24944: Hermantin (News)Get the message? Ad speaks in Creole (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

Reposting another post that didn't go out.

I don't seem to have posts 24938-28943.  Don't know where they went!



From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

SOUTH FLORIDA

Get the message? Ad speaks in Creole
Agencies hope billboard spreads the word about proper infant care.





By Toni Marshall
StaffWriter

May 1, 2005

Pa jamé jamé sekwe yon ti bébé.

"Never ever shake your baby," reads the giant billboard in Creole on
Northwest 31st Avenue just south of Sunrise Boulevard.

The Department of Children & Families teamed up with the Florida Outdoor
Advertising Association to get the message out to South Florida's diverse
population.

"When I saw it, I was shocked," said Danie Magloire, a Haitian-American who
lives in Pembroke Pines.

"It's amazing, the size. I went back to my office and everyone was talking
about it," added Magloire, an HIV prevention educator and outreach counselor
for pregnant women at Minority Development and Empowerment Inc. in Fort
Lauderdale.

"The person who put it there was really thinking about the Haitian
community. They are starting to realize the power of the Haitian community,"
Magliore said.

The billboards are not implying that shaken baby syndrome is any worse in
the Haitian community, said DCF spokesman Tim Bottcher.

"Basically, we are trying to reach all segments of the population. There are
three languages spoken in Florida," Bottcher said.

The billboards warning the public about the dangers of shaking infants also
can be found in Spanish and English throughout Florida.

Although more than 300,000 Haitians live in South Florida, there are few
billboards sponsored by major advertisers, nonprofit organizations and
advocacy groups that reach out to Haitian Creole speakers in their own
language.

"Besides Children and Family Services, I have never seen any organization,
group or government agency going after them in that way," said Derwent
Donaldson from CMG Partners, an advertising and marketing firm in Tamarac.
"This is a public display that shows the Haitian community is growing. If
anyone in marketing today is looking at Haitian numbers, they'll see that
they are solid," he said.

DCF spokeswoman Leslie Mann stressed the importance of her agency's ad
campaign and how it is ratcheting up efforts to reach all groups.

"To the best of my knowledge this is new territory in Broward County and
possibly statewide where we are targeting specific populations with
information they can understand," she said.

"Even if you don't, you know what the words mean exactly when you look at
it, you still get the message," she said.

Over the past 18 months, Amy Bogner, communications director for the Florida
Outdoor Advertising Association, has seen three major campaigns incorporate
Haitian Creole.

"That's a pretty good number. "I think it's starting to become more
prevalent. With such a diverse population in Florida, you almost have to get
that statewide coverage and to reach people you need for that message," she
said.

"You have to be very careful with the translation," she said. "Haitian
Creole has been the hardest to find someone to translate and get the tagline
right."

This particular campaign rolled out in March and will continue through June.
There are 45 signs statewide, 20 English, 19 Spanish and six in Haitian
Creole. There are three shaken baby billboards in Haitian Creole in Miami
Dade County, one in Broward, one in Jacksonville and another in Melbourne in
Brevard County.

Toni Marshall can be

reached at tmarshall@sun-sentinel.com or 954-572-2004.


Copyright © 2005, South Florida Sun-Sentinel