DDB Issues & Advocacy //
We apply the expertise of a global communications powerhouse to the most pressing issues of our time—health, international development, equal rights and the environment. For nearly two decades, the Seattle and Washington, DC offices of DDB Issues & Advocacy have waged advocacy, policy-making and P.R. campaigns. But unlike any other single entity, it’s our use of the powerful tools of brand communications that makes us different. By deploying the kind of consumer insight and creativity that makes cash registers ring, we’ve been able to move the needle on some of the most important issues of our day.
With backgrounds ranging from advertising and PR to foundation work in global health, from roles in White House communications to roles in television soap operas, our people bring unique resumes and diverse life experience to the table.
I just read about a new contest from WV Free, a non-profit working to promote family planning and protect reproductive freedom for women in West Virginia. The contest asks participants to design a new ad to educate people about emergency contraception, and organizers have specifically said that "the contest is geared toward young people."
As an advocate for reproductive rights, it's hard for me not to be happy for any initiative to educate the public on emergency contraception. However, I have to question the communications around WV Free's contest. The advertisements to announce the contest (as well as the contest-winning ad) will be run exclusively in local newspapers. The only problem is that the target (young people) are reading newspapers less frequently than any other demographic group.
I applaud WV Free for engaging young people to think creatively about ways to educate the public on emergency contraception. But meet them where they already are: online.
Jeremy Pinches
Several years ago, we worked on a campaign with the Kaiser Family Foundation and Viacom called KNOW HIV/AIDS, which was intended to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS as a worldwide issue and inspire hope that trends can be reversed. Although our work on the campaign predates my tenure at DDB, it is part of the reason I was happy to find posornot, a "game" created by Kaiser and Viacom to show that you can't tell someone's HIV status just by looking at them.
Similar to the dorm room favorite hotornot.com, posornot shows a picture of a 20-to-30 year old person and asks the user to select whether they think the person is HIV-positive; or not. I personally found the experience of guessing whether real people were HIV-positive based upon their picture a bit unsettling, and playing the game a few times helped me see some of the stereotypes that I may have about "what I thought an HIV-positive person looks like."
The game and the accompanying message are simple: there is only one way to find out if you or someone else is HIV-positive - get tested. In its first week, the game was played 5.1 million times by over 400,000 people. What would be interesting to know is to what extent the game helps to spread awareness. Are users sharing this game with their friends? Are they going out and getting tested?
Hats off to Kaiser and Viacom for some more work that will hopefully help move the needle.
Jeremy Pinches
I attend many patient-advocate conferences every year; one I always look forward to is the National Breast Cancer Coalition's (NBCC) Annual Advocacy Conference. It's an opportunity to connect with many of my breast cancer advocate friends and can serve as a barometer of the current issues and trends in the advocate community.
Kelly Butterworth
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As we all know, social media is becoming a means of communicating ANY message (from celebrity fight contests to ice cream preference to international health policy). So of course this medium resonates loudly with those in the communications business…particularly for not-for-profits in the issues and advocacy space (i.e. inexpensive, effective communication – anyone who’s ever worked for or with a not-for-profit just got excited).
Bridgette Quinn
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Just in time for World Malaria Day on April 25th, Tom Hadfield (yes, the guy who created soccer.net and sold it to ESPN for $40M at age 17) has created a social network called MalariaEngage in order to increase attention for the disease at a time when its eradication is actually attainable. The network is housed in the broader Zazengo network, a system that uses collaboration tools to "transform social networks into an engine for impact."
Jeremy Pinches
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Honestly, the Pope’s visit didn’t really phase me until I heard that he would be riding by on his Pope-mobile just a few blocks from my office. As coworkers and I were devising a plan to head down there during our lunch hour, Joanne came in and shared her outrage that this was the first time President Bush had ever gone to Andrews Air Force Base to greet an arriving dignitary. What kind of a message are we sending? And why is no one else outraged or talking about this?
Natalia Barolin
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For no real reason, and in no particular order, I present the top 10 reasons that I love working at DDB Issues & Advocacy:
1. Our brown and green rug.
2. Knowing that on the opposite coast of our D.C. office, there are 170+ creative thinkers in Seattle ready .
3. Learning about social media and word-of-mouth's vital role in communications from the boss.
4. Reminding my family what the 2 Ds and B in DDB stand for.
5. I get paid to think creatively about how to effectively communicate about issues like health, international development, equal rights and the environment. How cool is that?
6. Piggybacking on #2, knowing that some of the 170+ love the Mariners as much as I do.
7. Wearing jeans to work on days that don't begin with "Fri"
8. Taking my education and background in communications and combining it with my passion for issues to help our clients move the needle.
9. My neighbor in the office has a snack drawer. An unlocked snack drawer.
10. The level honesty of our office. My co-workers don't even hesitate to tell me on a daily basis how awful the coffee I prepared that morning is.
Jeremy Pinches
In preparation for writing this (my very first blog post ever!), I flitted through the last hundred or so posts of my DDB colleagues looking for inspiration, direction, anything to make this process not quite so intimidating. I read about everything from the joys of virtual pinball machines to the environmental efforts of Seattle’s mayor, but my mind, much like my blog, remained blank. In the late afternoon, inspiration finally struck thanks to a post by a colleague entitled To boo or not to boo? Now, I didn’t actually read the post, however, my eyes were immediately drawn to the first two bright yellow links—Nationals Park and bobbleheads—clearly illustrating the importance of incorporating links.
What’s the relationship between Nationals Park and bobbleheads? Well…
Jo Dulay
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Global leaders from the women's, faith, and development communities are coming together at the National Cathedral this Sunday and Monday for "Breakthrough: The Women, Faith, and Development Summit to End Global Povery." The meeting is the kick off for the Women, Faith, and Development Alliance (WFDA).
Natalia Barolin
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The Illinois House is currently considering a bill to legalize civil unions between same-sex couples, granting them the same legal rights given to married couples. And students who care are trying to get their voices heard.
Jeremy Pinches
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I am in the middle of a memo for a client, pulling together ideas for how they can improve the way they are using their Web site as a fundraising tool. As someone who has been working in the issues space for more than a decade, the question of how do you get people to care -- and to take action -- has been persistent and, often, pretty difficult to answer. The "of course they should care" disease is something that afflicts many of us in this space. If you're putting countless hours -- as well as your blood, sweat and tears -- into an issue, it's tough to admit that the vast majority of the population either doesn't care or, gasp, doesn't even know you exist.
Alison Byrne Fields
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Genentech recently received accelerated approval for Avastin for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. Avastin is an anti-angiogenic agent – and while scientists continue to research exactly how Avastin affects tumors, it is widely thought that this drug works to inhibit blood vessel formation near a tumor – thereby starving the tumor. Kelly Butterworth
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I'm trying to catch up on all the stuff that I have tagged in my del.icio.us account over the past month. (I'm alisonbf, what's your screen name?) I have very strict "rules" about making sure that I include something in the notes section so people know why it is that I saved the link in the first place, so I need to go back and do that.
(In addition to helping my addled brain remember, it's earned me "fans," so I think it's worth the effort.)
Anyway, I finally got around to checking out the 2008 Digital Future report from the Center for -- you guessed it -- the Digital Future, which is something I tagged way back in January. If you're not familiar with this annual report, it's going on seven years now and it's a longitudinal study that looks at "broadband at home, the wireless Internet, on-line media, user-generated content and, now, social networking."
One of the hottest findings in this year's report, which looks at social networking for the first time, is that while only 15 percent of folks are using social networks, 94 percent of those people say that they rely on the Internet as a source of information about social causes AND, 75 percent say that they have joined online communities that have been formed around social issues.
So, if we can just tap into that 15 percent, can we change the world?
Alison Byrne Fields
What if the United States created a "bag tax"? What if when the checkout person said "Paper or plastic?," choosing plastic tacked extra cents onto your grocery bill?
Come on, we're the country that would rather see our tea floating in a harbor than drink it with a tax leavened on it. I'd dare say we'd be incensed at a new tax! We'd riot, or throw plastic bags into the sea! Our founding fathers would turn over in their graves if we didn't!
Let's take to the streets...
Megan Averell
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Yesterday in U.S. District Court, Plan B took a hit. And I think it sucks.
If you're not aware, Plan B is a brand of emergency contraception that dramatically lowers the chance of pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. In my mind, it's a great thing because it's a back-up if other contraception methods fail, like a condom breaking. It's legal and has been for decades. And it is not what some refer to as the "abortion pill." It is exactly what it's name says it is: Plan B.
Dan Miller
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Saw this yesterday -- perhaps something interesting to check-out~
YouTube, the leading web hub for online video, has unveiled its new Nonprofit Program, intended to make it easier for users to find, watch and engage with nonprofit video content on the site. The program allows organizations with 501c3 status to register for the program and receive a free nonprofit-specific YouTube channel. There, they can upload footage of their work, PSAs and calls to action. The channel also allows them to collect donations with no processing costs, using the newly launched Google Checkout for Nonprofits. You can apply for a nonprofit channel type by going to http://youtube.com/nonprofits and filling out a short application, to be processed by their grants team. This page also contains information on how to take advantage of the new program and how to use YouTube effectively for advocacy and fundraising.
Chrissy Faessen
Jesse Hamlin writes about DDB's campaign designed around the idea: "What if you couldn't marry the person you love?"
As reported by MarketWatch, DDB Issues & Advocacy took home Best of Show honors at the Thoth Awards, which recoganizes excellence in public relations, for the launch of HopeLab's cancer-fighting video game, Re-Mission.
Seattle, June 12, 2007 - After a nationwide search, PATH, an international, nonprofit organization that creates sustainable, culturally relevant solutions enabling communities worldwide to break longstanding cycles of poor health, has awarded its public relations account to DDB Issues & Advocacy, a division of DDB Seattle.
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