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CHAPTER THREE CONCLUSIONS
3.1 The reach of the current domestic abuse campaign was particularly high. The TV adverts were most effective in this respect, particularly Dolls House. This reflects the relatively high spend on TV and lower spend on radio compared to previous campaigns and also the fact that Dolls House would undoubtedly be familiar to some from exposure in previous years. At the same time, however, this latter situation may have contributed to the lower level of salience of domestic abuse advertising generally, in the lower number spontaneously recalling having seen this. Familiarity perhaps reduces stand-out and retention.
3.2 This may also have had some communication effect, since more people relayed back the message that children pick up on things rather than that domestic abuse is unacceptable. This take-out of the message may further explain why, when asked if they had seen publicity on the subject of domestic abuse, some who said they had not were later able to recall the advert when prompted. The storyline perhaps overshadowed the underlying message in terms of recall for some.
3.3 This raises a question-mark over replaying previous advertising which has had reasonable exposure in this campaign. Using existing, familiar ads does not appear to have the same impact as a fresh new campaign and, if the executions become commonplace and routine, there is a danger that the message may become routine too.
3.4 However, attitudes towards domestic abuse remain firmly held and it is likely that the campaign has played a role in sustaining these.
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