Forum Topic

Vanessa Smith · 5/3/2007 9:19:00 AM

new.BrentfordTW8.com Communtity Forum Topic posting

Council's new advertising ploy

"NO" - ?

Vanessa Smith ● 6605d21 Comments

My response to the first post on this topic was based on the postcards i had seen. When I saw last week's Chronicle I was gobsmacked to find that they were taking the p888 out of the campaign on the front page and happily running the council taxpayers' advert inside.

John Connelly ● 6598d

This does seem to me to be a very strange affair. The Council are clearly being taken for mugs if they allow the Chronicle to get away with undermining a campaign which presumably we the taxpayer are shelling out a considerable sum of money for.However, although there seems nothing wrong with the presentation of the campaign it is the philosophy behind it which I don't like. It is not the job of the Council to try and change people's opinions by using propaganda and sloganising. They should treat the electorate with a bit of respect and put forward arguments on this issue rather than thinking up catchphrases. This is the kind of thing that Ken Livingstone and the armies of highly paid image consultants at the GLA love spending our money on it. You would have thought Hounslow would have more sense. Perhaps the Chronicle have done us all a favour by pulling the rug from under the whole thing.

Mike Hardacre ● 6598d

""SAY""

Jim Lawes ● 6603d

Exactly....to you both.Can Vanessa's opening comments be deemed to be ill judged twaddle?

Jim Lawes ● 6603d

It seems to me as though the person or persons who thought up the general concept and idea of using this form of advertising,by getting the general message across by making headlines in the local papers and residents discussing it already,appear to have known what they were doing.After thinking about it,it is in my opinion at least quite a strong slogan which I predict will be very widely known by residents regardless what opinion they hold on the matter.

Paul Fisher ● 6603d

Seems to me a perfectly clear and well set out message on an important issue. I am utterly bewildered as to why the newspaper thought that it would be a good idea to criticise it in this way particularly as if the campaign is not succeeding in raising awareness it is probably because nobody reads the paper. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.

Justin Harris ● 6604d

""Because we love Hounslow""Hounslow Council is using the power of wellbeing to draw attention to the decreased quality of life that excessive expansion at Heathrow will bring to borough residents.Cllr Barbara Reid, the council’s executive member for aviation, says: “The council has a statutory power to take action it believes could improve the environmental wellbeing of the borough, and that includes campaigning on this vital issue.The Government is clearly out of touch with public opinion. It is preparing to launch another consultation on yet more expansion at Heathrow, when local people have already made it absolutely clear that they will not tolerate more planes, more noise and more pollution.“As our carefully considered protests keep falling on deaf ears, we’re inviting everyone in the borough to join forces and send a very simple message that even the Government can understand - ‘No, No, No!’”Council bosses hope their ‘No’ campaign will persuade the Government to halt its controversial plans for expansion, which include building a third runway and a sixth terminal, and the replacement of runway alternation with mixed mode.Residents are being invited to support the council’s campaign by filling out and returning the ‘No’postcards that will be distributed in their thousands around the borough over the coming weeks.Have your saySubmit a Say No postcard onlineMake a comment about the Heathrow Expansion online--------------------------------------------------Campaign ResourcesThe following can be downloaded to the right of this Civic Centre webpage:Say no - because we love Hounslow e-postcardSAY NO campaign e-postcardSay no - because we love Hounslow poster oneSAY NO campaign poster oneSay no - because we love Hounslow poster twoSAY NO campaign poster twoContact usCorporate CommunicationsCivic CentreLampton RoadHounslowTW3 4DNTel: 020 8583 2180Fax: 020 8583 2187Email: sayno@hounslow.gov.uk.

Jim Lawes ● 6604d

""Not much of an answer - you'd have been the first one to moan if a Labour council had wasted even £500 like this. I cannot believe that anyone on Hounslow council seriously thinks that residents aren't aware of Heathrow and all the various plans and proposals, it is stating the bleedin' obvious and then some""Vanessa, I presume those comments were directed at me..well I'll assume so. You seem to be very confident of the wisdom and knowledge of the average Hounslow Borough's resident. I'm not. I talk to hundreds of locals and you'd be surprised , maybe, how uninformed , out of touch, unknowledgeable on these matters so many many are.One in a hundred know about this Community Forum, one in a hundred know about the campaign group Hacon, and as far as knowing anything about night flight restrictions..or the exact state of play regarding developments..you can assume that their "knowledge" is very poor.People will read about Mrs Keen's stance..and be confused about the issues. Many are not aware that Hounslow Council has a stance in the opposite direction!It's imperative for future generations that the message gets across. £5000 is nothing in relation to the need for this campaign. If £5,000,000 of unpaid Council Tax bills are still around..maybe it's time to chase another five debtors.The "NO" is firmly in my mind...maybe it will linger up to the next General Election.

Jim Lawes ● 6604d

Not much of an answer - you'd have been the first one to moan if a Labour council had wasted even £500 like this. I cannot believe that anyone on Hounslow council seriously thinks that residents aren't aware of Heathrow and all the various plans and proposals, it is stating the bleedin' obvious and then some.

Vanessa Smith ● 6604d

Two things,I believe that the front page story on the front page of the Chronicle seems totally misleading..showing only a part of the full poster that appears on page 8.The page 8 advertisement... with it's full text looks excellent...in my view.With "NO" signs everywhere, the populace ought to get the message.

Jim Lawes ● 6604d

SimonExcept that the money has come from the council's budget and the concierge service is financed by Hounslow Homes from the Housing Revenue Account. Different organisation, different budget.You might also want to reflect on how far £5k would go towards restoring the concierge service on Ivybridge.If it was that cheap and that simple, I'd give you the money myself! :o)

Phil Andrews ● 6604d

I am sorry but i think they could of placed the money into something like the concierge service which has been cut which residents are angry about.

Simon Anderson ● 6604d

It seems at least on person has got it. And anybody who still doesn't know what it is about after reading the front page need only turn to page 8.

Phil Andrews ● 6604d

From an awareness point of view getting front page coverage for any sort of campaign is a pretty high rate of success. The probability is that the newspaper hasn't been asked to participate in it and is getting in a retaliatory swipe.

Justin Harris ● 6604d

"Residents are being invited to support the council’s campaign by filling out and returning the ‘No’postcards that will be distributed in their thousands around the borough over the coming weeks."http://www.hounslow.gov.uk/index/news_and_events/hot_topics/heathrow_expansion/say_no.htmI'm not convinced it is the best technique to raise consciousness of the Heathrow expansion issue.Any ideas when the consultation paper is due to be published ?December ?

Tim Henderson ● 6605d

I always thought the point of advertising campaigns was to get your message across, not to baffle, although I do confess when watching some of the things that pass for adverts on the box these days I wonder what the product is, but this really expects people to make quite an effort to get the required message and I think they can expect on, I agree a complete waste, remind me how many jobs and services have been slashed by this coalition council?

Vanessa Smith ● 6605d

I support opposition to runway 3/terminal 6 as I did terminal 5. However, we know that central government (both Labour and Tory) have always argued that national interest should take precendence over local concerns when it comes to Heathrow. This means there is little point spending Hounslow's money on it.This is £5000 of council taxpayers' money wasted. I was in the lift at the Civic Centre when the postcards arrived and the caretakers were asking why the council was getting involved in a campaign about heart disease. When people see the cards I think they will know what I mean.

John Connelly ● 6605d

See today's Chronicle - front page, this brilliant idea has cost £5000 of taxpayers money and is apparently to do with the objections to more expansion at Heathrow - very laudable if anyone could make head or tail of it, as illustrated by the members of the public The Chron. spoke to, also you have to have internet access to get on the Council's website, if you can be arsed to bother. Apparently it is the "brainchild" of Barbara Reid (not much of one obviously) but if I were Hounslow Council I'd get a refund of £4999.50

Vanessa Smith ● 6605d

Sorry, Vanessa, this needs some explaining! ... would you? :-)

Sarah Felstead ● 6605d