In this report:
- Overview
- The Importance of the Census
- Census Accuracy: The Undercount (and Overcount)
- Census 2010: Key Operations and Milestones; How You Can Get Involved
- Additional Information
The Partnership Program and the Communications Campaign
The 2010 Census Integrated Communications Campaign includes three components: a national, regional, and local partnership program; a paid advertising campaign; and the Census in Schools program. The Bureau uses detailed tract level information from Census 2000 to identify and target the hard-to-count segments of the population within media markets and local communities.
A key part of the Census Bureau’s outreach efforts involves partnering with educators, businesses, the media, faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, elected officials, and tribal governments. The partners help ensure accurate census data and spread the word about census job opportunities by reaching out to segments of the population that might not be persuaded by traditional advertising. They are trusted and effective advocates who can allay fears, communicate benefits, and mobilize participation. The Census Bureau provides the partners with materials, information, messages, and tools to support public education campaigns. In 2000, census partner organizations numbered about 140,000.
The Census Bureau also encourages states and localities to establish Complete Count Committees, composed of local government and business and community leaders who are appointed by a governor or by a community’s highest-elected official. The committees work to make sure their communities are counted. During Census 2000, more than 11,800 Complete Count Committees were formed to help develop and implement locally based outreach and recruitment campaigns.
Using tract level information from Census 2000, DraftFCB, the prime contractor for the communications campaign, clustered the population into eight different groups, five of which are hard-to-count. Based on the make-up of these clusters, DraftFCB created targeted messaging campaigns for these groups and will use television, radio, print, online, and outdoor and commuter venues to reach them. Several minority-owned advertising firms, representing historically undercounted population groups, are developing targeted advertising campaigns as well. The targeted advertising builds on the mass communications plan with additional layers of promotion to deliver more messages in local and ethnic media in the target languages and cultures.
Finally, through the Census in Schools program, a national program, with an emphasis on hard-to-count populations, students are encouraged to talk to their parents about the importance of the census. Children are powerful motivators for their parents, and especially in hard-to-count communities, may be able to successfully persuade them to fill out and mail back the form.
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