This is an overview of the public service campaign projects the Ad Council of Rochester is currently supporting. An Ad Council staff member leads each project with representatives from nonprofits and the marketing communications field. Clients are provided with strategy development and implementation support including research, creative development, design and production, and media placement through our local media partners. The Ad Council also offers a suite of capacity-building programs to individual nonprofit organizations to improve their marketing communications efforts with key constituents.

LEAD POISONING PREVENTION – Roberts Communications

This initiative is focused on ridding our community of lead poisoning. The Ad Council team has created the theme “Let’s Make Lead History” and will be working with the coalition to increase community awareness about the dangers of lead poisoning and how to prevent it. The initial kick-off of these efforts was held in June 2004 with a community education and awareness summit, and a multi-media communications campaign was launched in Fall 2005. Shortly after launch, the City of Rochester successfully passed an ordinance to improve lead poisoning prevention in city homes.

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION – The Verdi Group

The Early Childhood Development Initiative, a twenty-two organization collaborative, aims to mobilize the community to expand and improve developmentally appropriate early childhood services to ensure that every child in Rochester and Monroe County has the foundation to succeed in school and in life. ECDI launched their “Sing, Talk, Play” campaign in early 2005. Monthly calls to 292-BABY quadrupled and nearly 40% of callers reported calling after seeing the commercial or brochure. An innovative public relations strategy and comprehensive media plan help to make ECDI one of the most recognizable Ad Council campaigns.

WATER EDUCATION – SIGMA Marketing Group

The Rochester area is one of 31 Great Lakes communities identified as needing increased protection efforts to ensure future water quality. A collaborative team turned to the Ad Council in 2004 to help increase awareness and understanding regarding water quality and how individuals can make a difference. The “H2O Hero” campaign launched in May 2007, and has seen success in the form of hundreds of additional volunteers and education delivered at the award-winning h2Ohero.org.

DEPRESSION/ANXIETY

This project seeks to improve the mental health of targeted groups through an integrated marketing and advertising campaign designed to motivate people suffering from depression to seek available resources within the community. Currently, approximately 98,000 people in Monroe County experience anxiety disorders each year, and approximately 70,000 people experience depression each year. The depression campaign targets those at increased risk—caregivers, those with chronic medical conditions and post-partum mothers, while the anxiety effort is targeting those between the ages of 18 and 25.

TRAC

This effort is designed to increase the access of senior citizens to transportation throughout our community. Research consistently shows transportation to be one of the top three issues facing seniors in our community. A resource has been developed to provide streamlined access to the variety of transportation opportunities in our community – and this campaign will ensure it is successful in increasing access.