§ Mr. DobsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library details of each major publicity campaign mounted by the armed services in 1985–86 and each successive year, including in each case the objectives of the campaign, the intended audience and the outcome of the monitoring of the achievement of the intended objectives, and national research conducted for them by the Central Office of Information together with a note of the intended objectives in the campaigns in 1989–90.
§ Mr. Archie Hamilton[holding answer 2 May 1989]: The armed services' publicity campaigns are primarily concerned with recruitment. They are not a series of separate campaigns but rather a continuing campaign to keep the services in the public eye and to promote them, to both parents and young people, as a potential employer.
The impact of the campaign is continuously monitored. Adjustments are made in reaction to the response from the target audience and to reflect the manpower requirements of the services. There are no plans to change this practice in the foreseeable future but, in response to the increased competition for suitable applicants which all employers are likely to experience with the onset of the demographic trough, the services do expect to increase the level of advertising over that of recent years.
In addition to their recruiting campaign, the armed services are also sponsoring the national employers liaison committee's publicity campaign, the main aim of which is to promote public awareness of the reserve forces especially amongst employers.
§ Mr. DobsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library details of each major publicity campaign mounted by his Department in 1985–86 and each successive year, including in each case the objectives of the campaign, the intended audience and the outcome of the monitoring of the achievement of the intended objectives, and national research conducted for him by the Central Office of Information together with a note of the intended objectives in the campaigns in 1989–90.
§ Mr. Archie Hamilton[holding answer 2 May 1989]: The aim of the Ministry of Defence's public information effort is to increase public awareness of defence policies and the role and achievements of the armed forces.
475WThis is achieved by a continuous information programme of press briefings and media visits to establishments and service units, films, exhibitions, and publications. Emphasis is given in this programme from time to time to matters of particular public interest and to specific occasions. These have included the European Year of the Environment in 1988, to which the Ministry of Defence contributed, and the 40th anniversary of NATO in 1989. The latter occasion was marked by an exhibition 476W on British defence policy held in London in April, which is also due to visit several regional events later this summer, a NATO briefing tour of public meetings in six major towns and cities, and the issue of a special postal slogan.
The Central Office of Information was commissioned to undertake a market research survey on the MOD touring defence policy exhibition in 1988 and reported most favourably on its content and on the public response.