Mobile Commons’ platform to provide text messaging to encourage parents to help improve children’s oral health and promote financial literacy among young adults
NEW YORK, September 16, 2014 – The Ad Council, the largest producer of public service campaigns in the U.S., announced today a new partnership with Mobile Commons, a leading mobile communications company, that will enable the Ad Council to develop mobile strategy and implement texting programs in-house for the first time in the organization’s 72-year history. The mobile efforts are beginning with two national campaigns – Children’s Oral Health and Financial Literacy– and will be promoted via campaign public service ads (PSAs) and other communications channels.
The Ad Council produces more than 40 national public service campaigns in partnership with non-profit organizations and federal government agencies annually. The campaigns address issues in the areas of health, education, safety and community involvement.
“We know that our campaign target audiences are highly engaged in texting. Mobile Commons’ platform will provide a meaningful way to establish an ongoing dialogue and provide them with the education and motivation they need,” said Peggy Conlon, president and CEO of the Ad Council. “I look forward to what we can achieve on behalf of so many critical issues.”
Initially, the PSA campaigns will utilize text messaging and segmentation to gather mobile user data such as demographics, age and personal interests. Through Mobile Commons’ platform, the mobile users can sign-up to receive text messages straight to their phone reminding them to maintain healthy brushing habits with their kids or save money, respectively. Both campaigns are further enhanced by the inclusion of a crafted persona. Users will meet Oral Health’s “Joy” and Financial Literacy’s “Ben;” both of whom help to brand and personalize the texter’s experience:
- Children’s Oral Health: The Ad Council’s mobile program will engage parents and their kids in a fun and creative brushing challenge that supports the campaign’s main goal of encouraging parents to make sure their children brush their teeth for two minutes, twice a day. PSAs promoting the program will appear in donated print and outdoor advertising, and the program will be promoted on the campaign website and through collateral materials.
- Financial Literacy: Developed in partnership with the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), the campaign aims to empower young adults between 25 and 34 to take control of their finances and to begin planning for their financial futures today. The campaign’s mobile marketing program will share tips, quizzes, tools and resources to help these young adults get started on the path to financial stability and meet their personal short- and long-term financial goals.
The success of these campaigns will be gauged by user retention, opens, click-through rates, and hearing from users if they have brushed or saved. Additional mobile programs will be rolled out by the Ad Council later this year.
“We’re excited to work with the Ad Council to help increase the impact of their important campaigns,” says Jed Alpert, CEO of Mobile Commons. “Because a text message is a tiny, bite sized chunk of text, it has the power to takes social issues that seem overwhelming and break them down into more manageable stages. The cumulative effect of this is that over time, people don’t feel as overwhelmed by the issue and can instead address it on a step-by-step basis.”
About the Ad Council
The Ad Council is a private, non-profit organization with a rich history of marshaling volunteer talent from the advertising and media industries to deliver critical messages to the American public. Having produced literally thousands of PSA campaigns addressing the most pressing social issues of the day, the Ad Council has affected, and continues to affect, tremendous positive change by raising awareness, inspiring action and saving lives. To learn more about the Ad Council and its campaigns, visit adcouncil.org, like us on Facebook.com/adcouncil, follow us on Twitter @adcouncil or view our PSAs on YouTube.
About Mobile Commons
Mobile Commons is a mobile strategy and software company that is the technology behind today’s most effective mobile messaging campaigns. We work with some of the biggest brands, government agencies, healthcare groups, and nonprofit organizations in the country, transforming the way that our society uses mobile to communicate. Our customers achieve extraordinary results, including Obama 2012, New York City, New York MTA, Viacom, Tumblr, National Cancer Institute, Humane Society of the United States and many more. To learn more about Mobile Commons, visit us online at www.mobilecommons.com or follow us on Twitter @mobilecommons.
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