U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) launches the Citizenship Public Education and Awareness Initiative this week with materials and research developed by precision advertising agency Sensis. The effort uses digital, print, out-of-home and radio advertising in several languages to promote the rights and responsibilities of United States citizenship and the free naturalization preparation resources available from USCIS.
According to a Department of Homeland Security analysis, about 7.9 million of the estimated 12.5 million lawful permanent residents (LPR) in the U.S. are eligible to apply for naturalization. To reach this population, USCIS turned to Sensis to develop an integrated public education and awareness initiative. The multiyear contract includes market research and strategy, account planning, brand development, media planning, community outreach tools, digital marketing, and traditional advertising to develop a comprehensive and coherent message.
“This is probably the largest and most comprehensive marketing and messaging effort we have undertaken,” said Sensis President José Villa. “Through TV, radio, out-of-home, digital, online tools and other materials, we are encouraging legal immigrants, no matter which media they consume the most, to fully understand their options and what is required of them to apply for citizenship. This initiative highlights individuals like them who ‘chose’ U.S. citizenship.”
“The research we conducted showed that a large number of lawful permanent residents are unaware, or at best only somewhat aware, of the differences between the status of lawful permanent resident and U.S. citizen,” Sensis Account Supervisor Melissa Hart said. “The initiative invites individuals to learn more about the rights, responsibilities and importance of U.S. Citizenship and encourages LPRs to visit the USCIS online Citizenship Resource Center to find out more.”
To view the creative, visit: www.sensisagency.com/citizenship