BPSOS

A Unique Strategic Partner for 

National Outreach to the Vietnamese-American Community

For the past 10 years, community outreach has been one of the key areas of investment for BPSOS.

With millions of dollars invested and applying state-of-the-art social marketing strategies, BPSOS’ media and outreach capacity is unsurpassed. No single organization disseminates information to the Vietnamese-American community via so many channels: both online and in print, both by radio and by television, through both direct mail and face-to-face contact.  

BPSOS makes an ideal strategic partner because its national media network, including its own outlets and partners, reaches approximately 1/3rd of all Vietnamese households, including those in small, isolated enclaves - 1/4 of the total Vietnamese population live in such enclaves. In areas such as the Gulf Coast, BPSOS also serves Cambodians and Laotians. 

BPSOS is available to serve as a consultant for outreach strategies, or as a subcontractor to conduct outreach activities. BPSOS has the capacity to vastly increase the reach of its media if needed, such as in emergencies.

As important as BPSOS’ range of media is the variety of subpopulations it reaches. This is critically important, given a 2001-2002 BPSOS survey of 1,500 Vietnamese taxpayers that found that 41 percent of the participants had not participated in Census 2000.

Several obstacles are typically encountered by organizations trying to reach Vietnamese and Vietnamese subgroups in the United States. Over time, BPSOS has developed ways to overcome them:

• For example, there is a high illiteracy rate among many subgroups of Vietnamese. BPSOS has a two-fold solution to reaching these subgroups. BPSOS’ multi-component media, including radio and television, addresses this barrier. BPSOS also uses intermediaries recruited from those subgroups to spread messages and information.
• Another example is the entrenched mistrust among most Vietnamese refugees for the government, and especially for the census. In Vietnam, the government used the census to identify “bad” elements to target for persecution and confiscation of property. A cold knock on the door in Vietnam often meant trouble or disappearance. To address this mistrust, first, BPSOS gets the word out through neighborhood visits, community events, workshops, accessibility to walk-in clients via local branches, and phone calls. Second, BPSOS uses trusted intermediaries (spiritual leaders, community advocates, etc.) as messengers to disseminate information face-to-face or over the phone. 
• Another obstacle for traditional media strategies is the fact that there are several minority subpopulations whose members do not speak Vietnamese, such as the Montagnards, the Khmer Krom, the Cham, etc. However, long-standing inter-community relationships, cultural familiarities, and frequent geographic proximity position BPSOS to reach those subgroups as part of wider outreach efforts employing face-to-face communication and the use of appropriate messengers.

The sheer degree to which the Vietnamese population is dispersed poses another obstacle. Nearly a quarter of all Vietnamese in the US live in small pockets of 5,000 or fewer, according to Census 2000. In most of these areas, there are no mass media outlets in Vietnamese. BPSOS branches have in many cases filled that niche with print publications such as its Mach Song (Life Stream) monthly newspaper. Mach Song, being rooted in these communities, frequently features coverage and photos of the residents.  

Online

BPSOS’ bilingual online presence (four blogs and three websites) is also accessible to residents of these isolated communities. Lastly, its relationships with local leaders allow BPSOS to disseminate messages even where no mass media exists, through institutions such as churches and community centers. BPSOS even maintains a large database of email and street addresses to ensure that no Vietnamese fall through the cracks during a wide campaign.

Print, Radio and Television

Beyond these innovative approaches to disseminating information in the Vietnamese-American community, BPSOS also employs mass media outreach tools that give it broad reach. Through Vietnamese-language television programs, BPSOS reaches 150,000 households nationwide. Radio programming reaches some 200,000 households across the nation. The aforementioned Mach Song puts printed information at the disposal of 5,000 well-connected and influential intermediaries each month, with the capacity to reach 100,000 households when necessary. Online, its websites and blogs receive a total of 10,000 hits per day.

Direct Mailing & Community Outreach Events

Added to that is BPSOS’ direct mailing database of 10,000 households, as well as small media (fliers, posters) that reach 100,000 households through walk-in clients at its branch offices, as well as neighborhood visits, home visits, community events, and workshops.

Small Media

BPSOS also makes use of newsletters as part of the small mass media. The BPSOS strategy is to get messages printed in the numerous newsletters of small associations (seniors, women, torture survivors, etc.) and churches and temples. These newsletters thoroughly penetrate hard-to-reach populations, including Vietnamese living in small communities.

Network of Influential Messengers

BPSOS' outreach channels reflect the unique issues involved in reaching the Vietnamese population and its subpopulations and subgroups. Reaching beyond the printed page and the airwaves, BPSOS disseminates information through direct mail, face-to-face contact, and the use of messengers who are already deeply rooted in the community.  

It is worth noting that there is significant overlap in coverage areas, but that is necessary, as BPSOS’ media strategy (part of knowledge-attitudes-behavior social marketing, or KAB) calls for multi-component interventions to address the high illiteracy rate and reach the different subgroups and subpopulations. BPSOS tailors its media and outreach channels based on local characteristics.

With print, online, television, and radio programs arrayed to get the word out to the Vietnamese population, BPSOS stands alone as a strategic partner for nationwide campaigns. 

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