In order to get a full picture of what the 2SLGBTQAI+ history in Vancouver has been, donations from community members are integral to the continued existence of the BCGLA. Donations can only be made if community members are aware of the BCGLA’s existence and importance to cultural preservation. While information about the archive is available online through the City of Vancouver website, a media campaign will allow for personalized stories that are unavailable through the cities website. This plan proposes a two-part radio ad and social media series that features members of the 2SLGBTQAI+ community from within the BCGLA and from the Vancouver community before 1980, and the importance of preserving their history through this archive.
AUDIENCE
This ad campaign will be aimed at older members of the Vancouver 2SLGBTQAI+ community who may have a connection with pieces already in the archive or may have lost media that could be helpful to the archive. By showing the importance of preserving the history of their youth, members of the community will be drawn to donate and explore what the archive has to offer. They will identify with the stories being told of their youth and find connections to the past.
RESEARCH
The radio is the most commonly used media platform for those aged 60+ in Canada, with most listening happening in the car or at home, according to a 2020 executive summary done by Statistics Canada about attitudes and opinions towards commercial radio in Canada. Older listeners are more likely to receive information and updates about the news through local radio stations. This paid media allows for ad breaks that can inform listeners of the opportunities available through the BCGLA that are able to be replayed several times a day.
Accompanying the radio ad, a video can be created to spread the same message on the BCGLA social media platforms. Using the same audio from the radio ad creates a feeling of familiarity through reptation, and by pairing it with visuals it can create a stronger impact in the communities memory. By posting on their own social media, the owned media is able to be shared and spread by users in the community.
SPOKESPEOPLE
By choosing Ron Dutton and a current member of the BCGLA administration, experiences from both sides of the information gathering process will present their stories to resonate with other members of the community. While Dutton has experience working with the BCGLA, he is no longer running the organization and can provide insights to the importance of their information gathering from a time before digital media. Also having a BCGLA staff member speaking can make the archive seem more personable and friendly by humanizing it. Each type of media ad will feature one of these two spokespersons, allowing for further diffusion of the messaging into the Vancouver community.
CONTENT
Designed to be promoted across social media and radio, the audio across both platforms will be identical. Using multiple black and white photographs provided by the BCGLA from 1950 and eventually fading into color photographs from today, the connection will be drawn between our past and our present. Focusing on the strength of connection through community, the BCGLA stands as a beacon of hope that 2SLGBTQAI+ stories will not be untold by time. Each ad will feature a short voice over by each spokesperson, providing an anecdote about the importance of preservation of media. The end will have a call to action for submissions of all media with a focus on 1950’s memorabilia, and contact information of the organization like phone number and email along with their social media channels. In the descriptions of the social media posts, should be links back to the BCGLA website and contact information.
CALENDAR
The radio ads will run twice an hour for four weeks over Pride month. The video ads on social media will be posted once a week over the first two weeks of the radio run-time. After that, they will both be reposted once a week on separate days for the remaining two weeks.
This ensures the ads are heard by people visiting Vancouver during Pride month who may not have been aware of the BCGLA, and will raise awareness of the archives goals and initiatives. Many people travel to Vancouver for Pride month who may have critical information that the BCGLA is missing.
CONCLUSION
Using a two-part multimedia ad campaign will raise awareness across both older generations of 2SLGBTQAI+ who are in possession of lost media, and younger generations who can continue to contribute and learn their history through the BCGLA.