City of Oshawa. Corporate Advertising Policy. Original date: January Amended date: August Amended date: September 2010

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1 City of Oshawa Corporate Advertising Policy Original date: January 2007 Amended date: August 2009 Amended date: September 2010 Amended date: December 2014

2 Corporate Advertising Policy 1.0 Purpose The purpose of the Corporate Advertising Policy is to provide guidelines and criteria for the development and placement of advertisements based on objectives, scope of the initiative, target audience, approved budget and available funding. The Policy also provides a procedure for the placement of City advertisements. Please note that this policy does not apply to Members of Council. The goals of the Corporate Advertising Policy are to: 1. Ensure a comprehensive advertising mix involving various media outlets are used to ensure that messages and visuals effectively reach target audiences (residents, business, investors, visitors, etc.); 2. Ensure advertising is provided at the best possible value and is cost effective for the City; 3. Provide a coordinated, consistent process and procedure for the placement of City advertising 4. Provide accurate, timely and clear information using plain language for target audiences about City programs, services, initiatives, etc.; 5. Provide open and transparent information improving the visibility of local government and encourage greater interest and participation in local affairs; 6. Promote a positive image of the city; 7. Comply with all applicable statutory advertisement requirements; 8. Comply with the Corporate Visual Identity Manual; 9. Be ethical in terms of what and where the City advertises; and, 10. Be measurable. 1

3 2.0 Definitions Advertising is the paid placement using media outlets to inform, persuade and remind target audiences about its notices, services, programs and products designed to elicit a positive response. The costs for advertising are funded from the department, branch or program advertising account. Examples of media outlets where advertisements are placed include: Newspaper (daily and community); Broadcast (television and radio); Digital/online (e.g. websites, social media); Consumer and business magazines; and, Out of home and transit (e.g. billboards, transit shelter, bench advertising, etc.). Corporate Advertising is placed by Corporate Communications to promote overall awareness of the city or on behalf of the Corporation. Corporate Communications refers to the work group section within the Corporate Services Department. City Page refers to the consolidation of newspaper advertising that appears on a predetermined designated City branded page, in a community newspaper, that is used by the City on a regular basis. It does not imply that the City pays for the entire page, only for required advertising space. Economic Development advertising is placed by Economic Development Services in specialized trade and business publications that reach a specific audience. Frequency is the number of times the average person in the target audience is exposed to a message during a given period. Plain Language is effective communication that is clear, concise and easy to understand. Public Relations materials includes flyers, posters, brochures and organization/event program advertisements. Public Relations are not considered advertising. Reach means the percentage of people in the target audience who are exposed to a communications campaign during a given period. Recruitment Advertising is placed by Human Resource Services within the career section of newspapers (local and Greater Toronto Area), professional magazines and employment websites, excluding part-time and seasonal recruitment advertising for Recreation Services which is posted on the City s website. 2

4 Target Audience refers to a particular group or a portion of a market for which a specific message regarding a program, product, service or business opportunity has been designed in the form of advertising. Tender Advertising means advertising of formal bid opportunities with the City of Oshawa. For the purpose of this policy, tender advertising shall also mean advertising of requests for proposal as well as requests for tender, but does not include informal low dollar value requests for quotations. Tender advertising for goods and services is placed by Purchasing Services and Engineering Services (in the case of construction projects) in specialized trade and business publications and websites that reach a specific audience. 3.0 Scope For the purpose of this policy, the term advertising encompasses the following: a) Statutory or legal notices; b) Notifications of public meetings or public consultations; c) Public information regarding programs, services and events; d) Tender advertising; e) Recruitment advertising; f) Economic development advertising; and, g) Corporate advertising. Public Relations materials are not considered advertising. 4.0 Procedure Overview Advertisement requests, with the exception of recruitment, purchasing and economic development advertising, are coordinated through Corporate Communications to maintain consistent branding, corporate writing style and adherence to accessibility standards. Where applicable, advertisements will include the City s website and phone number. Steps on how to place an advertisement, newspaper advertising templates and local media rate cards are located on the J Drive under Corporate Communications. Individual City departments have approved budgets with advertising envelopes for specific programs and initiatives and place advertisements based on target audiences and available funding. 4.1 Accessibility The City of Oshawa is committed to providing services as set out in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, Advertisements placed on the City s website must be accessible and newspaper advertisements must include the following accessibility statement located either in the footer of the City Page or included in the body of standalone advertisements placed on the City Page: 3

5 Alternative formats available upon request along with Service Oshawa Tel: ; T.T.Y.; ; in the footer of the newspaper advertisement. In addition, statutory advertisements (e.g. Development Services Official Plan amendments) are to include one or two sentences describing the purpose in plain language. Plain language is text that can be easily understood the first time read. Text that is clear and concise improves comprehension for all users as well as benefits customers with learning disabilities and low literacy skills. Therefore, one to two sentences indicating the purpose in plain language must be included to describe the purpose of the advertisement. 5.0 Guidelines and Criteria The decision to place advertisements depends on the scope of the initiative, target audience, approved budget and available funding as determined by the department. 5.1 Newspaper, Consumer and Business Publications Newspaper, consumer and business publications must meet all criteria listed below for the City of Oshawa to place advertisements. Vendors are to complete and forward the Newspaper, Consumer and Business Publication Vendor Information Form to Please note that submission of a completed Vendor Information Form does not guarantee that the City of Oshawa will place advertisements. Eligibility Criteria 1. Be published on a regular, pre-determined basis for a period of at least one year. 2. Be published in a format consistent with general industry practices such as: The publication must contain a minimum of eight pages and they must be numbered; and, The name of the publication and the issue date must appear on each page. 3. Ensure that editorial content be of a nature and intent not to: Incite racial hatred; Incite discrimination of any kind; and, Incite the subversion of Canada s democratic system of government. 4. Sufficient circulation to effectively reach the target audience. These may include publications with a specialized circulation and/or format specific to recruitment, economic development or tender advertisements. 5. Professional, credible and provide return on investment. 4

6 Mandatory Documents 1. Provide current advertising rate card. 2. Provide the complete last three consecutive issues of the newspaper. Additional Requirements 1. Local newspapers, who publish the City of Oshawa s City Page, must provide: a circulation report certified by a third party auditor (e.g. Canadian Circulations Audit Board, Audit Bureau of Circulations); or the original copy of the Publisher s Sworn Statement of Circulation completed and signed by the publisher and sworn before a commissioner for oaths, lawyer, a notary or another authorized official. 2. Provide additional copies of the newspaper upon request. 3. Provide a written notice of any information changes affecting the submitted Vendor Information Form (e.g. format, date of publication, changes in deadline schedules, etc.) 5.2 Other Advertising Outlets Departments may place advertisements for campaigns and/or for specific target audiences; however, media outlets must meet the following criteria. Eligibility Criteria 1. Professional and credible; 2. Effectively reach target audiences; 3. Return on investment; and, 4. Content does not: Incite racial hatred; Incite discrimination of any kind; and, Incite the subversion of Canada s democratic system of government. 6.0 Advertising Mix To ensure cost effective placement of advertising while providing relevant information to target audiences, appropriate advertising mediums will be evaluated in any placement decision. Examples of various elements to be considered in an advertising mix include: a) Newspapers; b) Consumer and Business Magazines; c) Radio; d) Television; e) Digital/Online; and, f) Out of Home and Transit. 5

7 To ensure that City information is made available to all its residents and, in recognition that the ethnic diversity of our community is a source of social, cultural and economic enrichment and strength, City advertising may be considered for placement in ethnospecific community publications that publish in languages other than English. 6.1 Community Newspaper City Page Given the majority of the City s advertising is community-based, a dedicated City Page will be coordinated in local newspaper(s) as approved by Council. The local newspaper(s) must meet the criteria and provide mandatory documents as outlined in the Newspaper, Consumer and Business Publication Vendor Information Form. The City Page will be identified by a City information header/footer which will include the City s logo, Service Oshawa contact information and accessibility statement. Depending on advertising needs, the size of the City Page may vary based on the number of advertisements placed by the City. Final advertising costs are determined based on the size of the City Page, budget and quantity of advertising placed by the City. The City only pays for advertising space used, not the entire page. All statutory advertisements intended for general circulation to the residents of Oshawa shall be published on the City Page with the exception of those that are time sensitive and require immediate publication. 7.0 Statutory or Legal Advertising Requirements 7.1 Public Notice By-law Acceptable notification methods, as determined by Council, shall be included in a City Public Notice By-law It shall be the responsibility of the City Clerk to administer this By-law. 7.2 Placement of Statutory Advertisements All departments with a requirement for publishing a statutory advertisement on the City Page are responsible for forwarding advertisement materials to Corporate Communications within the publishing deadlines and in compliance with the City s Notice By-law City departments shall be responsible for administering other notification requirements under various provincial statutes, including the Municipal Class Environment Assessments, Municipal Elections Act, Municipal Act 2001 and Planning Act. 6

8 8.0 Monitoring and Measurement A record of all published information shall be maintained by the department including project initiative, date(s) published, advertising media used and cost. Where possible, the evaluation and measurement of the effectiveness of advertising will be completed using a combination of informal and formal feedback, online monitoring, event/program attendance and/or registration numbers. 7