Multi-media strategy

Dynamic awareness

Address as many target audiences through as many media as possible - and people's awareness of PARC will become dynamic. What does this mean?

Different target audiences are in contact with each other. They are in contact for many reasons - family, business, work, politics, education, administration and so forth.

Campaign communication tries to take advantage of these contacts by informing many different groups. These groups, in turn, inform each other.

For example, if you inform school teachers about PARC (and provide them with teaching materials such as a PARC literacy booklet) � what may result?

School teachers influence community leaders, who in turn influence cattleowners. (These community leaders can also influence decision-makers about the importance of the Campaign.)

School teachers, of course, influence students who, in turn, describe the importance of the Campaign to their parents. Who are their parents? Cattleowners, community leaders, and perhaps even your own veterinary staff.

Multiple impact

By using a multi-media strategy, you send PARC messages to target audiences from more than one direction.

In this example, the farmer will know something about PARC by the time the vaccination team (No. 9) arrives in his area.

Probably many of his doubts and questions about the Campaign have already been answered.

Using radio

Radio broadcasting can be very effective for generating dynamic | awareness of PARC among many people. But to succeed, the full potential of radio must be used.

If you talk as a veterinarian to other veterinarians, expressing PARC goals in the technical language of your profession, your messages will be interesting to your own professional group (the veterinary services) but may be less interesting to others. Present messages in ways that are relevant to other audiences.

Invite other groups to speak on the radio about PARC and related subjects. The appeal is much greater. For example, if policy-makers, are invited to speak about PARC and related topics, other policy-makers will be motivated to listen. Also community leaders, schoolteachers, students, and other social groups in the general public might be more interested. The effect can be multiple.

Ask your national radio producers about the types of programmes they can create in order to involve different groups. Use their creativity and expertise and you'll discover that radio programmes can help you manage the campaign.

Radio is an important tool for campaign management

As the Campaign progresses, it begins to affect more people. Their attitudes, concerns and interests will develop. Different areas of the country may develop different ideas on livestock issues.

Radio programmes which help them to voice their thoughts will also inform you. For example, radio can let you hear what a community leader�five hundred kilometers to the south�says about a controlled grazing scheme.

Radio can let you hear a border official�far to the east�describe how nomadic herdsman are reacting to inspection of their cattle for rinderpest immunization. There are many such examples, involving many groups and geographical regions.

This knowledge is an invaluable tool for managing the Campaign. It helps you devise ways of overcoming obstacles and make the Campaign more acceptable to all concerned.

Creating a flow of information through radio programmes takes time and effort. The radio programmes must be well produced. Invite national radio producers to carry out a wide-ranging production plan Make your first effort with the cattleowners themselves, particularly rural people and migratory herdsman.

When more groups talk on the radio, more listen to the radio.

Reaching nomads* with radio

* Even if you are not concerned with nomadic or semi-nomadic people, this section applies to other important rural groups. Substitute the words "rural people" for "nomads" and "migratory people".

Does your veterinary service have a strong and positive relationship with migratory cattleowners? Semi-nomadic or nomadic herdsman might be your most important target audience. Their livestock can carry cattle disease such as rinderpest across national borders.

Establishing a good relationship with migratory cattleowners is not easy. But one way of beginning is both to inform migratory people about PARC and to learn more about their attitudes and concerns. How can you do this?

Person-to-person contact is obviously the best method for communicating with migratory cattleowners. Radio broadcasting is a very good tool to help pave the way for this personal contact.

Many migratory people listen to the radio. Radio reaches great distances and is their link to the outside world. But if you broadcast messages about PARC, will the herders listen?

Radio listeners in general (including nomadic people) often do not pay serious attention to propaganda, lectures or commands which come over the radio. You need something more attractive.

Nomadic Radio is radio programming which is specially designed to gain the attention and involvement of migratory cattleowners. Producing these participatory radio programmes can increase the knowledge about migratory cattleowners among veterinary staff, and vice-versa.

Practical requirements

Language: It is vital that Nomadic Radio programmes be made in the language understood by the cattleowners. At the same time, you will want your veterinary staff to understand many of the programmes too. The radio producers may have to translate programmes into one or more languages.

Production: An experienced local radio producer who can speak the nomadic language and become acquainted with their culture, should make the Nomadic Radio programmes. If there is no such radio producer available, make arrangements to have one trained. This can be done by your national radio service or possibly through a request for technical assistance to the PARC Coordination Unit Regional Office.

The Nomadic Radio producer(s) will require extensive field work to become acquainted with migratory people as they roam, gain their confidence, and record them on tape. The main programme content should not be recorded in the radio studio - it should come from the migratory people themselves - out in the field. This raw material then reeds to be edited into programmes back at the radio studio. Here the material can be checked for content too.

Broadcasting: Broadcast Nomadic Radio programmes on a consistent schedule when migratory people are likely to listen. Each programme can be repeated several times a week, and even reused in the future. Utilize all available radio transmitters.

Programmes for Nomadic Radio broadcasts Radio programmes for nomadic audiences should not concentrate exclusively on PARC. They should focus on topics interesting to migratory listeners and include PARC themes. Feature migratory cattleowners who are sympathetic with PARC procedures (including ear-punching, serum collection and reporting). Migratory cattleowners talking (in their own, everyday language) about a variety of non political subjects such as: cultural themes folk stories traditional medicine water points and the effect of drought travel experiences food preparation music proverbs the significance of their cattle animal health problems -- diseases and husbandry veterinary services they have received in the past PARC procedures of vaccination, ear-punching, serum collection, reporting marketing procedures in different countries market prices Veterinarians talking about: animal health care problems experienced by nomads disease symptoms disease treatments and prevention PARC vaccination, earpunching the cloverleaf earpunch as a sign of value why serum must be collected how to report suspected rinderpest outbreaks what to do if there is an outbreak what veterinary field staff will do if there is an outbreak and so on. Anthropologists, community leaders, teachers describing the characteristics of transhumants and nomads (tribes, customs, travel patterns) Broadcasters, journalists and other contributors presenting: news items which are interesting to migratory people folklore, quiz programmes, games, songs and drama.

What messages?

What should you show on a poster? What topics should be discussed on radio? The most obvious PARC messages are why, what, who, how, when, and where.

Determine which messages have highest priority, using your general experience.

How do you present these messages? This requires consideration and field-testing of ideas with cattleowners.

Consult the cattleowners

PARC may require cattleowners to cooperate with the veterinary service in ways that are new.

Hold informal discussions with community leaders and cattleowners about the Campaign before it begins to gain insight about potential problem areas. This will help you decide upon what your main messages should be and how to present them.

After you have produced some media materials for use with cattleowners (such as a flipchart, leaflet, poster or radio programme), field-test the materials with these and other audiences. You will find ways to improve the materials and help ensure that they will be useful and effective. Some field-testing guidelines are below.

Consult other national experts

Many ministries and organizations are in contact with cattleowners and their families, even though their work is not concerned specifically with livestock.

They may have a wealth of ideas and experience to share with you about communicating with rural people and other target audiences.

National experts include those in rural education, agricultural extension, religious groups, border control, law enforcement, rural radio, television, newspapers, family planning, rural health, the university (rural development and anthropology departments), livestock owner associations, trade unions, etc.

Consult national experts individually or call them together for a one-day workshop.

Let them help you to identify obstacles to the campaign, as well as to -define target audiences, media and messages. You may discover worthwhile techniques that will save you time, money and effort.

Using the PARC kit

Consider PARC messages which have proved important in other countries. Some are shown on the art materials provided in this kit. The flipcharts, posters and leaflets are ideas for you to develop your own local messages, and draw pictures which are easily understandable by rural cattleowners. Do not print any flipcharts, posters, leaflets and adult literacy booklets until you have field-tested them with cattleowners and other target audiences.

Posters and leaflets 1. Rinderpest kills � rinderpest is a cattle thief Healthy cattle with plenty of fodder and water available, can still be infected and die quickly from rinderpest. 2. Vaccinate! Vaccination can protect cattle against rinderpest. A wise cattleowner allows the veterinary services to carry out all immunization procedures. 3. Report! Cattleowners and local authorities must know the symptoms of rinderpest and report suspected outbreaks quickly to the veterinary services. 4. A sign of value Cattle with the cloverleaf earpunch are more valuable because they are protected against rinderpest. The earpunch is recognized by the veterinary services, government authorities, law enforcement agencies, cattle merchants. It is also recognized in bordering countries as the insignia of the PARC immunization programme. 5. Fewer, but better, cattle Introduces an important PARC theme - that when cattle are protected against disease (such as rinderpest) herds can be smaller because they are at less risk. if the smaller herd contains higher-quality cattle, it will be more productive. Fewer cattle will reduce the threat of overgrazing and land degradation. A selection of items in the PARC kit Flipcharts 1. The relunctant cattleowner The disaster that can befall the cattleowner who does not allow his cattle to be vaccinated 2. The wise cattleowner in contrast to the reluctant cattleowner, the wise cattleowner benefits from cooperating with veterinarians. 3. Isolate sick animals Cattleowners should be shown the benefit of isolating sick animals from healthy ones. A good subject for a flipchart to inform cattleowners. Various themes in the PARC kit.

Other art material 1. PARC postage stamp Artwork is provided for adaptation by government stamp printers for a national issue of PA RC postage stamps. 2. and 3. Basic art sheets These can be used for creating ideas for graphic materials, or even the materials themselves if no artist is immediately available. 4. Photos Make more b/w prints to have on hand for distribution to journalists. Or even better, create your own photofile of local subjects.

Using the PARC sticker The PARC stickers are designed to identify PARC vehicles, equipment, property and correspondence. Three sizes are available. The surfaces on which the stickers are to be applied must be thoroughly clean, dry and fairly cool. The stripes should be applied diagonally, with the gold stripe uppermost. Apply the logo sticker squarely over the stripes.