Campaign: Helping Americans Get on the Financial Literacy Track
Winner: American Institute of CPAs
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the sponsor of a national public education effort called 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy, took part in Harris
Interactive's 2007 National Quorum omnibus study, which concluded that Americans' spending habits may prevent them from achieving life goals.
AICPA took the findings and developed two press releases with the express aim of educating Americans about sound financial management. The headlines of the two releases were
the following: "Home Ownership Out of Reach For Many Adult Americans, AICPA, Survey Reveals" and "American Adults Still Expect to Retire with a Pension, According to AICPA
Survey." The Institute worked closely with local CPA societies to obtain ongoing local media coverage.
The press releases were distributed during Financial Literacy Month in April 2007. To support the releases and publicize the findings of the survey, a satellite media tour
followed in May 2007.
Mission Accomplished
The campaign garnered print coverage in a number of outlets, which included USA Today, the Palm Beach Daily News, KGO-San Francisco, WUSA-TV, Washington, DC and ABC-News 12,
Tallahassee, FL. The SMT reached 10.5 million viewers/listeners nationwide. National radio coverage, which included CBS Radio Network and CNN Radio Network, reached 8.7 million
listeners.
The AICPA's media outreach resulted in an increased number of hits to the 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy Web site. Traffic for the site was noticeably heavy on April 10,
2007, the date of the USA Today story.
Honorable Mentions
Robinson Packer & Wannenburg: Opening of Good Shepherd's Rehability--To generate issues for Good Shepherd's Rehability online retail store, which serves those with
disabilities, its audience needed to be informed. They sent out press releases to every newspaper and publication in there area, assuring them that they would reach their
audience.
Guise Marketing & PR: USS Pampanito Submarine 2007 Drydocking PR Campaign--To increase visitors to the USS Pampanito, Guise Marketing was called in to draw attention to its
drydocking for repairs and subsequent return to sea. By integrating military jargon into the story (such as saying the sub got a "shave and haircut"), a standard story was given a
more interesting edge to attract potential customers.
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center: STAR*D Summary--To bring attention to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, execs personalized a study about
depression by allowing the participants to interact with the media, not only giving reporters a better story, but giving that story a human element for its readers.