New York City to spend $8 million promoting the 2020 Census

New York City will launch an $8 million marketing and advertising campaign – with material available in at least 16 different languages – to promote the 2020 Census, the head of the city’s census efforts announced at a kickoff event on Tuesday.

Further details about the campaign, which will hit television, radio, print, and digital platforms, will come in the next few weeks. But targeting communities that are often difficult to get counted in the census, such as immigrants, will be a major part of that marketing strategy. About 70% of the city’s print and digital investment into this outreach will be directed toward community and ethnic media. 

“We get this message out through the media that our communities trust the most,” said Julie Menin, director of NYC Census 2020. She told reporters that the messaging would include a focus on the federal law protecting the privacy of census information and myth-busting about what questions are on the form. The city’s marketing campaign is expected to feature some celebrity representation as well.

Yesterday’s event also marked the beginning of the NYC Complete Count Campaign, a partnership between city officials, the City University of New York and 157 nonprofits to do census-related outreach. Those community-based organizations convened after the announcement to get training on best practices for organizing, communications, marketing, and other initiatives they will take on in the coming weeks.