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2020 CENSUS COMPLETE COUNT

Promotions Subcommittee Work Plan

April 2019 – April 2020 – Updated 6/13/2019

Complete Count Committee Mission: To attain a fair allocation of federal funding for important local community efforts and maintain accurate legislative representation by ensuring every Broward County resident is counted in the 2020 Census. Promotions Subcommittee Mission: To exceed the national average Census response rate of 80 percent in all Broward County municipalities and the Broward Municipal Services District, and aid in recruitment and participation by promoting awareness of the Census among all County residents, with a special focus on areas of undercount, including hard-to-enumerate populations.

Promotions Subcommittee Work Plan Objectives:

1. Conduct public outreach to increase awareness about the Census among all and

optimize self-response.

2. Use key messages that are consistent and relevant to specific target audiences in

support of the mission of all Complete Count Committee subcommittees.

3. Develop partnerships to enhance the County’s ability to educate about Census 2020.

4. Use multiple channels, paid and non-paid media, with a special emphasis on ethnic

media, to advertise and publicize targeted messages to the general public and hard-to-

enumerate groups.

5. Incorporate electronic, social marketing and non-traditional venues into promotion

efforts.

Target Markets

General Public, with special emphasis on the “hard-to-enumerate,” generally defined in Broward County as:

• Low income (at or below poverty)

• Non-English speaking, not fluent speakers of English or limited English proficiency

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• Non-citizens (legal and undocumented)

• Renters

• Young and mobile populations (millennials and Gen Z age 18-34)

• Parents of children age 0-5

• Grandparents raising grandchildren

• Residents with no high school diploma

• Residents in geographic areas with rapid population growth, rural or isolated areas, or areas difficult for enumerators to access (e.g, buildings with strict doormen, gated communities, basement apartments)

• Communities with transients (e.g. RV park and marina residents) and/or seasonal (such as campground) areas being used for permanent residency

• Hidden housing units

• Senior citizens

• Previous non-participants Communication Challenges

• Declining Census response rates

• Cluttered media landscape

• Political environment

• Public distrust of government

• Concerns about citizenship questions/consequences

• Concerns about information security and privacy – people are increasingly wary of online data collection efforts

• Language barriers

• Complex households – e.g. family and living arrangements beyond one nuclear family, multi-generational, interracial, multi-racial

• Limited access to internet (or familiarity with completing forms online) in some hard-to-enumerate communities/households

• Misunderstandings about the purpose of the Census

• Roles of social media in news distribution

• Concerns related to “fake news”

• Competing with promotion during a presidential election cycle Strategies

1. Use trusted voices in the community to carry Census messaging.

2. Use libraries and government centers as neighborhood gathering places providing free internet access and assistance with online form completion.

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3. Focus promotional efforts on hard-to-enumerate communities; U.S. Census Bureau is mounting a $500 million national campaign to reach the general public.

4. Use Response Area Outreach Maps (ROAM) to identify and target hard-to-enumerate areas. There are 109 census tracts in Broward County with less than a 25 percent response rate.

5. Schedule promotions based around the key communications phases identified in the U.S. Census Bureau Communications Plan: 2018 – December 2019 Education Phase (base of understanding, build trust)

Jan – Feb 2020 Awareness Phase (purpose and importance of Census) March – May 2020 Motivation Phase (saturate areas with promotional

materials to drive self-response) April 1, 2020 Census Day is Here! May – July 2020 Reminder Phase (urge non-responders to cooperate with

enumerators Dec 31, 2020 Census Bureau delivers apportionment counts to President Apr 1, 2021 Redistricting data is released

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Objective #1: Conduct public outreach to increase awareness about the Census among all and optimize self-response.

Goal #1: Create a Speaker’s Bureau.

1. Identify speakers, prepare brief bios and collect information about availability, if bilingual and area of subject matter expertise.

2. Create a speaker’s toolkit in English, Spanish and Creole (video, presentation, handouts, talking points, etc.)

3. Promote speaker availability among community groups. 4. Maintain a calendar of speaker engagements. Target homeowner associations and large

communities such as Century Village.

Goal #2: Work with all Complete Count subcommittees to ensure they have the right tools to effectively promote messages to their target audiences.

1. Host a workshop with Complete Count Committee membership to assess subcommittee needs and solicit input for a promotional work plan. (June 20th)

2. Create a work plan for promoting the Census in the community and motivating participation.

3. Ensure subcommittees have access to user-friendly, actionable data regarding identification of hard-to-enumerate areas as identified by Response Outreach Area Mapper (ROAM).

4. Create print and digital promotional materials to meet subcommittee messaging needs, consistent with overall Complete Count Committee messaging. Make Census Bureau materials available, if appropriate.

5. Work with other Complete Count Committees ie cities, Haitian-American, etc. 6. Prepare “messages from the pulpit” to share with local religious leaders.

Goal #3: Conduct and/or participate in community events to promote the Census. (Goal is at least one Census awareness-building event per month.)

1. Hold a Countywide “Census Countdown Kickoff Event” on April 1, 2019, commemorating

the one-year countdown to Census Day 2020. (COMPLETE) 2. Compile a list of events in Broward County through April 2020 that present greatest

opportunity for Census promotion. Promote subcommittee participation in events that reach hard-to-enumerate markets (e.g. health and community fairs, festivals, cultural and ethnic celebrations) with ads, booths or tables with collaterals and giveaways. Ask organizations to choose a month that they will agree to sponsor a census activity.

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3. Order specialty items that contain Census key messages and can be distributed by all subcommittees in outreach efforts.

4. Plan a special way to celebrate and commemorate April 1, 2020 in Broward County and/or create a news event around the time postcards begin to show up in mailboxes.

5. Work with the County’s Chair of the Complete Count Committee to hold a post-event recognizing and thanking Committee and community members.

Goal #4: Incorporate Census messaging in local government and community organizations’ regularly scheduled publications and outreach venues.

1. Present a Census proclamation at a County Commission meeting to coincide with the kickoff of Broward County’s 2020 Complete Count Committee effort. (COMPLETE) Encourage municipal proclamations to coincide with Census milestones.

2. Survey Complete Count Committee members and ask them to identify publications, number and type of audience reached, and outreach venues in which they can promote the Census. Distribute a list of these publication and venue alternatives to all subcommittees, to facilitate coordination between subcommittees.

3. Encourage city and county commissioners and other elected officials to hold Census “town halls” along with other district topics. Create on-hold messages that promote Census. Use at call centers, on phone systems and after-hours messages.

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Objective 2: Use key messages that are consistent and relevant to specific target

audiences in support of the mission of all the Complete Count Committee

Subcommittees.

Goal #1: Hire a marketing firm to assist in promotions planning and facilitate procurement of

paid and non-paid publicity.

1. Complete a competitive public procurement process for a marketing consultant. (COMPLETE)

2. Have the marketing consultant prepare a comprehensive marketing and promotions plan.

Goal #2: Create a look and feel for the campaign that is sustainable throughout the campaign

period.

1. Utilize the Census and County branding, logo and tagline.

2. Identify and secure participation of recognizable spokesperson(s) for the campaign.

Goal #3: Ensure all promotional partners “speak in many voices, but with consistent

message(s).”

1. Develop culturally sensitive key messages that reflect the concerns of all subcommittees

and share them with all subcommittees and promotion partners.

2. Create a 60-second “elevator speech” about the Census, that all can use to describe

their role in this important project, financial implications and that it affects everyone.

3. Create a series of multi-lingual print and digital (print-friendly) Fact Sheets on key topics. 4. Prepare and distribute a regularly scheduled Promotions Subcommittee update

enewsletter to all Complete Count Committee members to keep them apprised of the promotions activities and materials available.

Goal #4: Ensure messages are easily understood by all residents.

1. Through the marketing firm, engage focus groups to ensure that messages speak to

target audiences in their language.

2. Provide County-developed promotional materials (collateral, video, etc), at a minimum,

in English, Spanish, Creole and Portuguese. Secure in-language materials as needed and

as available.

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3. Provide materials in formats that reach the vision and hearing-impaired community.

4. Have sign language interpreters available at Complete Count and subcommittee

meetings (and events?) as necessary to meet the needs of the hearing-impaired

community.

Goal #5: Evaluate national program to identify gaps and make recommendations to fill them

with local promotions.

1. Recruit Broward County Academy graduates as “Census Ambassadors.” Train them in

key messages and solicit their support in education outreach efforts.

Goal #6: Support an online promotional campaign for Census 2020.

1. Maintain a current and informative website for our community, at Broward.org/Census2020. Include a Census Countdown Clock, Complete Count Committee information, links to municipal Census sites, events, job and volunteer opportunities, and other news about local Census activities.

2. Utilize Census data and statistics to “Tell the Story of America” on the Census website, and demonstrate how important census data is to understanding our communities. Post “Best Bets” and use other search engine optimization techniques on County and other websites to ensure prominent results for Broward Census 2020.

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Objective #3: Develop partnerships to enhance the County’s ability to educate

about Census 2020.

Goal #1: Utilize County and municipal libraries as a trusted partner in achieving a complete

count, connecting residents to the first online census. Research indicates 99 percent of hard-

to-count census tracts have a public library located within five miles.

1. Identify libraries, especially those with public access computers, in targeted hard-to-enumerate census tracts, as identified by the Response Outreach Area Mapper (ROAM). Work closely with them to display relevant information, and to hold awareness and participation events, and help educate those who are not familiar or are uncomfortable with the online response option.

2. Encourage library programming that shares Census data with patrons before, during and after the Census.

3. Utilize libraries to promote Census jobs and job training.

Goal #2: Develop consumer cross-promotions that reach large numbers of residents.

1. Schedule bill inserts (e.g. utility, phone bill, property tax bills, etc. (print and digital). 2. Get grocery stores to print messages on store bags and/or shopping cards and at

checkout counters, and/or insert Census flyers in in-home delivery shopping bags. 3. Utilize Broward County agencies such as Family Success, Ryan White, Child Care

Licensing & Enforcement and Homeless Initiative Partnership, Housing Authority, to reach residents with Census messaging and/or events to encourage participation.

4. Work with 2-1-1 Broward, Department of Health Broward, pediatricians, hospitals, etc.

Goal #3: Encourage businesses and colleges (career and technical) to distribute messages to

their employees/customers/students.

1. Work with the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance to identify and encourage the community’s businesses to place messages in their regularly scheduled employee communications (e.g. paychecks, newsletters, breakroom posters, retirees, union communications, etc.) Distribute key messages and drafted articles that can be easily used.

2. Encourage links by other organizations to the County’s Census website.

3. Work with Broward College, NSU, Keiser, Trinity, etc.

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Goal #4: Work with schools (public, private, homeschools) to target children with census

messages that will be carried home to parents.

1. Develop programming (e.g. patch programs) with youth organizations such as Boys and Girls Clubs, Girl and Boy Scouts, YMCA, YWCA, athletic groups and sports leagues, etc.

2. Utilize identified spokesperson(s) at community and school events. 3. Include outreach to VPKs, pre-schools, day care centers. 4. Create a Kid’s section on the Broward Census website that links to kid-friendly materials,

such as that provided by the Census Bureau’s Statistics in the Schools. 5. Organize a poster or essay contest for the schools. 6. Work with PTAs.

Goal #5: Develop partnerships with local governments.

1. Create offering of Census 2020 videos that County and municipalities can play on their government-sponsored television stations.

2. Ask municipalities to produce streetlight banners promoting Census or other marketing/promotional material.

3. Create a series of Census 2020 “buttons” for municipalities to use on their websites during different phases of the promotions campaign.

4. Create a traveling exhibit that promotes Census participation.

Goal #6: Develop partnerships with private sector partners who can help in getting Census

messages out.

1. Ensure sponsor contributions are tracked and sponsors appropriately recognized for

their financial and in-kind contributions.

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Objective 4: Use multiple channels, paid and non-paid media, with a special emphasis on ethnic media, to advertise and publicize targeted messages to the general public and hard-to-enumerate groups.

Goal #1: Create media partnerships.

1. Identify list of ethnic media and contact information. 2. Host a Census Media Day showcasing media opportunities. Be sure ethnic media is in

attendance. 3. Create a Media Kit and Media Room on the Broward Census website.

Goal #2: Identify speaking opportunities for local ethnic radio and television programs.

1. Build a contact list of Spanish and Creole-speaking trusted voices to appear on local programs.

2. Pitch local radio and television programs.

Goal #3: Provide print, broadcast and electronic media with prepared public service

announcements, in appropriate languages.

1. Identify topics based on phased promotions approach. 2. Select trusted voices to “star” in a series of local Video PSAs. 3. Create Op-eds and prepared columns about Census for local media. 4. Encourage Community Leaders to participate in the Sun-Sentinel’s South Florida 100

feature.

Goal #4: Identify niche marketing opportunities that reach target markets.

1. Schedule promotions with inflight magazines that reach target markets, such as Air Jamaica.

2. Hang banners and/or use digital signage at Port Everglades cruise terminals, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport terminals, BB&T Center.

3. Run promotions in Convention Center venues. 4. Contact outlets for marine industry, seniors, parents with young children, Caribbean

communities, etc.

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Goal #5: Develop programming opportunities with television and online shows.

1. Meet with television stations, including Comcast, cable and public broadcasting, to discuss opportunities.

2. Meet with BECON and NSU and others to discuss opportunities.

Goal 6: Use out-of-home advertising (outdoor, bus advertising, bus benches) to reach

residents on the move in our community.

1. Ask corporations with booked outdoor space to donate space to Census advertising. 2. Identify open space on BCT buses that can be procured for production-only charges

(space donated). Goal 7: Develop advertising in entertainment and large sporting venues.

1. Explore advertising opportunities in movie theatres, restaurants and malls. 2. Explore opportunities at Dolphins Stadium, Performing Arts Center, BB&T Center, high

school stadiums and large regional Broward County Parks. 3. Secure scoreboard advertising at the County’s Central Broward Regional Park.

Goal 8: Keep media apprised of Census milestones and activities through April 2020.

1. Issue regular news releases. 2. Issue periodic media-focused updates on Complete Count Committee activities, that

also identify ways media can assist.

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Objective 5: Incorporate electronic, social marketing and non-traditional venues into promotion efforts. Goal #1: Develop internet and email promotional campaigns for Census through April 2020.

1. Create a social media team within the Promotions Subcommittee to focus on this important area. (COMPLETE) Produce an ongoing series of timely, interesting and informative prepared social media messages.

2. Survey Complete Count Committee members to determine social media audiences available to leverage with prepared Census messaging.

3. Establish hash tags and emojis for recommended use. 4. Identify niche websites to reach hard-to-enumerate. 5. Create a series of email signature graphics with key messages in English, Spanish, Creole

and Portuguese. 6. Create a Facebook page. (COMPLETE) 7. Build a following on Twitter.com. 8. Create YouTube channel. 9. Build a photo site on Instagram. 10. Establish a site on NextDoor. 11. Utilize social media ads/boosts. 12. Work with local influencers and bloggers. 13. Regularly share social media account analytics with Promotions Subcommittee and the

Complete Count Committee. Goal #2: Use out-of-home media to promote Census to the community.

1. Work with Broward County Cultural Division to determine feasibility, timeline and select an artist for a Census “graffiti wall” in a high traffic area in one or more hard-to-enumerate areas.

2. Use “sign wavers” at high traffic street corners to create awareness. 3. Create a Census 2020 indicia for outgoing County mail. 4. Identify grassroots efforts (e.g. flyers rubberbanded to door hangers, distributed by

County agency and/or other organization personnel in the field)