The Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW) is expanding its highly successful “What’s in a name?” public awareness campaign in 2021 to include advertising on CP24.
The “What’s in a name?” campaign promotes awareness of the OCSWSSW and the Online Register of social workers and social service workers in Ontario. It also reinforces the OCSWSSW’s ongoing mandate to protect the public interest through the campaign’s full tagline, “What’s in a name? Protection for you.”
“We are very excited to build upon the success of our public awareness campaign,” said OCSWSSW Registrar and CEO Lise Betteridge, MSW, RSW. “Advertising on CP24 will help us reach millions of Ontarians, highlighting the OCSWSSW’s public protection mandate, the Online Register, and the accountability and protection associated with receiving care from registered social workers and registered social service workers.”
The CP24 media portion of the “What’s in a name?” campaign will run for four weeks starting in January, with the potential to continue later in the fall, and appears in 10-second segments in the station’s Weather TV ad box. In addition to CP24, the OCSWSSW will continue to advertise in medical offices across Ontario, on social media and Google.
What will the 2021 campaign look like?
Now entering its third year, the “What’s in a name?” campaign builds upon its eye-catching creative. The 2021 ads will include a mix of messaging and video across mediums that showcase the OCSWSSW’s public protection mandate and highlight the importance of checking the Online Register.
Here’s how the ads will appear on CP24:
Enhancing equity in Ontario
The “What’s in a name?” campaign aligns with the OCSWSSW’s strategic priorities as outlined in its 2020-2023 Strategic Plan, particularly in relation to strengthening stakeholder engagement and increasing diversity, equity and inclusion.
The OCSWSSW takes the position that all Ontarians – especially those most impacted by systemic oppression, including Black, Indigenous and people of colour communities – deserve the protection provided by OCSWSSW oversight and by working with registered social workers and registered social service workers. The OCSWSSW’s message is resonating with the public as a result of the campaign, letting Ontarians know that they are protected.
Ontarians are getting the message
The campaign launched in 2019 and saw a four-percentage point increase in public awareness of the OCSWSSW in its first year alone – the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of Ontarians. From 2018 to 2020, website traffic to the OCSWSSW’s Online Register increased by a dramatic 94%. The campaign’s digital and clinical office ads have been viewed millions of times.
“Ontarians are getting the message,” said Betteridge. “Prior to the campaign, many members of the public were not aware that the titles ‘social worker,’ ‘registered social worker,’ ‘social service worker,’ and ‘registered social service worker’ are protected titles in Ontario. Now, more people are checking the Online Register to confirm that the practitioner that they are working with — someone that they understand to be a social worker or social service worker — is in fact a registered member of the OCSWSSW.”
Check the Online Register
As mandated by the Social Work and Social Service Work Act, the OCSWSSW maintains a Register which can be accessed on the OCSWSSW’s website. The Register lists all registered social workers and registered social service workers in Ontario and includes information regarding a member’s registration status, discipline history (if any) and their employer contact information.
For more information about the OCSWSSW and its “What’s in a name?” public awareness campaign, please contact Sarah Choudhury, Director of Communications, at schoudhury@ocswssw.org.
About the OCSWSSW
The Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers is the regulatory body for social workers and social service workers in Ontario. Its primary mandate is to protect the public from unqualified, incompetent and unfit practitioners.
Media Contact
Sarah Choudhury
Director, Communications
schoudhury@ocswssw.org
416-728-4324