Curiously close to a recent outdoor advertising debacle in Queensland, the Outdoor Media Association (OMA) and the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) have launched a $1.6 million national public education advertising campaign entitled Tell Someone Who Cares.

The two-month campaign promoting the ASB's complaints process will run on roadside and railway billboards, bus and tram shelters, bus interiors, taxis and on digital screens in shopping centres and airports.

ASB chief executive officer Fiona Jolly said the organisation wants the community to know that they can tell someone who cares.
"Our research shows that almost 70 per cent of the community know how to go about making a complaint," she said. "We know that this outdoor campaign will boost that figure."

This will be the first year the OMA and its members have provided pro-bono OOH advertising space to the ASB. The OMA's chief executive officer Charmaine Moldrich said they were excited about the partnership and the opportunity to use the power of the medium to raise awareness.

"We expect this campaign may lead to more complaints but we welcome community feedback because it shows the system of self-regulation is working," she said.
"Our main concern is in the number of complaints that are actually upheld by the ASB. In 2010 our industry posted 30,000 ads and we had seven complaints upheld by the ASB, a 99.98% success rate. Nevertheless we are committed to continuous self improvement."

The OMA is also working with the ASB and the Australian Association of National Advertisers on another industry initiative, an annual training program for OMA members about codes of practice.

"This education program is a way of informing our membership about issues regarding outdoor advertising. We have run two very successful workshops in Sydney and Melbourne this month and will be rolling out in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide next month."

"The OOH industry is taking into account recent views presented to House of Representative and Senate Inquiries into self-regulation and is always mindful that we need to reflect broad community views and standards," she said.