Making Ends Meet: Know your audience(s)

Who are you talking to? Do they have any specific needs which should drive either the format or content? What may seem like the obvious solution (for example, a poster with an accompanying leaflet) may not always be the most appropriate. Remember, national campaigns must meet the diverse needs of many audiences, which can mean communicating the same information in various formats.
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CASE STUDY — The Information Age campaign for Comhairle (now Citizens Information Board) in 2007

Brief & requirements
To create an awareness campaign aimed at helping to meet the information needs of Ireland’s older population. The cornerstone of the campaign was a booklet to be sent to all state pensioners in the country over the age of 65. (That’s 400,000 people. Imagine getting that wrong!)

Our solution
To communicate with this audience, we designed the suite of posters, factsheets and booklets in clear print, audio and large print formats. The photography used in the campaign was researched with groups of older people to make sure it was appropriate for them and felt representative of them. This research was very revealing in that it highlighted a gulf between how older people are often depicted and how they want to be depicted! The pocket-sized booklet included a ‘My Information’ sheet that allowed people to note important personal information