Independent News & Media withdraws token scheme
February 1, 2010 by Joe Fogarty · Leave a Comment
By Colin Coyle
Sunday Times 31st January 2010
Independent News & Media has suspended a commercial promotion for primary schools after objections from the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO).
Building for the Future, a promotion that originally required pupils to collect tokens to enter a competition, will now be altered so that schools do not have to buy newspapers to take part, the media group said.
Read the story in the Sunday Times website.
Victory for Schools as Independent Scraps Voucher Scheme
January 26, 2010 by Joe Fogarty · Leave a Comment
Irish primary schools celebrated a victory this week as Independent Newspapers abandoned their “Building for the Future” scheme just weeks after its high-profile launch. It is the first time a major in-school marketing promotion has been scrapped and is an embarrassing climb down for Independent and their co-sponsors Bank of Ireland
56 Primary Principals speak out against Independent Newspapers’ scheme.
January 21, 2010 by Joe Fogarty · Leave a Comment
“We the undersigned 50 Primary school principals condemn and refuse to partake in the Irish Independent’s “Building for the Future” scheme being launched this week.
We abhor the quota of 20 tokens per pupil from Independent Newspapers required of all schools wishing to submit a project for this sponsored competition.
The CCFE reviews “Building for the Future”.
January 13, 2010 by Joe Fogarty · Leave a Comment
We thought we’d seen the last of Independent Newspapers’ “Building for the Future”. Surely no company would persevere with a promotion that barred children who failed to reach their token quota? But after a 3 year hiatus this contemptible scheme is back - supported by Independent Newspapers and Bank of Ireland. The Campaign for Commercial-Free Education reviewed this marketing scheme and gave it’s verdict.
Primary Times - Who Needs a Distributor??
September 27, 2009 by Joe Fogarty · Leave a Comment
It’s that time of year when hundreds of schools will receive an unsolicited bundle of Primary Times magazines, full with advertisements aimed at children and their parents. Unlike ordinary publications, Primary Times does not have a distributor or retail outlet through which to deliver its advertising - it uses the school secretary and teachers to hand out the magazine, for free, and place it into childrens’ school bags.
The role of a school secretary is not to distribute commercial magazines aimed at children and parents. We recommend that schools refuse to accept unsolicited deliveries of Primary Times, refuse to incur the cost of recycling them and demand that they be returned to sender.
Primary Times is of negligible educational relevance and heavily orientated towards commercial advertising. It does not belong in schools and should be exposed as exploiting schools to deliver cynically packages advertising to children in class.
An Post go Nuts for Sales to Schoolchildren.
September 8, 2009 by Joe Fogarty · Leave a Comment
The first week of the new school year and another letter from a Marketing Manager - this time from An Post asking teachers to promote their Cyril the Squirrel savings scheme which they assure us is easy to set up and maintain.
While secondary schools may have to contend with AIB looking to “build” branches in their schools, Irish primary schools are not immune to financial orientated marketing schemes. An Post - the State owned post office - appear determined to reach children from 5 - 12 in school and to avail of teachers as salespeople for their initative. Read more
