Cost of Advertising

I would like to know how much the recent billboard advertising/marketing campaign cost the force (taxpayer). I would like to know the full cost including design, supply and fit as well as the adverising costs for the full county for the full duration of the campaign.

You kindly previously supplied me with details of the cost of bottled water to the force (taxpayer) in financial year 2008/09. Can you please give me the most recent figures i.e. 2009/10.

In accordance with section 1(1) (b) of the Act our response is provided below;

Part 1

Here is a breakdown of the total costs for the advertising campaign Carried out across Cheshire, Halton and Warrington in March 2010.

With regards to the design costs, all of the adverts were designed in house by an existing member of staff at no additional cost.

The advertising ran across 31 sites, some of the sites ran for 2 weeks and others ran for 4 weeks.

The purpose of the campaign was to direct residents to the Constabulary website where they could get access to a whole range of different information. This was in direct response to feedback we had from members of public. This communication channel formed part of the campaign to address concerns raised by members of the public about access to information.

Consultation with Cheshire residents suggested that three quarters of the people consulted wanted to know who their local officers were. The most cost effective way to identify community officers is via the Constabulary's website. The website provides names and details of which officers are responsible for which area, it gives an overview of crime in the area and details of operations and initiatives we are involved in to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in their local area.

In addition more than a half of the people we asked told us they did not know how to get in contact with us if they needed to and our website has clear instructions on which numbers to call, including using the 999 system the non-emergency number or contacting their local neighbourhood policing team.

Part 2

The force spent £40049.16 on bottled water in the financial year 09/10 (£20,000 less than in 08/09)