The US Census Bureau has announced that Draftfcb New York has won the 2010 Census communications contract, worth an estimated $200 million over the next four years.
“This is a huge direct marketing program that requires the US Census Bureau to reach out to every household in the US and its territories with direct mail,” said Peter DeNunzio, president of Draftfcb New York.
Working with a team of partner agencies that includes Draftfcb Puerto Rico, GlobalHue, A to S ? , IW Group, G&G, Allied Media, Initiative, Weber Shandwick Minneapolis, Jack Morton, Booz Allen Hamilton, the Marcom Group and Zona Design, Draftfcb New York is now charged with creating marketing programs to encourage maximum participation in the 2010 Census. This challenge has become increasingly complex as the population further diversifies.
To achieve the brand idea, Draftfcb assembled creative, account, planning, media and data experts around what it calls The Wheel – the agency’s way of working – with the target at the center of the solution.
The Wheel team also used Draftfcb’s proprietary Smart Suite, which includes an eight-screen Smart Wall that aggregates quantitative and qualitative data, to help the Census client digest, visualize and unlock the power of its data.
The Smart Suite served as the foundation and validation for the agency’s creative strategy and brand idea. It will also be used to track , measure and refine the campaign throughout the contract.
“The Census measures success based on how many households actually fill out the questionnaire and mail it in,” DeNunzio said. “Its ultimate goal is to ensure that every household is counted in the 2010 Census, particularly those which are hard to count.”
In addition to serving as the lead agency, Draftfcb New York will handle all online and offline general market media planning and will partner with Initiative for general market broadcast buying. Partner agencies will handle media planning and buying for their market segments.
“Working with our partner agencies, we have designed a marketing communications program designed to drive the success of the direct mail program and make people understand how important it is to be counted,” DeNuzio told DM News. “This requires keen understanding of direct marketing principles and the ability to track, measure and refine the campaign over the course of the contract.”
