» Client: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
» Job: Design and manage an ongoing campaign to help combat bullying among children ages 9 to 13 — or “tweens,” as the demographic has been dubbed — and raise awareness about its consequences among parents, teachers and other community leaders.
» Agency: Widmeyer Communications in Washington
» Theme: Stop Bullying Now. Take a Stand. Lend a Hand. A gang of tween-aged animal cartoon characters are the face of the campaign.
» The concept: Building on the fact that today’s tweens get much of their information online, the centerpiece of the campaign is the Web site, stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov. The site includes a series of “webisodes” that tweens can watch to learn how to recognize and prevent bullying, as well as a constantly changing lineup of online games, polls and other interactive features. ‘
For adults, the site includes a range of resources such as tip sheets, video workshops and downloadable brochures that can be used to launch a local anti-bullying campaign.
» The plan: Originally launched in 2004, Widmeyer recently added a series of games to the Web site that require players to view the webisodes in order to win. This fall, the agency will release a DVD that contains similar content, including webisodes, public service announcements and video workshops to be distributed to those that don’t have access to the online version. The site has been extremely popular among its target audiences. In the fall of 2005 alone, the site received about 4,000 visits per day, and HHS reported a number of schools launched campaigns using the Web site’s resources.
» Creative Team: Jason Smith, senior vice president and group director, project director for campaign; Lydia Pelliccia, vice president; Peter Hahn, vice president; Stacey Finkel, assistant vice president; Sara Appleyard, senior associate; Brian Wachur, account executive.
» Ages: 24 through 38
» Background: Widmeyer Communications, with offices in Washington and New York City, is a full-service communications firm that works with a wide range of clients, many of them in the government and nonprofit sectors.
» Working on Next: Campaigns for the National Parent Teacher Association and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services “Poison Help” initiative.
