|
CITY OF VANCOUVER Administrative Report |
Date: |
March 1, 2004 | |
Author: |
Catherine Clement | |
Phone No.: |
873-7270 | |
RTS No.: |
03954 | |
CC File No.: |
1161 | |
Meeting Date: |
March 25, 2004 |
TO: |
Standing Committee on Planning and Environment |
FROM: |
Catherine Clement, Director of Communications |
SUBJECT: |
City of Vancouver Advertising Policy |
INFORMATION
THAT Council receive this report on City advertising for INFORMATION.
On May 28, 1957 Council passed the following City policy on advertising
(Policy Number AG-010-07):
1. The responsibility for placement of all advertisements for any department is vested in the City Clerk.
2. Information emanating from City Hall shall be clearly identified as such, including a notice of this fact at the head of any newspaper column paid for by the City.
3. The use of City streets for the purpose of advertising is not permitted except with approval from Council.
4. Any advertising for the purpose of publicizing the City as a tourist and convention centre shall be done through the Greater Vancouver Tourist Association, and any advertising from an industrial point of view shall be done through the Greater Vancouver Metropolitan Industrial Development Commission.
5. Taking space in special or commemorative issues of publications is prohibited.
In June 1993, the City created a Communications Division, giving it the responsibility for advertising. On September 9, 1995 Council approved the following addition to procedures on the same policy document:
The Communications Division of the City Clerk's Department may advise on advertising strategies and creating advertising copy, visual standards and layouts. The Communications Division may deal directly with the media on advertising issues.
The purpose of this report is to:
· advise Council of advertising policy at the City of Vancouver
· advise Council of the advertising activities of the Corporate Communications Division since it was established in June, 1993
· outline present criteria for City of Vancouver advertising decisions
· outline how publishers can seek clarification if they have concerns about how the policy has been applied in specific cases.
The City's Communications Division was first established in June 1993. An October 1995 report to Council set out a comprehensive strategy for the new Division. This report is on the web site at www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/951109/csb1.htm
The report was approved by Council on November 9, 1995, and the Communications Division then began implementing its recommendations -- one of which was to establish an in-house advertising agency. This was done on January 1, 1995.
Some benefits were realized immediately, while others accrued over time. These benefits included:
Cost savings
Before 1995, City ads were placed through an external advertising agency. Bringing the agency in-house resulted in immediate annual savings of thousands of dollars in ad commissions that previously went to this external agency.
In addition, negotiations with major local daily and community papers were undertaken to secure discounts of up to 30 per cent in some cases.
More targeted ad placement
Before 1995, most City ads ran in the Vancouver Sun. This was not cost-effective, and reached well beyond the intended audience of Vancouver citizens, or did not reach other, non-English communities.
After 1995, the City's advertising began to reach a more diverse audience, as Corporate Communications consulted with departments on their objectives and audiences, and advertising dollars were re-directed to more cost-effective community and non-English papers, and specific interest groups.
Greater control
Before 1995, the advertising process was time-consuming and often resulted in errors in copy and/or billing. Bringing the ad business in-house enabled greater control over the look of City ads and therefore a higher standard of professional editing and design.
Since 1995, the City's ad volume has grown significantly. Presently, Corporate Communications places hundreds of print ads for the City, comprising more than 1,000 individual insertions of those ads. The Division also produces and places radio ads, writes and designs four-page newspaper inserts that provide greater detail on a policy issue, and produces the occasional TV public service announcement.
City expenditures on advertising have steadily increased over the last five years:
1999 $620,411
2000 $630,178
2001 $819,318
2002 $871,601
2003 $1,024,262
(Note: costs are approximate because departments may sometimes include such items as posters or notifications under "advertising")
CRITERIA FOR PRINT ADS
There are dozens of publications in Vancouver. Each has a unique focus, editorial style and readership. They range in size from large, high-circulation dailies like the Vancouver Sun, to small, niche publications like The Creek (local paper for False Creek area).
It is not possible, nor is it desirable, for the City to buy advertising space in every publication produced in Vancouver. The City must choose in which publications to place its advertising. These choices are made on a case-by-case basis by the Corporate Communications Division, in consultation with the client department. The following criteria are used to decide where each ad is placed:
Target audience
The City advertises in publications that are distributed in Vancouver. For example, while the Vancouver Sun is a large-circulation paper, many of its readers live outside our city.
It is not optimal to advertise one of our public meetings to the residents of Burnaby or Dawson Creek.
The City-sponsored Diversity Communications Project found that most City residents get local news from community and multicultural newspapers.
Where an event or an audience has a multicultural component, or a project affects an area that we know has a particular population (for example, a large, Chinese-speaking community), we will choose a high-circulation newspaper that serves that particular community.
Where the audience for various publications overlap (for example, in the Downtown, or in the West End), the City chooses the most cost-effective option.
Circulation
The City tries to advertise in publications that have audited circulation numbers.
Third-party auditing of a newspaper's circulation provides independent verification of its distribution. We do not consider "readership" to be a valid assessment of a newspaper's reach (readership, or "pass-on" rate, is difficult to verify).
Budget
The client department's advertising budget for a project will determine where and how often we advertise. Some clients have very small budgets for advertising their event.
In this case, Corporate Communications seeks the most cost-effective way to reach an audience, which often means limiting ad distribution to one or two higher-circulation community papers only.
Deadlines
The City advertises primarily in weekly and daily papers, as their deadlines can more easily accommodate the needs of client departments. Publications that publish once or twice a month pose more difficulties in scheduling ads that are time-sensitive. Also, on many occasions, Communications is provided short notice of an ad request, thus necessitating quick turn-around and rapid placement, which is often better accommodated by weeklies and dailies.
Statutory requirements
Some ads have strict requirements according to the Vancouver Charter as to where and when they must be placed. Ads for Public Hearing rezonings, for example, must be placed in two consecutive issues of a daily newspaper, 7-14 days before the hearing (Van Charter 566 (3)). This naturally limits which publications the City can use.
Legal notices and/or meeting ads for the Board of Variance are posted every second week throughout the year in accordance to the Board of Variance By-Law No. 3844, under Section 9.(3) which states:
"Public notice of a hearing shall be given if the appeal is deemed by the Board of sufficient importance and such public notice shall be given by publication in a newspaper circulating in the City in not less than two consecutive issues and at a time not more than ten days nor less than three days before the hearing."
There are also specific Charter requirements for election advertising.
Journalism standards
We do not advertise in publications whose editorial standards are not in keeping with general standards of professional journalism. We do not advertise in publications where the editorial slant is racist, prejudiced against minority groups, offensive, denigrates the dignity of individuals, is sexist, homophobic, ageist, or promotes hatred.
Proven record
The City advertises in publications that have a proven "track record" in a very competitive market. We ask for back issues and review the publication's circulation figures, distribution, and journalistic style, in advance of putting them on a "consideration list". Where necessary, Corporate Communications will seek advice from the City's Multicultural Planners on a particular publication's reputation in the community.
Membership in a trade association is further evidence of a publication's professional standing (for example, BC Press Council, Canadian Community Newspaper Association - BC and Yukon chapter, etc.).
It is an unfortunate reality of a tough marketplace that occasionally new, small publications in the Lower Mainland vigorously pursue City advertising, and are out of business a year later.
Non-informative ads ("Vanity" ads)
The City refrains from placing non-informative or "vanity" advertising. These types of ads -- which typically comprise a "Greetings from...." or "Congratulations from ..." message, with the name of an elected official or government body -- are standard practice in the provincial and federal governments, and appear during many civic holidays. The City refrains from placing vanity ads because they do not educate or inform our citizens, and therefore are not an effective use of taxpayers' money.
Special or Commemorative issues
The policy passed by City Council in 1957 prohibits the City from "taking space in special or commemorative issues of publications" (policy number AG-010-07).
There may, from time to time, be exceptions to these criteria.
FUTURE TRENDS
In the future, Corporate Communications expects to place fewer newspaper ads for the City in certain areas. Greater use of the Internet has already displaced print advertising.
For example, the Purchasing Department used to place tender ads in newspapers. These ads now go on the BidBC website -- which is preferred by their client base -- at no cost.
Also, as "e-cruiting" becomes more refined, and the City's website more effective at publicizing available positions, we may see a reduction in the amount spent on career ads in newspapers, which is about $121,000 annually.
Corporate Communications is producing and booking an increasing number of radio ads for departments. Radio is a cost-effective method of advertising for certain types of educational campaigns and projects (for example "Road Ahead" projects highlighting the reason for major road closures). Departments are seeing good results with radio, often as an adjunct to a smaller print ad.
Efforts to trim the City's budget may have a trickle-down effect on advertising for projects. As department budgets tighten, they may have less money to spend on advertising, and may resort to other, less expensive ways of getting their message across.
Together, these factors could cause some newspaper publishers and ad representatives to express concerns to members of Council about reduced advertising from the City.
Advertising is one of the major ways the City of Vancouver communicates to the public.
A number of factors -- such as the audience we are trying to reach, project budgets, deadlines, circulation numbers of a newspaper (or audience reach of electronic media), and statutory requirements -- determine which publications the City uses for its advertising.
Staff in Corporate Communications are approached on a weekly basis by sales representatives from Lower Mainland newspapers. This is understandable, as it is the sales rep's job to secure as many ads as possible for their publication.
However, the City's responsibility is to choose the most effective (and cost-effective) advertising methods to educate, inform and involve our citizens. It is not the City's responsibility to support the operations of private sector media outlets. Nor should the placement of City advertising be considered a substitute for grants.
If newspaper publishers or advertising sales representatives have a concern about the advertising policies and guidelines of the City of Vancouver, or how these guidelines are applied in specific cases, they should contact Paul Heraty at 604-871-6173 (paul_heraty@city.vancouver.bc.ca).
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APPENDIX A
Publications in which the City of Vancouver has placed ads, since 1995:
Asian Express
Asian Pacific Post
Burnaby Now
Business in Vancouver
Chardi Kala
Chinatown News
Common Ground
Delta Optimist
Eco D'Italia
El Contacto Directo
Georgia Straight
Gia Vang
Gleaner
Globe and Mail
Guardian
Indo-Canadian Link
Indo-Canadian Voice
Jewish Western Bulletin
Journal of Commerce
Korean News
Milenio
Ming Pao
Momentum
Mundo y familia
National Post
North Shore News
Punjabi Tribune
Richmond News
Richmond review
Sangharsh
Shared Vision
Sing Tao
Terminal City Weekly
Thoi Su
TV Week
Ubyssey
Vancouver Courier
Vancouver Province
Vancouver Shin Po
Vancouver Sun
WestEnder
World Journal
Xtra West