Executive Summary: Marijwhatnow?: A Public Sector Campaign Analysis

Executive Summary: Marijwhatnow? Was a public sector campaign delivered in 2012 by the Seattle Police Department following the passing of Initiative 502 in Seattle, which legalised adult possession and recreational use of marijuana. The Seattle authorities’ goal from this campaign was to inform the public of the changes in the State law regarding marijuana and also to promote safe use of the drug. The campaign was light-hearted and humorous and was made up of several elements including a blog with an FAQ section about the new law, sending representatives to marijuana focused events, creating awareness about their blog by handing out packets of Doritos at events (Known as Operation Orange Fingers) and, very importantly a strong presence in social
The SPD thought that a funny blog post and FAQ section on their website would appeal to those who were most affected by the new law as they would read it, not only for education but also for entertainment. Another useful platform which The SPD used in their campaign was a clever use of social media. The police department hired a journalist to write their blog and to run their twitter account to answer questions that the public might have regarding the passing of initiative 502. The idea of using social media was extremely beneficial because the younger public, which they were mainly trying to address are heavy users of social media and The SPD were aware that this tactic would gain them a lot of credibility within the demographic, it would create awareness about the rest of their campaign and also give their audience an easy way to ask the questions that they
Campaign proved to be an enormous success, which gathered raving reviews from reporters and Twitter users alike. The news research director for Albany Times Union, Sarah Hinman Ryan, claimed it to be “the funniest police department press release/FAQ I’ve ever seen in my life.” (Prdaily.com, 2012). The campaign also received praise from publications such as The New York Times and Rolling Stone, who described it as a “hilarious FAQ” which “underscores the official shift in tactics” (Dickinson, 2012). The campaign was also awarded ‘Best Public Sector Campaign Of The Year’ in 2014 by PRWeek. Not only did the press and public highly commend the campaign, it also has impressive statistics to add to it’s success and credibility. Prweekus.com wrote that “as of press time, the blog post received 476,000 page views, and the reach on Twitter of #OperationOrangeFingers was about 59 million” (2014). Overall the campaign was a huge success which yielded impressive reviews and results with regards to it’s innovative approach to a difficult subject and to the amount of people it reached and it has inevitably changed the way Police Departments deal with public relations and informative press releases. However successful was in terms of publicity and popularity there are no concrete and accessible statistics or reports on the level of marijuana related crime or illness in Washington compared to other states who did not create this