Paid advertising, a component of the 2010 Census Integrated Communications Program, consisted of developing media schedules for creating and placing 2010 Census advertisements using the appropriate media vehicles to reach the right people at the right time in the right way. This campaign officially launched on January 17, 2010, and continued through July 4, 2010, supporting the established goals of the 2010 Census Integrated Communications Program:

1. Improve the Mail Response Rate
   • Develop tools and materials to educate and inform the public about the census form, census day, confidentiality of census information, and the benefits that can be derived from the data gathered.
   • Develop measurable strategies to maximize paid and earned media coverage of the importance of mailing back the census form.
2. Improve cooperation with enumerators
   • Disseminate messaging about cooperating with enumerators.
   • Maximize media coverage regarding cooperating with enumerators in national, local, and special interest media.
3. Improve overall accuracy and reduce the differential undercount
   • Establish local partnerships in hard-to-count areas and through the use of specialized products and services to educate the public and increase knowledge of the benefits of the 2010 Census with all target audiences.
   • Garner support from 2010 Census national and regional partners and stakeholders to serve as trusted third-party spokespeople for the 2010 Census effort by building on the campaign of “It’s In Our Hands.”
   • Establish and implement media activities in local and national media venues to increase media coverage and ensure integration and consistency on the messaging.

The 2010 Census paid advertising campaign was built upon a solid foundation of research to ensure that the messaging resonated with the targeted communities.

It consisted of three phases: awareness, motivation, and support.

• Phase 1, the Awareness Phase (January to February 2010), aimed to build awareness and familiarity with the upcoming 2010 Census.
• Phase 2 marked the Motivation Phase (March to April 2010) where individuals were motivated to complete the census form and mail it back.
• Phase 3 was the Nonresponse Followup Phase (May to July 2010) in which the campaign supported nonresponse followup efforts to educate non-respondents about the enumerators who would be traveling door-to-door to obtain responses.