A relatively recent publicity campaign that caught the attention of a big population of people on a global scale was the “tweeting Potholes” (Matchar, 2015). This campaign was aimed at drawing the attention of the Ministry of Works in Panama to work on the potholes along the roads and streets. The poor street conditions were becoming a bother to the citizens of Panama and the Ministry was reluctant to take any action. As a result, a team of Telementro Reporta news show, P4 Ogilvy, and Mather advertising agency came together and prepared some motion sensors that were fit into some of the worst potholes in the streets. These sensors generate signals when they are ran over by vehicles and these signals were further generated into tweets that could then be sent to the Ministry of works in Panama. The social media tweets were the main medium of transferring information and the messages varied in content as well as emotional capacity. However, all the messages demonstrated the poor street condition and demanded for immediate action.
As time went by, the tweets became considerably many and significantly noticeable to the Ministry to an extent that it started off the repairing program. Occasionally, the motion sensors were removed from the repaired potholes and destroyed in pursuit to halt the campaign. However, these tactics did not work effectively to stop the campaign since the general public had actually joined the campaign. The reinforced the censorship by equally airing their views on twitter and television ones the issue became a major concern. In light of these results achieved in the campaign, it was evident that the use of social media as a technique of conveying message in the public realms is one of the most effective in the contemporary world. Indeed, its effectiveness is reflected in this case since the campaign eventually led to tremendous improvement on the urban infrastructure in Panama. It was so effective that it inspired change in other regions. A good example is that of Mexico where lights were fixed in a park following a tweet by a single housewife (Newman, 2015). As a result of analyzing this campaign, I have learned that a publicity campaign should be simple, well organized, and important to the people for which it is intended to help. In addition to this, the campaign initiator must be prepared to meet obstacles instigated by possible opponents with a view to persevere until change is realized.
References
Matchar, E. (2015). The tweeting Pothole of Panama. Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved from
www.smithsonianmag.com//tweeting-potholes-Panama-18 on 16th April 2016
Newman, H. (2015). Potholes in Panama City Tweet at the Local Government Until They Get
Fixed. Future Tense: The Citizen’s Guide to the Future. Arizona State University
