BC Crime Stoppers Quarterly

ISSUE 4 • WINTER 2009 • VOLUME 15
In this Issue
Greater Vancouver Launches New Advertising Program
Crime Stoppers Training Conference Reminder
Campbell River New Mat Advertising
Thank You 7-Eleven
New Campaign to Combat
Violent Crime
February 19, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Greater Vancouver Crime Stoppers unveiled a hard hitting new public service announcement (PSA)
campaign today to help in the battle against the escalating violence plaguing Metro Vancouver this year.
The campaign encourages people to continue to anonymously report information they might have about
gang crime, gun crime, homicide and assault, and compellingly reinforces the Crime Stoppers key message,
“You remain anonymous, criminals don’t.”
“The new campaign will refresh people’s perceptions about Crime Stoppers and reassure people that their
anonymity is secured if they are still hesitant to contact us with their tips,” said Greater Vancouver Crime
Stoppers Board of Directors member John Ashbridge.
There are a number of different media elements to the campaign. The visual look was created pro bono by
the Vancouver office of DDB Canada. Each visual PSA shows a crime in progress with the perpetrator(s) in
focus while the identities of others are pixelated. “Crime Stoppers just wants information about the criminal,”
claims Ashbridge.
“Pixelation is instantly recognized and commonly associated with the reporting of criminal activity. But this
time it’s used to illustrate the anonymity of providing crime solving tips to Crime Stoppers,” says Dean Lee,
creative director, DDB Canada.
“People need to realize their tips to Crime Stoppers are completely anonymous, that tipsters have nothing to
fear and can make a real difference in helping make Metro Vancouver a safer community to live in.”
Support to the visual campaign will be provided by The Province newspaper, 24 Hours newspaper, Georgia
Straight, Grassroots Advertising, Lamar Advertising, Metro newspaper, New Ad, OMD Canada, Pattison
Outdoor and Vancouver Magazine.
Corus Entertainment will launch a parallel radio PSA initiative on its group of Lower Mainland radio stations;
CKNW News Talk 980, Rock 101 , 99.3 The FOX and AM 730/ All Traffic All the Time. “We have an ongoing
commitment to support the work of Greater Vancouver Crime Stoppers." said CKNW program director Tom
Plasteras. “Leading the radio portion of this campaign is exactly what we want to be doing for our
community.”
Global BC Television will be providing a similar television PSA campaign. “We have been involved with Crime
Stoppers for many years”, said Global BC Director of Marketing John Ridley. “The program provides a unique
solution for people to provide information to investigators without the fear of reprisal.”
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Media partners like The Province newspaper and Shaw Community Television will also continue to carry
regular Crime Stoppers features. “We hope that other media outlets will join with Crime Stoppers as well,”
added Ashbridge.
For further information, contact: Tim Kelley
Executive Director, Greater Vancouver Crime Stoppers
604-209-1466
t.kelley@shaw.ca
The Crime Stoppers briefing had a great media turn-out. The new campaign will also be made available for use by
Crime Stoppers programs throughout the province.
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New Advertising Campaign Posters
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Constable Lindsey Houghton and John Ashbridge showing the new marketing campaign. Alternative
copies of the posters have been produced with the ‘bccrimestoppers.com’ website listing for
distribution outside Metro Vancouver.
Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers Media Chair John Ashbridge presented the new Crime Stoppers “You
Remain Anonymous” Campaign at a Vancouver Police Department media briefing. On the podium left to right:
Lindsey Houghton and Jana McGuinness (VPD Media Relations Officers), Paige Calvert (DDB
Advertising), (behind microphone) Kathy Wilson (GVCS Staff ), Kyle Stewart and Neil Shapiro (DDB
Advertising), and RCMP Constable Jack Stetz and VPD Sgt Guy Draper.
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Campbell River
Crime Stoppers
Unveil Unique
Campaign
Like many Crime Stoppers programs, Campbell River
Crime Stoppers is constantly on the
lookout for new, different, effective, and
economical ways to get its message out to the
public, and especially to that segment of the public
most likely to have knowledge of criminal activities
in the community. In the past they have tried ads
in newspapers, the Coffee News, the sides of buses,
radio jingles, matches, fridge magnets, bumper stickers - you name it, even fishing lures!
Campbell River Crime Stoppers director Iain
McClymont recently started a new business
producing custom printed entry mats for homes,
businesses, boats and RV’s.
Iain also came up with the idea to print mats for
Crime Stoppers and place them in high traffic
business locations around Campbell River.
He came up with a special rate for the mats, and the
Board decided to try it out. They ordered a dozen
mats in two sizes. The mats (3’ x 2’ and 4’ x 3’) bear
the Crime Stoppers logo and the simple message:
“We Support Campbell River Crime Stoppers”, along
with the toll-free Tips number.
Local area businesses were very receptive to the
idea, and the larger mats can now be seen in
prominent locations in several grocery stores, Home
Hardware, and the local McDonald’s Restaurant.
The smaller mats found homes in some of the city’s
privately owned, high traffic liquor stores.
A local dry cleaner - White Hat Cleaners, has agreed
to look after professional cleaning of the mats at
a greatly reduced rate, ensuring that the mats will
continue to look good for years.
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Mats Pay for
Themselves
As a direct result of placement of the mats,
one area food store, Vancouver Island
based Quality Foods, volunteered to
donate the proceeds of their employee
“Jeans Friday” program to Crime Stoppers,
essentially covering the costs of all of the
mats, and then some! They have also
agreed to donate all food, beverages,
utensils, condiments, plates etc for a future
Crime Stoppers fundraiser.
More Mats Planned
In light of the success of the mat program,
the Board will be looking at expanding it
as funds become available. In addition,
the group has made an application for a
Civil Forfeiture Grant to fund a mat
program in area secondary schools.
Under this plan, which has the blessing of
the local School District, larger mats (5’ x 8’)
would be printed with the Crime Stoppers
information on the lower half, including
the WebTip and TextTip information, and
the upper half would carry a message created by each school’s Leadership Classes
specific to the school’s concerns; bullying,
drugs, violence, vandalism, school
safety, etc.
Campbell River Crime Stoppers sees this as
having enormous possibilities, both long
term and short term. For more information
contact Campbell River Crime Stoppers
Director Iain McClymont at
iainmcclymont@uniserve.com, or at
250-923-4352.
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BC Crime Stoppers
Says: “Oh, Thank
Heaven for
7-Eleven”
Greater Vancouver Crime Stoppers president, BC
Crime Stoppers Board member and head of
Government Relations for 7-Eleven Canada, Len
McGeouch has great news to report:
“7-Eleven Stores in British Columbia raised
$10,403.79 on behalf of British Columbia Crime
Stoppers during the October 2008 collection period.”
Greater Vancouver Crime Stoppers president Len
McGeouch with BC Crime Stoppers past president
Shirley Stocker.
Each October, 7-Eleven raises money to cover the
cost of the 1-800-222-8477 telephone service that is
made available to Crime Stoppers programs within
the province. McGeouch and 7-Eleven have a long
history of supporting Crime Stoppers. 7-Eleven
began raising money in Metro Vancouver in 1988
and when BC Crime Stoppers was formed the
fundraising was extended province-wide.
Len states that now most 7-Eleven stores in Canada
raise money for their local Crime Stoppers program.
Oh, Thank Heaven!
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Are you registered for the
BC Crime Stoppers Training
Conference in Vernon? Make
sure you are part of the British
Columbia Crime Stoppers Training
Conference in Vernon, BC,
Production Crew
Executive Editor • Tim Kelley
April 30–May 2, 2009.
Production Advisor • Rick Caswell
To register, download the
registration form online at
www.crimestoppersonline.ca
Layout • Andrea Nurme
& Kevin Rapanos
Editing • Kait Cavers
Veron, BC by Rob Trent Online
Telephone 1-800-222-TIPS
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