Little captains at play

• Main Authors: Yeoh, Claire Su-En, Lau, Kwee Fang, Soh, Madeline Huiting, Tan, Xiang Wei
• Other Authors: Yeoh Kok Cheow
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Communication
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/59664
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This paper presents Little Captains at Play, a public communications campaign and national play movement by four final-year undergraduates from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information. Playtime has been continually declining over the past decade, with an increasing overemphasis on structured programmes over unstructured play. In light of this trend, Little Captains at Play was hence conceptualised to reinstate the balance of structured and unstructured play among preschoolers in Singapore. Targeted at parents with children aged three to six years old, the campaign aims to address the need for holistic development by utilising parents’ stories to encourage self-reflection and discussion. Supported by expert opinions and a range of online and offline engagement strategies, the campaign employed a three-pronged approach to educate, inspire and empower parents to provide their children with more opportunities for unstructured play. This paper contains primary and secondary research detailing society’s attitudes and perceptions towards children’s play, and explains the framework used to build up the campaign’s communication strategies. The campaign execution is outlined and its effectiveness evaluated through qualitative and quantitative methods including pre- and post-campaign surveys, analysis of media reports, and assessment of the audience engagement strategies. Finally, the paper addresses limitations to the campaign and presents recommendations for future initiatives.