Beyond urging taxi drivers to report crimes: How can ICTU better amplify its campaign message?

Hong Kong’s Inter-departmental Counter Terrorism Unit (ICTU)’s recent publicity campaign “The Hong Kong Taxi Drivers Spot and Report”, which encourages 46,000 active taxi drivers in the city to report terrorist passengers or activities, has raised heated discussions among the public and the marketing industry as to whether the initiative can convey the right message and enhance the city’s image as one of the world’s safest cities.

In fact, the campaign has seen over 700 social mentions across social platforms particularly on LIHKG and YouTube from 1 August, according to media intelligence firm CARMA. While 17% of mentions were positive, CARMA's analysis showed that 28% of the total mentions were negative.

Some netizens questioned the rationale behind the ICTU's decision to launch this campaign solely among taxi drivers, rather than other forms of transportation such as buses or mini vans, said Charles Cheung, CARMA’s HK GM. The lack of clarity and transparency around this decision has caused confusion and frustration among some netizens.

In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, a Police Public Relations Branch (PPRB) spokesperson said to foster a “whole-of-community” approach in counter terrorism (CT), the ICTU has launched the “Spot and Report” campaign since May 2021, stressing on the importance of public’s role in the prevention of terrorist activities. 
 
The spokesperson added that ICTU has continued to step up its CT public education effort to reach out to the public and at the same time, tailoring specific publicity materials to target different sectors for promoting the campaign, including the security and venue management sector, education sector, amongst others. 

To continue expanding the target reach, ICTU has recently launched the territory-wide publicity drive for the Hong Kong Taxi Drivers “Spot and Report” Campaign on 1 August which features activities such as making appeals via radio broadcasts, displaying posters and banners at liquefied petroleum gas stations and entrances to tunnels, with a view to building a safe community in collaboration with the public.  

The "Spot and Report" campaign is an ongoing publicity effort, and we reiterate that every member of the public shall share the responsibility to report any suspicious activities around them which at the end of the day would benefit oneself and the community as a whole.

Amplifying the right message with the right tone 

True enough, there is absolutely nothing wrong in encouraging good citizens to report suspicious behaviour or criminal incidents. However, Chris Kyme, co-founder and creative director of Kymechow, said the campaign needs to clarify what taxi drivers should be looking out for, as Hong Kong is relatively low on crime.

Agreeing with Kyme was Tony Hon, executive creative director, Turn Creative, who said the possible side effect and the underline impression of the campaign is worrying as it implies that terrorist activities are active and Hong Kong is not as safe as before. He added:

While we are promoting Hong Kong as the most vibrant and interesting tourist spot, the campaign may weaken the attractiveness of Hong Kong to overseas tourists.

Apart from the campaign message, slightly tweaking the tone to a positive one is another considerable factor. An example for this is Tokyo’s Smart Driver campaign which was launched in 2007. It featured police officers in pink sweaters driving a colourful patrol car to praise and promote good drivers, advocating the message of "Praising good driving rather than reproaching bad driving."

A local adland creative, who wished to stay anonymous, said the ICTU's campaign can indeed use a more positive tone, “Instead of ‘reporting potential terrorists’, we can say ‘if you see anything you want to praise or give credit or you think is suspicious, you can use this hotline.”The creative also said that the campaign should consider to cover more variety of jobs including restaurant waiters and retail staff. 

Having a slightly different view was Desmond So, CEO of Uth Creative, who said by leveraging the taxi driver network, the campaign can tap into a valuable resource that has the potential to enhance public safety, he said. “This will not only benefit the residents of Hong Kong, but also help to promote a sense of responsibility and community among taxi drivers, who can take pride in their role as guardians of public safety,” he added.

He added:

As taxi drivers are a ubiquitous presence on the streets of Hong Kong[...]They have the potential to serve as an important source of information, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings and reporting any suspicious activity to the relevant authorities.

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ICTU's citywide campaign urges taxi drivers to report terrorist passengers

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