Suasion Brings Wake-Up Call to Harrisburg

Recently, downtown Harrisburg experienced an educational wake-up call concerning people with disabilities.  Derived from the extensive planning of an innovative team, Suasion organized a public awareness campaign for the Center for Independent Living of Central PA (CILCP) to educate people on what life is like for people with disabilities.  After months of preparation, an inspirational campaign was launched.

The campaign was a result of unique and out-of-the-box thinking. The goal of the campaign was to create a shock-factor due to the secrecy of the launch.  Without warning, the people of Harrisburg went to work on the morning of October 20th expecting the usual, only to be stopped in their tracks by posters, postcards, table tents, and Braille cards fluttering the high-traffic areas of 2nd street.  Posters were displayed in business windows; table tents stationed on bank coffee tables; Braille cards rested on restaurant tables; and postcards stacked on information desks – just a few of the locations where campaign materials appeared.

The unique design of these materials demonstrated Suasion’s out-of-the-box thinking.  A series of distinctively crafted pieces were formed around three specific disabilities. On each piece, a question was asked, but composed in a way that it could be modified for any location. The questions included: How would you ________ if you used a wheelchair? How would you ________ if you were blind? How would you _________ if you were deaf?

As Suasion posted the materials around the city, the team filled in the blank, based on the location of the poster, post card or table tent. Questions such as, “How would you fill out a deposit slip if you were blind?” and “How would you get to the second floor if you used a wheelchair?” are only two of the many strategically designed pieces that grabbed an onlooker’s attention.

The team at Suasion developed all aspects of the campaign - from the idea of launching an educational campaign to composing the news release that attracted media attention. In addition, Suasion’s team made countless phone calls to the businesses, restaurants, and organizations that displayed the materials in the city.

To increase the impact of the campaign, Suasion obtained media exposure by developing effective news releases and coordinating interviews with television news reporters. Both NBC affiliate, WGAL8, and CBS affiliate, WHPTV-21 conducted interviews with CILCP’s Executive Director and highlighted the unique campaign.

The campaign proved to be a great success. It not only created a lot of exposure for the Center for Independent Living of Central PA, but it also caused people to take a step back and look at life from a different perspective.