Saw this in Promo Magazine and thought it was an interesting approach for the US Postal Inspection Service (which, quite frankly, I didn’t know existed). Here is the program description from the 1/2007 Promo:
Social networking sites have long been a magnet for creeps looking to harm young girls. But parents have a new ally in their fight to protect their daughters: The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). The service has launched a $1 million viral campaign called 2 SMRT 4 U. The objective: To urge teenage girls to be careful when using social networking sites and blogs.
Central to the effort are free stainless steel rings engraved with a safety message. Roughly 82,000 have been ordered by girls online, and the initial order of 100,000 had to be doubled last month due to high demand, says Debbie Spencer, senior vice president, management for Campbell-Ewald, the agency handling the campaign.
What I find interesting is the motive and funding source for this program:
Why are postal inspectors involved in fighting online crime? Many predators also operate by mail, thus bringing them under the purview of the USPIS, Smith notes.
The best part is that the budget is from the service’s “forfeiture fund,†containing seized proceeds from criminal activity. “We’re using the bad guys’ money,†Smith says.
Public service campaigns are, by intent, almost always Marketing for Good. What I like about this particular one is that they are communicating the campaign in both traditional and non-traditional ways, enlightening teen girls about the problem and engaging them with the 2 SMRT 4U rings.