U.S. Azeris Network (USAN) partners with Voto Latino to launch youth-focused Census initiative
Users Can Take the ‘Census Pledge’ and receive 25 fr.ee songs from artists like Pitbull, Mos Def, Morrissey & Rodrigo y Gabriela by going to http://BeCountedRepresent.com/usazeris
March 23, 2010, Washington, DC – The U.S. Azeris Network (USAN) partners
with the leading Latino youth civic engagement organization, Voto
Latino, which was co-founded by the Hollywood actress Rosario Dawson,
to launch the “Be Counted, Represent!” campaign.
“Be Counted, Represent!” which
launches today, is comprised of multi-platform web, mobile, direct and
traditional media initiatives that will elevate the census in the minds
of millennials, who are historically undercounted in the Census.
In the United States, census data
affects everything from the allocation of federal budgets for
education, health care and transportation to the drawing of
Congressional districts. This year’s 2010 census is of critical
importance to all Americans because it allocates $400 billion in
federal funds and determines congressional representation.
“Our work with the census is to
both educate Latinos about the importance of taking it and re-imaging
it as a means of personal empowerment and taking ownership of one’s
future and one’s family’s,” said Maria Teresa Kumar, co-founder and executive director of Voto Latino, an official US Census partner.
“What we’ve found through our
work is that Latino youth are pivotal household influencers. They’re
familiar with government processes, they are English-speakers and
consume mainstream media, and they influence their households with
everything from politics to household purchases. Empowering them to
take the census is at the core of our strategy.”
“We at the U.S. Azeris Network
are happy to once again partner with a leading ethnic nonprofit such as
VotoLatino for this important cause. The Azerbaijani-Americans, despite
being a smaller and younger ethnic community, feels itself as a great
part of the American societal matrix, and wants to be accurately
counted and represented on all levels of American life. That's what our
community's grassroots advocacy organization, USAN, has been striving
for all these years,” said Dr. Adil Baguirov, co-founder and managing director of USAN, an official US Census partner.
“As part of our outreach program, we are
partnering up with the diverse ethnic communities in our adopted
homeland, such as with the Japanese-Americans, Turkish-Americans,
Jewish-Americans, the Asian-American and African-American communities
at large, and of course, the Latino, Hispanic-American community. For
the Azerbaijani-Americans being a young community in more ways than
one, VotoLatino is a natural partner for us.”
In speaking to their target
effectively and leveraging drive-to-web and SMS campaigns from their
2008 presidential election work as well as the best practices utilized
by President Obama’s campaign, Voto Latino’s “Be Counted, Represent!”
campaign is comprised of the following initiatives:
“Be Counted, Represent!” Local - On-the-ground Events :
Voto Latino (VL) will be organizing on-the-ground events and census
outreach operations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Upstate New York, Long
Island and San Francisco.
- Collateral and Direct Mail Pieces :
Voto Latino will distribute iTunes cards, t-shirts and other collateral
materials, including direct mailers to aforementioned markets.
“Be Counted, Represent!” On the Web & Mobile - “BeCountedRepresent.com” –
A dedicated URL, which goes live 2/2, will serve as the campaign’s hub,
featuring easy-to-digest US Census information, and prompting viewers
to “Take the Pledge” to participate in the census. Anyone who takes the
pledge will also receive a free 25-song soundtrack courtesy of iTunes
(as per below).
- “Be Counted” Viral Video PSAs – Executive produced by Voto Latino, who were acknowledged last year with a Webby award for their “La Pasión de la Decisión” get-out-the-vote
PSAs, this three-part series of Internet shorts, feature a group of
friends who, one night over a festive party, launch into a heated
argument about whether to participate in the census. An all-star
ensemble cast, featuring Rosario Dawson, Luis Guzman, Demi Lovato
(Disney’s Camp Rock franchise), Ana Ortiz (“Ugly Betty”), Wilmer
Valderrama (“That Seventies Show”), Jorge Garcia (“Lost”) and more,
comprise of characters with opposing viewpoints. The first short will
launch in February on BeCountedRepresent.com with subsequent shorts to
follow through the end of May.
- Free Digital Downloads –
Apple will provide Voto Latino with 100,000 census-themed iTunes cards
that will be distributed to community organizations, universities and
radio stations. The cards allow recipients to download 25 free songs
from major artists across a wide range of relevant musical genres, who
have donated their tracks to the campaign.
- Text2Represent SMS campaign –
Voto Latino will send targeted text messages to tens of thousands of
U.S. Latinos to ensure that they and their families understand the
importance of the Census and being counted.
