Thank a Hunter with a Hug

June 22, 2017 Jordan Alvillar, Brand Manager Comment

The Colorado Wildlife Council wanted to extend its existing statewide education campaign, “Hug a Hunter/Hug an Angler,” which focuses on informing the general public where the money goes from hunting and fishing license fees: benefiting wildlife management, conservation of public lands and Colorado’s economy. R&R Partners would step in to take the campaign to the next level, while introducing the client to new ways of reaching the target audience with dynamic creative, social media, and traditional and nontraditional paid media tactics.

But first, a little background. In the early 1990s, a misinformed Colorado public would vote to outlaw spring bear hunting. And a few years later, it would include trapping on public lands. Colorado Parks and Wildlife (then known as the Colorado Division of Wildlife) was powerless to intercede. Special interest groups were taking away local sportsmen’s rights and disrupting the hunting and fishing heritage that was an essential attraction of Colorado’s great outdoors.

Colorado’s sportsmen would organize as the Colorado Wildlife Council and work to protect the state’s hunting and fishing legacy by creating a pilot program with a comprehensive, media-based approach to educate the public (especially the non-hunting and non-fishing public) about the importance of wildlife and wildlife management. Hunters and anglers showed their support by agreeing to a voluntary check-off donation program to demonstrate that a statewide public education campaign had value. The program was such a success, it resulted in the bill HB1266 (Public Education License Surcharge) being passed in 2005 by the state legislature. This new law allowed permanent funding to be secured from a surcharge on hunting and fishing license fees to finance an annual statewide public education campaign.

The campaign focuses on increasing awareness of the benefits of wildlife, wildlife management and wildlife-related recreational opportunities in Colorado (specifically hunting and fishing) – targeting non-hunters and non-anglers, and identifying the value of conservation, protecting wildlife and the benefits to Colorado’s economy. But after several years, the effectiveness of the campaign was waning. Confusion among Coloradans was building in regards to where funding for wildlife and wildlife management comes from, posing a threat to the campaign’s success.

The council turned to R&R Partners to give the campaign a new lease on life. But, our vision for their new campaign would be anything but cookie cutter.

Launched in March 2017, we gained valuable insights and consumer truths derived from our own research and discovery through a combination of non-hunters and non-anglers and supportive hunter and angler focus groups. From there we would develop messaging for a full-fledged, fully integrated campaign that included traditional, digital and social, and with a strategic media buy designed to reach voters that are more difficult to connect with.

Our creative execution tells the story of where the money goes when someone buys a hunting or fishing license, while illustrating the positive impact of license fees and how they preserve and benefit Colorado’s wildlife, public lands and economy. The closing message, “even if you don’t hunt/fish, chances are you still love hunting/fishing” identifies that every one benefits.

We also created content for the Wildlife Council’s social media channels (Facebook and Instagram), implementing GIFs and Facebook photos and video carousels. And we’ve developed attention-grabbing rich media assets that include educational online games for desktop and mobile.

As for the effectiveness of the new campaign – we’re happy to say we’re getting our share of hugs from the Colorado Wildlife Council. So far, just four months into the campaign, we’ve achieved some impressive metrics. We’ve garnered over 150,000 website visits to HugaHunter.com. The campaign has earned more than 13,500 “Likes” on the Colorado Wildlife Council’s Facebook page. And the total number of impressions achieved so far have reached over 30 million, through display, video, social media, digital radio and rich media.

Action to Impact: thoughts from an inspired activist

June 2, 2017 Jordan Alvillar, Brand Manager Comment

“People are in love with the IDEA of activism, but not the WORK required.”

DeRay McKesson, Civil Rights Activist

“You’re a bleeding heart”, my dad always says to me. It’s true. Throughout my life, I’ve been plagued with this burning desire to change the world for the better. It’s something that I can never fully explain to others – but I have always felt that my greater purpose is to be the voice for those who need it most.

Earlier this year, I had an epiphany. Though strong, my voice isn’t enough. I realized that I wanted to do more than say “I support” – I want to be a part of something greater that inspires ACTUAL change. But, as we know, change also takes physical work and it isn’t something that presents itself, wrapped up in a bow. While a march may set the tone, only the devoted can keep the pace to ensure change actually happens.

For this reason, I found myself enrolling in the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) Sturm Fellows Leadership Program. ADL’s Robert B. Sturm Mountain States Leadership Fellows Program was created to involve people who are committed to ADL’s mission “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” The Sturm Fellows Program, which runs from September-June, exposes participants to educational programming about the substantive issues of ADL’s agenda and gives them the opportunity to become ADL leaders in the community.

The highlight of the program was the opportunity to attend the ADL National Leadership Summit in Washington, DC, which I attended earlier this month. I cannot explain the gratitude I felt to be in the presence of so many people who want to do good – and not only with words, but with action. The program included presentations from ADL leadership, community leaders and activists, and legislators including Sen. John McCain (AZ), Sen. Marco Rubio (FL), Sen. Ben Cardin (MD) and Sen. Al Franken (MN); representing that civil rights will never be a partisan issue, but a human issue.

One of the speakers, former FBI Director James B. Comey, had powerful words for our group that revolved around unity. One story he referenced was his visit to Orlando immediately following the shooting that occurred at Pulse Night Club in 2016, leaving 49 dead and 53 wounded. He reminisced speaking to an individual who helped those at the scene after the shooting had occurred. He relayed to our group the words of this individual, who said to Mr. Comey:

“I heard the gun shots, and I started running toward where I heard them. I didn’t care what religion the victims practiced. I didn’t care who the victims loved. I didn’t care about the race of the victims. I knew they needed help and that was the bottom line.”

SO WHAT NOW?

It seems that today, more than ever, I have friends/family/colleagues say to me, “I want to do something to help, but I don’t know what. I feel paralyzed. I don’t know where to start.” With so much at stake, I too at times feel overwhelmed. However, I recognize that as one person, I cannot do everything at once. Though still fresh in my activism career, I have learned some helpful tips from those around me:

1. Follow your passion(s): what particular issues are you passionate about? Start there. Have many, like myself? Start with one to get your feet wet to determine what kind of time you have to commit.

2. Reach out: what organizations align with your passion? Reach out to them and ask what type of help they need most.

3. Determine your commitment: can’t afford to give financially? Volunteering is just as impactful. The organization you reach out to should have a list of opportunities that are available and ways you can help.

4. Local politics ARE important: reach out to your local representatives and talk to them about the matters which concern you most. Participate in City Council meetings. Stay engaged in the local elections and local issues that directly impact your community.

As for how I’ll change the world and the legacy I may leave behind, I’m not quite sure of that yet. Fortunately, I’m surrounded by many other like-minded individuals who also wish to change the world, and trailblazers who provide inspiration for us daily in how to accomplish that.

To all the other bleeding hearts that I’m fortunate to know, work with, or be in the presence of – don’t stop and keep the dream alive for a better tomorrow. I am with you.

Finding Purpose on International Women’s Day

March 8, 2017 Michelle Mader, Senior Vice President, Operations Comment

For more than 100 years, people around the world have been striking, protesting and marching in support of women’s rights every March 8, on what is now recognized by the United Nations as International Women’s Day. And on this day, I’m reminded of the heartbreaking story of Madonna Badger, and how she chooses to “fight with hope and love.”

I first learned of Madonna when she spoke at The 3% Conference last year. When she took the stage, I expected her to impart wisdom gained from her life as a creative director and the founding of her agency, Badger & Winters. Instead, she opened her heart and shared her story of unfathomable tragedy. In the early hours of Christmas Day 2011, Madonna’s parents and her three little girls − Lily, Sarah and Grace − died in a house fire. Madonna was also in the home at the time; she wasn’t able to save her family.

After enduring a year of devastating depression, grief and survivor’s guilt, she emerged with a new purpose. She would use her considerable talents and voice to make the world better for women and girls. She would do this in honor of her daughters, and in the hope of making the impact she knew her girls would have made had they lived to fulfill their potential. The #WomenNotObjects campaign was born.

The mission of #WomenNotObjects is to end the objectification of women in advertising and support brands that empower women. Hundreds of years of systematic privilege, fear and prejudice have shaped society to hamper the rights, dignities and personal freedoms of women, minorities and anyone thought to be “other.” Today, objectifying and stereotyping in marketing are a couple of the more subtle ways in which these discriminatory ideas are perpetuated. These harmful messages, often cloaked as “art” or locker room humor, threaten to undermine the gains we’ve made toward true equality and, in doing so, weaken our society.

I’m very proud that we don’t do the kind of work that objectifies or stereotypes. We use our voices and talents to influence and move legislation, to inspire movements, and to create positive experiences. We know the impact our work and service can have on individuals, communities and culture. And so, let us support and spread the mission of #WomenNotObjects and continue to use our talents to fight with hope and love.

A Plea to Share Your Passion

December 15, 2016 Aaron Cunningham, Copywriter Comment

Clark County Department of Family Services needed help getting more people to consider becoming a foster parent. So, how do you show everyday people what a rewarding experience fostering a child can be? You make it relatable by speaking to things they’re already passionate about.

We created a campaign that featured familiar hobbies and interests being shared with a foster child. These miniature stories tell how there’s nothing greater than experiencing a child discovering something new. Images simply captured how a hobby or interest can open up both foster parent and child to a whole new, unforgettable experience. The ultimate goal is that audiences might even find that sharing their passion becomes their new one as a foster parent.

Budget constraints can often complicate the creative execution of a campaign, but when people are passionate about the subject matter, amazing things can happen. Eric Klein, a photographer based out of Chicago, offered to waive his fee so we could afford to have the campaign shot professionally. He was happy and willing to do so because he was involved with the foster community himself. Which just goes to show the level of passion and dedication that fostering a child can bring.

Cause Marketing 101

November 7, 2016 Braden Rindlisbacher, Senior Brand Manager Comment

Social cause marketing—these are philanthropic buzzwords that appear to be sweeping companies and organizations in recent years. By the sound of it, it seems like something every organization should adopt. By the looks of it, it can do wonders for any business’ reputation.

But what is it exactly?

In short, cause marketing involves the marketing efforts of corporate entities, non-profit organizations, and other cause groups to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome. We’ve seen great examples of cause marketing in recent years with Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, Product (Red) for the Global Fund to Fight Aids, or Yoplait’s Friends in the Fight for Susan G. Komen.

So, what makes social cause marketing impactful? How does a group properly identify and adopt a social cause? How is it effectively marketed? I’ll illustrate three examples from R&R Partners’ Salt Lake City office that may help answer these questions.

Identify a need:

Utah Department of Public Safety – Highway Safety Office: Utah DUI Staycation Trolley Tour

Over the past 10 years, more deaths have happened on Utah roads on the 4th of July holiday than any other holiday. As Utahns began planning their Independence Day celebrations, we identified a need for our Utah Highway Safety client and began strategizing ways to position the “don’t drink and drive” message to best combat the deadly holiday. To encourage Utah drivers to make plans for sober driving, representatives from the Utah Department of Public Safety’s Highway Safety Office and the Utah Highway Patrol partnered with the Salt Lake Trolley Tour, a narrated sightseeing tour through historic Salt Lake City. We invited Salt Lake-area news outlets to join local law enforcement aboard the Utah DUI Staycation Tour and share the ride of lifetime—experiencing a DUI without the related costs.

The trolley tour took guests to various sites around downtown with a handful of out-of-the-ordinary stops. These stops included up-close and personal views of standardized field sobriety testing, the finest photo opps of a Blood Alcohol Testing vehicle (BATmobile), and a final stop at the jail administration building.

Our goal is not to stop people from drinking, but rather urge safe driving in situations where people might be drinking. If Utahans chose to drink on Independence Day, we encouraged them to make a plan—designating a sober driver or utilizing a ride share service. Otherwise, they could experience a summer staycation they wouldn’t soon forget.

http://www.good4utah.com/news/local-news/good-4-utah-experiences-dui-without-the-costs-penalties

Select an impactful partner:

Slow the Flow, Save H2O + Garbett Homes: Flip Your Strip

R&R Partners has developed a strategy for cause marketing called the “Theory of Reasoned Action” which highlights four steps for effective social change:

Raise awareness
Change attitudes
Change intentions
Change behavior

A crucial piece of the Theory of Reasoned Action pie includes community mobilization—or the process in which individuals or organizations carry out messaging or activities to accomplish an initiative. To mobilize a community, it often requires strategic partnerships to communicate messages via innovative ways.

Recently, we partnered with Garbett Homes—a Utah homebuilder committed to sustainable and innovative building—with our client Slow the Flow, Save H2O (from the Utah Division of Water Resources). Our shared goal was to extend Garbett’s efforts to the exterior of the home by promoting a Flip Your Strip initiative for residential landscaping. This initiative encouraged the conversion of neighborhood park strips (the area of yard between the sidewalk and street) from sod to an attractive water-wise alternative saving up to 10,000 gallons of water per year, per household.

The Flip Your Strip initiative aims to build awareness in the community and state, but also highlight Garbett Homes as a leader and advocate for water-wise, sustainable exterior landscaping. The summer-long project culminated in a media event to educate press and the community on the intended initiative. For additional community outreach, local elementary Daybreak Academy was invited to participate in the event. Speakers educated students about the Flip Your Strip project, the importance of conserving water, and ways they could help make a difference for Utah’s future water needs. Each student walked away with a t-shirt and water-wise plants for a hands-on application of the initiative for the academy’s schoolyard.

Build engaging content + creative:

Utah Department of Public Safety – Highway Safety Office: St. Patrick’s Day Saints of Sobriety

Many people like to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by raising a pint of their favorite beverage, but some press their luck by getting behind the wheel. To remind St. Patrick’s Day revelers to never drink and drive, representatives from the Utah Department of Public Safety’s Highway Safety Office and the Utah Highway Patrol visited Salt Lake-area news outlets to reveal a DUI-prevention message that encouraged bar and pub patrons to take a cab or ride with a sober lad or lassie.

Additionally, on the evening of St. Patrick’s Day 2016, law enforcement representatives partnered with Salt Lake City bars where local actors transformed into living statues of the “Saints of Sobriety”, including: St. Haylor of Cab, saint of wise travelers; St. Cristyl O’Clearhead, saint of responsible drinking; and St. Alweis the Appointed, saint of designated drivers. Those who made the pledge to get home safely received a coin from law enforcement representatives that, when deposited in the statue’s hat, activated an interactive performance by the living saint statue. To assist in additional awareness, each bar also placed a stained glass display at their location to communicate the importance of sober driving on Utah’s roads. The message was interactive, hands-on, and entertaining..

For the first time, Utah experienced zero alcohol related crashes or fatalities on St. Patrick’s Day. By identifying a need and a timely message, while channeling impactful creative, our message came to life with a fresh and innovative platform and likely played a role in preventing crashes and fatalities this year.

By identifying a need, selecting impactful community players, and building engaging content, any organization can adopt, and shape, an impactful cause marketing campaign. R&R Partners holds the tools and expertise to take key moments like each of the above examples and turn them into critical successes for any client.

A DECADE OF KEEPING KIDS ALCOHOL-FREE: How R&R Partners Continues to Prevent Underage Drinking Through Innovative, Researched-based Advertising

June 24, 2016 Steve Wright, Director of Strategic Communications Comment

Experience is what you get when working with R&R Partners to prevent underage drinking—and a lot of it.

Since 2006, R&R Partners has worked with the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (DABC) to eliminate underage drinking in Utah, a state that historically has the lowest underage drinking rates in the country. But, with the help of R&R Partners, Utah has found a way to further reduce the underage drinking numbers at a rate faster than the national trend. With the evidence-based advertising and communications of R&R Partners, Utah’s efforts have been incredibly successful, building not only the premier prevention program in Utah (Parents Empowered), but arguably the foremost underage drinking prevention program in the nation. In fact, 1 in 5 states has adopted Parents Empowered media materials or strategies to combat underage drinking.

So how does a state with such low underage drinking rates continue to push down the numbers? Below, we share a few of the secrets behind R&R Partners’ nationally recognized Parents Empowered program.

THE HARMS OF UNDERAGE DRINKING

R&R knows that the longer one can stave off a child’s first experimentation with alcohol, the more likely they are to prevent kids from a lifetime of alcohol abuse or related negative social behaviors. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, persons reporting first-use of alcohol before the age of 15 were more than five times as likely to report alcohol dependence as persons who first used alcohol at age 21 or older. And, if a child began experimenting with alcohol before the age of 15, they faced a 67 percent chance of suffering from alcohol-dependence. (SAHMSA, 2003, NSDUH)

As such, R&R understood the need to communicate the harms of underage drinking to parents, who may or may not see the associated risks. For some, drinking is the least harmful substance their child could use, and it may be considered a rite of passage, or even innocent experimentation. And while less than 10 percent of parents say they “agree” that it is OK if their child drinks alcohol sometimes, almost a third of parents feel there is very little they can do to prevent their kids from trying alcohol, and almost two-thirds believe their kids have never tried alcohol at all. (2015 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study, April 2015) We leverage these findings, creating messages that empower Utah parents with the knowledge that they can affect their child’s decisions and their likelihood of experimenting with alcohol.

EFFECTIVE SOCIAL CAUSE ADVERTISING

Now, R&R is very proud of the public service messages/advertisements created for Parents Empowered, as well as the national and state recognition, we’re more excited that the advertisements created to prevent underage drinking are effectively motivating parents to set clear rules against underage drinking.

R&R is very proud of their work on Parents Empowered, as the work is both impressive and successful, but even more significant is the continual decrease in underage drinking across Utah over the past decade.

Across Utah, R&R has been incredibly successful in educating parents/guardians about the consequences of early alcohol use and teaching parents the most effective researched-based behaviors proven to help kids grow up alcohol-free—bonding, boundaries and monitoring. Research shows that close to 90 percent of Utah parents now view themselves as the person primarily responsible for their children’s decision whether to drink or not—this is fantastic news. Additionally, underage drinking in Utah has steadily declined since the state began working with R&R Partners, and more parents now report setting clear rules and expectations to keep their kids alcohol-free.

“We needed an agency that could build a program the size of a 747, and launch it from a short runway. R&R Partners has delivered a successful campaign for more than a decade.” − Art Brown, President of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Utah Chapter

R&R Partners’ promise to the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control—and to every client—is simple, “We will help you win in ways you haven’t yet imagined.” Providing creative, measurable and effective solutions is what we do best. Parents Empowered continues to receive a steady stream of new, unique, effective ideas that raise awareness among parents of the harms related to underage drinking and what parents can do to prevent it.

INNOVATION IS IMPORTANT, BUT EFFICACY IS VITAL

As a general rule of thumb, innovation isn’t R&R’s primary measure of success—it’s efficacy. Aiming to be extremely innovative doesn’t always lead to effective solutions in social cause marketing, whereas aiming to be extremely effective almost always results in innovation.

The efficacy and innovation of R&R’s work on Parents Empowered has twice won the “Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Media Award for Outstanding Community Awareness Campaign,” and has been recognized as a Prevention Best Practice by Service to Science, with additional recognition from the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD) for Innovation in Prevention.

To build a campaign that is both innovative and effective, R&R knew research-based messaging needed to serve as the campaign’s foundation. Since the inception of Parents Empowered, R&R has helped to lead the campaign strategy by grounding all message recommendations in academic research and proven prevention practices. R&R’s past 10 years’ experience working directly with national and state prevention networks, and leveraging federal prevention best practices, has prepared us to motivate long-term sustainable change among key audiences, but also positions us to evolve the campaign using new trends and target audience insight.

For example, we capitalized on research-driven messaging in the development of the “Halo” ad that addressed parents’ mistaken perception that their child is immune from underage drinking. Halo delivered the message to parents that even good kids need help to remain alcohol-free.

More recently, the “Bobble head” broadcast message was developed in response to new research that identified a disconnect between fathers and mothers (especially in single-parent homes) who may not have the same attitudes about alcohol and underage drinking, and often don’t share the same rules and boundaries to keep kids alcohol-free. Many parents in research focus groups expressed the belief that underage drinking was dangerous, but felt their spouses may not feel the same way. This ad works to change the social norm and urge parents to agree on clear rules to prevent underage drinking.

Not only does R&R Partners have more than 10 years of success working on underage drinking prevention, but it has truly become the agency’s way of thinking—it is now our approach to our business and our way to give back to our communities. It is no surprise that more than a dozen states have solicited the help of R&R Partners to address public health and safety issues and change social norms.

WE BELIEVE IN CHANGING SOCIAL NORMS

Just as the Utah DABC and other community partners feel ownership in efforts to improve the health and safety of their communities, so does R&R Partners. We believe in the need to be socially responsible, helping to improve the communities where we live. The social causes we back are as much our passion as our clients’.

“R&R is not our vendor, but an equal partner. It is rare to find an advertising agency that believes in your cause as much as you do.” – Doug Murakami, Director of Alcohol Education, Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control

We’re committed to eliminating underage drinking with everything we have in our toolbox—strategic planning, advertising, digital marketing, mass media, nontraditional media, social media, public relations, and government and public affairs. And with all our expertise under one roof, we can, and will, continue to deliver powerful ideas and solutions for each social cause marketing campaign we build. We invite you to leverage R&R Partners’ passion and expertise to help launch your innovative and effective social cause marketing campaign.