A test campaign aimed at drawing attention to 101, the new 24-hour Single Non-Emergency Number to deal with community safety issues, will run on ATM:ad, the popular cash machine advertising medium for three months this summer.
Planned and booked by Posterscope on behalf of the COI the ads, which will be seen on cash machines at high streets, petrol stations and shopping centres, will kick off on July 31st in Hampshire and Cardiff, and during the test period will also appear in Northumbria, Sheffield and Leicester, up to October.
101 is designed to deal with non-emergency enquiries such as vandalism and damage to property, noisy neighbours, intimidation and harassment, abandoned vehicles, litter and fly tipping, drunkenness in public places, drug related anti-social behaviour and problems with street lighting. The initiative comes from the Home Office and is being administered by the police and local councils.
To reinforce 101 as the number to call when it's less urgent than 999, the ATM:ad campaign will be supplemented by receipts from the cash machine bearing the 101 number.
During the campaign, which covers all five of the pilot 101 areas, the ads are expected to deliver approximately 2 million impacts and 500,000 one-to-one transactions.
Phil Bastaple, head of 101 communications, said: "Although most people know that 999 is for emergencies, up to 70% of 999 calls do not require an emergency response. 101 will provide people with a confidential, 24-hour number where people can report non-emergency crimes and community safety issues. The ATM:ads are ideally situated in the community – placed where issues that 101 will deal with often occur. The ads raise awareness of the number and service. The printed receipts are also a takeaway reminder of our message. We expect the ATM:ads to also reinforce the wider work to make 101 a success."
There are currently five pilot 101 areas, but the service will be expanded to cover England and Wales by 2008.
ATM:ad delivers a digital, one-to one communication with a range of targeted audiences in key out-of-home environments including supermarkets, petrol stations, high streets, shopping malls and universities. Since its launch in mid-2004, it has carried campaigns from a wide range of sectors including travel, FMCG, internet, entertainment and government for a variety of advertisers including Nestle, UIP, British Airways, Fox Home Entertainment, Comic Relief, Carling, and British Eurosport.