Checkout Cymraeg campaign (Welsh Assembly Government)
The campaign was aimed at encouraging the non-Welsh speaking public to consider using some Welsh as part of their every-day lives and ultimately consider enrolling for a Welsh-language course.
WWPR devised a campaign targeting this audience through their local supermarkets and encouraging them to speak some Welsh when paying at the checkout. The team persuaded ASDA, Tesco and The Co-operative to host ‘Checkout Cymraeg' promotions in their stores and liaised with the six regional Welsh for Adults Centres to identify appropriate localities for these events. A total of 18 events were held in March 2008.
WWPR worked with the Welsh Assembly Government to produce relevant marketing material including, environmentally-friendly cotton shopping bags, supermarket trolley key-rings, stickers and most importantly prompt cards containing Welsh phrases for shoppers to use. All store managers and participating checkout assistants were fully briefed.
Large speech bubbles with the words Checkout Cymraeg were circulated to all the participating stores for creative photography and media interviews were arranged at the various stores for supermarket staff, shoppers and Government ministers both on site or in studios. Some non-Welsh speaking journalists were persuaded to take part in the exercise and report on their experience.
The result was extensive broadcast, print and on-line media coverage throughout the week in many different areas of Wales, which in turn results in the Welsh for adults centres gathering details on a substantial number of people who were interested in enrolling on Welsh courses.
Welsh Assembly Government senior communications officer, Elen King commented:
"The Checkout Cymraeg campaign was a highly successful and innovative way of targeting our key audiences. It gained the attention of a host of print and broadcast media and generated a high number of direct leads for those interested in learning Welsh."
Ceryl Davies, News Editor at Radio Ceredigion said:
"The Checkout Cymraeg campaign was a really innovative idea. Working Word PR supplied our news team with comprehensive information about the campaign in our local area. I was very impressed with the efficient way in which they operated and the fact that they supplied us with both a bilingual and knowledgeable interviewee for my radio show."
The campaign secured a Gold award in the CIPR Cymru Wales PRide Awards 2008.
