A new recruitment campaign for a crisis help-line has highlighted the power of radio for reaching the audience.
Newstalk is one of 34 stations that took part in the latest ‘Choose Radio’ campaign.
The campaign aimed to recruit volunteers for the Crisis Text Line – Ireland’s first free 24-hour text service for anyone in crisis anytime, anywhere.
Two ads, running across the Newstalk schedule and on Choose Radio stations around the country, were the only tool used to recruit volunteers.
The campaign saw a 475% increase in traffic to the Crisis Text Line website.
Over 250 people undertook the 30 minute application process – with the campaign exceeding its recruitment target by 126%.
Results from the Choose Radio Crisis Text Line Campaign. Image: Choose RadioChoose Radio chairperson Gabrielle Cummins said the results of the campaign highlights three crucial points.
“Number one, call to action radio advertising is still king,” she said.
“Number two, investing in creative is key.
“And number three, Choose Radio has proven that once again, radio can create success stories for our clients.”
We're proud to have worked with new charity @CTL_Ireland on its recruitment drive.
The effective radio campaign devised by @HavasMediaIRL ensured CTL exceeded its initial volunteer recruitment targets.@IBIreland @RTEMediasales #ChooseRadio pic.twitter.com/67PO3eOj9n— RadiocentreIreland (@RadiocentreIE) October 23, 2019
She said the group is “particularly proud” of this latest campaign and is delighted it “worked so well for this brand new charity.”
“It's just so amazing that this charity is going to be able to help thousands of people right across Ireland and we're delighted to be able to help them embark on this important journey.”
The new HSE-sponsored text line will connect people in need with a volunteer who has been trained to “listen, reassure and guide people from a hot moment to a cool calm.”
All conversations are anonymous unless the texter chooses otherwise and the platform uses artificial intelligence to scan the messages for keywords to identify those most at risk.
