Washington, D.C - When the federal government quietly announced that it is gearing up to promote financial literacy in a significant way, the free community paper industry let them know that our publishers would be a perfect fit for their plans. Years before the economic downturn, Congress created an obscure federal commission tasked with promoting good personal financial hygiene. That agency, the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, is itself comprised of representatives of twenty-two prominent federal entities. Behind the bureaucratic scenes, they forged and solicited public feedback on a Draft National Strategy for Financial Literacy.
In response, PaperChain on behalf of its Member Associations and the united Free Community Paper Industry, filed formal Comments to the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, and its lead agency the Department of the Treasury, endorsing key components of the Draft National Strategy for Financial Literacy while simultaneously demonstrating concrete ways our industry could advance this worthy cause. Of particular interest to our hometown publishers and the diverse communities they serve across the land is the Plan's call to create a National Media Campaign.
Weighing in at this stage of the game could pay dividends, as only 69 unique comments were filed in response to the Federal Register Notice. And of those, less than a dozen came from interested trade associations. By any measure, this raises the profile of PaperChain's recommendations as well as the Free Community Paper Industry itself, before both the Commission and its nearly two dozen member agencies that span federal government. It's worth noting that many of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission members have their own awareness campaigns and media budgets, and include such prominent players as the Departments of Agriculture, Defense and Education as well as the Small Business Administration.
While the free community paper industry comments were specific to the FLEC Draft Plan, they offered a blueprint for successful national media campaigns for any federal entity:
"PaperChain champions the Vision, Mission and Goals detailed in the working Draft of the National Strategy for Financial Literacy. We take keen interest in the first explicit Goal, 'Increase Awareness of and Access to Financial Education,' as well as the multiple mentions of collaboration and partnerships from the national down to the most local, community-based level. We are confident that our industry can deliver critical and unique capabilities to specific objectives set forth in 'Goal 1.' At the same time, PaperChain also welcomes the opportunity to serve as a key partner across action areas, and as bridge-builder across macro and micro-geographic divides."
"PaperChain strongly agrees that a national media campaign will be vital to the National Strategy. A multitude of options exist across traditional and emerging platforms, and we envision the Commission thoughtfully adopting a strategic blend of so-called old and new media in its ultimate campaign. All of the best efforts, from identifying at-risk groups to developing ideal curricula, simply cannot achieve full potential if the intended audience is not reached. The Commission must carefully evaluate the possibilities presented by 'innovative technologies to reach people,' but also maintain constant focus on the most basic need to 'reach people where they are.' At the end of the day, people come home, and they can still be found most reliably at their residence."
Read PaperChain Comments here: http://scr.bi/hhHZvi
