Mass Media Family Planning

This campaign aimed to promote the concept of family planning, the use of modern contraceptive methods, and the utilisation of family planning facilities.

Description:

An estimated 240,000 Turkish women began using or switched to modern methods of contraception after an intense multi-media campaign in late 1988. Turkish audiences were exposed to more than 5 hours of family planning programming on television. Each of the feature programs reached at least 20 million people, or 55% of adult TV viewers, including an estimated 6 million married women of reproductive age--over 80% of the intended audience.

Formative research guided the development of the campaign's ten main themes which related to the benefits of smaller families and the options available to couples who want to space their pregnancies. Messages communicating these themes were phased in over the course of the campaign. A powerful, emotional 3-part television drama was broadcast to introduce the campaign to the general audience. The middle phase of the campaign consisted of a 50-minute television feature drama, 8 short radio dramas, 5 short educational television spots, and 5 short humorous television spots. In the final phase of the campaign, the Communication Director of the Turkish Family Health and Planning Foundation appeared on television to officially close the campaign, to thank the organizations that contributed to the campaign, and to thank the audience for its support.

In addition to the various media used to target the primary audience, the campaign enlisted the support of both political leaders and the mass media. Turkish Radio and Television donated airtime, and press coverage provided free publicity for the campaign.

Location:

Turkey

Dates:

1987-1989; Campaign: October-December, 1988

Project Cost:

$231,637

Note: The campaign also received approximately $2.1 million in free airtime and publication advertising space.

Media Used:

• Sparrows Don't Migrate, a three-part television drama
• But Mother, a 42- minute television drama
• A Child Is Crying, a 26-minute documentary aimed at opinion-leaders and decision-makers
• 10 television spots (5 serious and 5 humorous), broadcast 2-3 times/day for 3 months, usually during prime-time
• Kever's Trail, a 50-minute radio drama
• 8 radio spots in short-story format
• 1 calendar with family planning messages, 5,000 copies
• 2 posters, 10,000 copies of each
• 1 informational brochure, 200,000 copies
• 30-minute educational video shown at health facilities and in family planning training courses.