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American Red Cross Launches Hurricane Preparedness Campaign

October 1, 2007

Long Island, NY - When it comes to getting Long Island ready for the 2007 hurricane season, the American Red Cross turned to the strategic advertising and marketing agency of Austin & Williams (Hauppauge, NY) for a carefully crafted campaign. The multi-media effort, which launched in July and is a now a full-blown program, uses local cable television, radio, newspaper and outdoor transportation display advertising to target the Long Island region with a important message on hurricane preparedness.

The campaign's goal is to encourage Long Islanders to visit a special website, www.LIPrepares.org to learn more about how to prepare for a hurricane, or to call, toll free, 1-877-PREP-4-LI to obtain a free Long Island Hurricane Preparedness Guide. Both the URL for the website and the toll free number were specifically established for this campaign.

The principle challenge facing the Austin & Williams creative team was that many residents are not aware that major hurricanes can and do hit Long Island. While significant storms have struck in the past, hurricanes are not annual occurrences as they are in other parts of the country.

Austin & Williams addressed this lack of awareness head-on with a combination of direct statements and gentle humor. The broadcast spots featured everyday folks and their misconceptions about hurricane readiness, while the print materials used humorous animated graphics to draw attention and drive home the serious message regarding the importance of hurricane preparedness.

In one television spot, a narrator opens with the prompt, Are you ready for a hurricane? to which one man answers, "I have a flashlight and batteries. I think I'm ready." Then, a senior couple comes on screen and the woman says, "Hurricanes happen in Florida, not here on Long Island." Both responses are met with a retort from the Executive Directors of the Nassau and Suffolk County Chapters of the Red Cross, Frank Cassano and Diane M. Amarosa, respectively. This spokesperson sets the record straight, then urges Long Islanders to be prepared and directs viewers to the website and toll free number. The 30-second spot ends with a reinforcement of the message and the question, Are you ready? This spot and two others are running on such cable staples as the Discovery network, Fox News, HGTV, TBS, TNT, News 12 and aptly, The Weather Channel. A third television spot is an animation featuring the same family shown in the print advertisements to create synergy.

The print materials were placed in Newsday, various community newspapers including Anton Newspapers, Herald Newspapers, Suffolk Life, Dan's Paper and Noticia Hispanamerica. Additionally, streamlined versions of the print advertisements were placed on select Long Island Railroad platforms and bus shelters throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Based on Long Island, New York, Austin & Williams is a full-service marketing and advertising agency specializing in research-driven, results-oriented campaigns for clients in ultra-competitive environments such as health care, financial services, higher education and hospitality.