Weber Shandwick Wins Nevada Contract for the 2010 Census Campaign
12 January 2010 - 1:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
NEW YORK, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Weber Shandwick has been awarded
an $866,000 contract by the Nevada Secretary of State's Office to
implement a public outreach program designed to ensure a complete
and accurate 2010 Census count in the Silver State. Weber
Shandwick, a leading global public relations agency, has secured
numerous high-profile federal and state government contracts,
including the U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 Census communications
campaign. Since 2007, a large team in six of Weber Shandwick's U.S.
offices has worked on the partnerships, public relations and
digital aspects of reaching every resident in the country, an
audience of approximately 310 million people with 2010 Census
messages about filling out and mailing back the form. The
Minneapolis office of Weber Shandwick, which directs the firm's
work on the national Census effort, has assigned a separate team to
lead the Nevada campaign. The Nevada program includes advertising
support from Sawyer Miller Advertising and Hispanic and African
American outreach by Weber Shandwick's multi-cultural firm, the
Axis Agency. Weber Shandwick has subcontracted with The Ferraro
Group of Reno and Las Vegas to assist in executing the plan. Weber
Shandwick's contract runs through the end of April. Barb Iverson,
president of Weber Shandwick's Financial Services practice group,
said of the win: "We are thrilled to have been awarded this
contract with Nevada because we fully understand the importance of
a complete count. While every state in the union has unique
challenges with the decennial census, there are few states that
face what Nevada faces: a population boom of more than 600,000
residents since the last census, plus one of the highest rates of
unemployment, foreclosures and homelessness in the country. In our
first planning meeting with Secretary of State Ross Miller and his
staff in Las Vegas recently, the secretary indicated that Weber
Shandwick's knowledge and vast experience reaching hard-to-reach
audiences will bring added value to Nevada's efforts." Miller
added, "Nevada simply cannot afford to throw away precious federal
dollars just because somebody isn't counted. We estimate the state
would lose $917 for every man, woman and child missed, so people in
this state have every reason to respond when asked to be counted.
The questionnaire is short and simple, the information is
completely confidential and by law cannot be shared with other
government agencies, and it gives us all an opportunity to make
significant investments in our own communities." The Nevada
Legislature approved the budget for the 2010 Census outreach,
having seen the return on the successful 2000 campaign that
positioned the census as a community-based project rather than a
federal program. Nevada had the most improved response rate of any
state in 2000 after finishing in the bottom five in 1990, when the
state made little or no effort to encourage Nevadans to respond.
Officials estimated the state lost tens of millions of federal
dollars as a result of the poor response 20 years ago. The U.S.
Census Bureau says the information it collects helps determine how
more than $400 billion of federal funding is spent each year on
infrastructure and services like hospitals, schools, senior
centers, emergency services, job training and a variety of
transportation projects. Census results also determine how many
seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives and the
number of electoral votes in presidential elections. The marketing
and outreach plan is a multi-media effort to reach everyone living
in the state, particularly populations that are traditionally
undercounted. The final details will be developed in consultation
with the Secretary of State's Office, the statewide and local
Complete Count Committees, and U.S. Census officials based in
Nevada. About Weber Shandwick Weber Shandwick is a leading global
public relations agency with offices in 77 countries around the
world. The firm's success is built on its deep commitment to client
service, creativity, collaboration and harnessing the power of
Advocates - engaging stakeholders in new and creative ways to build
brands and reputation. Weber Shandwick provides strategy and
execution across practices such as consumer marketing, healthcare,
technology, public affairs, financial services, corporate and
crisis management. Its specialized services include digital/social
media, advocacy advertising, market research, and corporate
responsibility. In 2009, Weber Shandwick was recognized as PRWeek's
inaugural Global Agency Report Card Gold Medal Winner, an 'Agency
of the Decade' by Advertising Age, Global Agency of the Year by The
Holmes Report, and International Consultancy of the Year by PRWeek
UK. The firm has also won numerous 'best place to work' awards
around the world including PR News and The Holmes Report. Weber
Shandwick is part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). For more
information, visit http://www.webershandwick.com/. Jennifer Norton
Leah Kondes Weber Shandwick Weber Shandwick 212-445-8314
952-346-6115 DATASOURCE: Weber Shandwick CONTACT: Jennifer Norton,
Weber Shandwick, +1-212-445-8314, ; or Leah Kondes, Weber
Shandwick, +1-952-346-6115, Web Site:
http://www.webershandwick.com/
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