i.garden Promotes Crime Down Statistics

10th January 2008

imageData Group's design agency i.garden has created an innovative advertising campaign for Humberside Police, based on media neutral planning. The advertisements, which appeared on 48-sheet posters, local buses and in local community buildings, conveyed the significant decrease in the Force's 2007 crime rates.

The brief for the campaign was three-fold: to celebrate the successful reduction in crime which had come about through the efforts of front line officers and partnership working; to inform the public about the decline in criminal incidents; and to warn potential offenders that they would be punished for criminal activity.

The ‘Crime Down' campaign demonstrates a real departure for Humberside Police from its previous communication initiatives. i.garden and Phil Kirk, Head of Marketing & Public Relations, of Humberside Police has endeavored to pull together various media elements into one integrated communications campaign. The campaign ran in tandem with radio advertising and a media-lead public relations strategy; creating a real dialogue around the ‘Fear of Crime' issue.

The campaign featured black and white photography which reinforced the factual nature of the message whilst emphasising the seriousness of the subject matter. The creative execution changed monthly to communicate a different ‘crime down' statistic: burglary 20% down year on year, vehicle crime 18% down and violent crime 9% down.

According to Humberside Police Authority's fourth annual public opinion survey, public concern about crime decreased in 2007. The percentage of the public who thought that crime had increased dropped to 28% from 33% in 2006. According to the survey the top area of concern remains burglary.

Phil Kirk, Head of Marketing & Public Relations, at Humberside Police was delighted with the campaign: "Total crime in the Humberside Police area fell by 10.8% year on year. Not only was this a great achievement, but the effects are filtering down into local residents' perceptions and we want to help to expedite that process. It is clear that our policing efforts are having an impact on crime rates but we still need to reassure the public that their fear of crime is greater than the odds of them becoming a victim."

David Corben, Creative Director of i.garden enjoyed working with Humberside Police on the campaign, "It was great to be involved with such a worthwhile project. It proved a real creative challenge though, to convey several messages through one execution in a few sentences, but we hope we hit the mark. Phil's previous marketing experience really helped us to dovetail with the other communications agencies. His focused approach enabled us to achieve some very remarkable turnarounds."