The Central Office of Information is looking for an agency to
create a pounds 4.5 million campaign designed to raise awareness of the
2001 census.
The through-the-line campaign, which will break early in 2001, will aim
to encourage the general public to spend time filling in the necessary
forms and to return them on time. The COI has approached a number of
agencies and pitches are expected to take place during the next four
weeks.
The census, which takes place on 29 April 2001, will include new and
revised questions on employment, health, religion and ethnic origin. For
the first time it will recognise ’Irish’ as a sub-division of ’White’.
It will also include other ethnic groups previously absent from the
listings, such as ’Mixed’, ’Asian or Asian British’ and ’Black or Black
British’.
DMB&B handled the advertising for the last census in 1991. The agency
devised a heavyweight integrated campaign that ran for three weeks prior
to the census.
