council is a private, nonprofit organization that has been the leading producer of public service communications programs benefiting children, families and communities in the United States since 1942. In 1995, the Ad Council launched the Commitment to Children, a comprehensive initiative that aims to help all children achieve their full potential by utilizing communication strategies to:

• Strengthen parenting skills;
• Empower and support family and caring adults to get involved in children's lives; and
• Stimulate children and teens to engage in responsible behavior.

Since 1995, public service campaigns focusing on improving the lives of children account for approximately 70% of the Ad Council's agenda. The Ad Council Commitment to Children has leveraged over $6.2 billion in donated media.

A key element of the Commitment to Children has involved the use of research - over the years, both quantitative and qualitative research has been conducted by the Ad Council to gauge public opinion, to understand the underlying process behind the public's thinking and to track the success and reach of messages created to help make children's issues a priority.

Early in the Commitment to Children research, we found that the public blamed parents for children's problems, and did not feel inclined to help "those bad parents" whose children were facing difficulties. The public also felt that the problems facing children were so overwhelming they could not imagine doing anything that would, or could, make a real difference.

However, today, there are signs that the public is becoming more optimistic about children and what they can do to help. A brand new survey recently fielded by the Ad Council, "Engaging the Public on Behalf of Children 2004," reveals dramatic shifts in the public's views of children, their sense of responsibility to all children, and their willingness to help. It also points to a climate in which the public is poised to respond in positive ways to messages that offer opportunities to help kids.

Major findings include the following:

The public has a more positive view of children.

In 1995, less than one-quarter of all Americans (23%) used positive words to describe children. At the end of 2003, twice as many (46%) used positive terms, such as "wonderful," "great," and "smart." When asked specifically about their own children and/or children they know well, this percentage jumped even higher, with more than two-thirds describing children in a positive manner (78% of parents and 71% of non-parents).

The majority of Americans now believe that parents are responsible for raising children with the support of others in their communities.

In 1995, most Americans blamed parents for the problems children were experiencing. However, in 2004, most Americans (72%) say that raising children is the responsibility of parents with support of others in the community. More people now actually believe the ancient African proverb that "it takes a village to raise a child."

The majority of Americans believe that one person can make a difference in the life of a child, and they are willing to help.

According to Engaging the Public on Behalf of Children 2004, almost all Americans (97%) think that one person can make a difference in the life of a child, and the majority (78%) would like to help, a wonderful sign of new optimism and openness.

Interestingly, we found few significant differences among demographic subgroups in the survey findings. Levels of involvement or willingness to get involved were not related to how old people were, whether they worked or not, their ethnicity or their education and income levels. This suggests that Americans are more united on children's issues than on many other issues.

In addition to the research findings, the Ad Council spoke to approximately 30 advertising, marketing, communications and community outreach experts in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors, asking them what it would take to make children truly a top national priority. These thoughts and ideas, combined with insights gleaned from Ad Council campaigns, have been collected and summarized in this report.

Specific areas that this 'strategic insights and advice' section cover include the following:

• Focus on research - from understanding one's target to starting as early in the process as possible, virtually all experts touch on the importance of research
• Incorporate the best messenger - while celebrities can be great at getting a message across, many experts talk about understanding your target enough to know who will resonate with your target.
• Craft a simple, concise message - because there is so much to say, experts across the board agree that it is most effective to maximize your time by focusing on the single idea you most want your audience to take away, especially if taking action is a desired result.
• Engage the public through emotional relevance - people are looking to make a connection and to feel connected with those around them.
• Understand how to use tone effectively in advertising - tone plays an important role in shaping communications, so it is necessary to look at the message you are trying to get across and see what kind of tone will engage your audience the best.

The Ad Council hopes that this report will lead to more effective communications and public engagement efforts for the benefit of children. The tools offered in this report can enable everyone to make the most of the public's new willingness and desire to take action to help kids.

Download: Turning Point: Engaging the Public on Behalf of Children
Turning Point was funded with generous assistance from The MetLife Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation

Back to Research