Dianne McCleary

There is a new product on the market (or is there?). A $133 million marketing campaign has been launched. What is it selling? This campaign is meant to sell you the US Census. No, I am not kidding. The census is done every ten years as required by Article 1 of the Constitution. This is done to ensure accurate representation in the U S House of Representatives.

All that being said, many people find filling out the census forms to be an invasion of privacy. That is where this multi-million dollar campaign comes in. The Census Bureau plans to convince you to fill out these forms through extensive advertising. They plan to advertise through all media types. They spent $2.5 million on a 30 second Super Bowl advertisement. There are 13 vehicles that will be traveling across country to convince you to fill out the forms.

Who is paying for this advertising? The American taxpayer, that’s who. How do you feel about millions of taxpayer dollars going out in advertising? In this economy people have lost their homes and had vehicles repossessed. How many of you are having to pay taxes this year? How many will have to file for an extension? Is this financial burden so that items like this advertising campaign can be funded?

This campaign is both unethical and socially irresponsible. It is unethical for the Commerce Department to spend this much money on an unnecessary marketing campaign while consumers are struggling. It is socially irresponsible to present arguments on climate change and then put 13 vehicles on the road for this campaign.

The thing to do here is decide if this marketing approach is the most effective. Is this mass marketing across all entities cost-effective? This looks more like casting too huge a net for the wanted end result. This marketing is overkill and incurring unnecessary expenses in a struggling economy. If the Commerce Department finds this campaign necessary they should tone it down some.

Is this marketing campaign boosting the U S Census or is it senseless? How will consumers respond to this marketing campaign? Will this marketing strategy endear consumers or offend them?

Look for your Census in Mid March: http://2010.census.gov/2010census/how/interactive-form.php

Graphic Credit:
U.S. Census Logo