Los Rakas, Bang Data, Mexia, Matt Blesse, Christsna Sot

with Demi Lovato, Ana Ortiz and Jorge Garcia

Voto Latino Presents: Be Counted PSA Premiere Online Launch!

The U.S. Census is about more than just numbers, it’s about representation. Take a stand now and get 25 free songs!

Team
Art Direction: Steve Alfaro
Photography: Juan Luis Garcia
Assistants: Abraham Calderon & Ernesto Yerena
Make Up: Neida Saldana
Location: Huntington Park, CA

Special Thanks to my Mom and Dad, Sisters Heydy and Stephanie, My friends and neighbors; Ivy and her daughter Idalys, Barbara and her son Damion, Maricela and her daughter Brenda, Marivel and her daughter Leslie, Angela and her daughter Denise, my cousin Dallana for participating and helping out this weekend. A very special thank you to my friends and team Neida Saldana, Omar Bustos, Abraham Calderon, Ernesto Yerena and Juan Luis Garcia for making this idea come to life.

January 26, 2010, Washington, DC – Leading Latino youth civic engagement organization, Voto Latino, builds on its nationally-recognized work driving unprecedented Latino participation in the 2008 presidential election with the launch of its “Be Counted, Represent!” campaign, which encourages Latino participation in the census.

“Be Counted, Represent!” which soft launches today is comprised of multi-platform web, mobile, direct and traditional media initiatives that will elevate the census in the minds of Latinos, who were among the undercounted, by an estimated 700,000 in just Los Angeles County alone in the 2000 Census.

In the United States, census data affects everything from the allocation of federal budgets for education, health care and transportation to the drawing of Congressional districts. This year’s 2010 census is of critical importance to all Americans because it allocates $400 billion in federal funds and determines congressional representation.

“Our work with the census is to both educate Latinos about the importance of taking it and re-imaging it as a means of personal empowerment and taking ownership of one’s future and one’s family’s,” said Maria Teresa Kumar, co-founder and executive director of Voto Latino, an official US Census partner.

“What we’ve found through our work is that Latino youth are pivotal household influencers. They’re familiar with government processes, they are English-speakers and consume mainstream media, and they influence their households with everything from politics to household purchases. Empowering them to take the census is at the core of our strategy.”

In speaking to their target effectively and leveraging drive-to-web and SMS campaigns from their 2008 presidential election work as well as the best practices utilized by President Obama’s campaign, Voto Latino’s “Be Counted, Represent!” campaign is comprised of the following initiatives:

“Be Counted, Represent!” Local
- On-the-ground Events : Voto Latino (VL) will be organizing on-the-ground events and census outreach operations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Upstate New York, Long Island and San Francisco.
- Collateral and Direct Mail Pieces : Voto Latino will distribute iTunes cards, t-shirts and other collateral materials, including direct mailers to aforementioned markets.

“Be Counted, Represent!” On the Web & Mobile
- “BeCountedRepresent.com” – A dedicated URL, which goes live 2/2, will serve as the campaign’s hub, featuring easy-to-digest US Census information, and prompting viewers to “Take the Pledge” to participate in the census. Anyone who takes the pledge will also receive a free 25-song soundtrack courtesy of iTunes (as per below).
- “Be Counted” Viral Video PSAs – Executive produced by Voto Latino, who were acknowledged last year with a Webby award for their “La Pasión de la Decisión” get-out-the-vote PSAs, this three-part series of Internet shorts, feature a group of friends who, one night over a festive party, launch into a heated argument about whether to participate in the census. An all-star ensemble cast, featuring Rosario Dawson, Luis Guzman, Demi Lovato (Disney’s Camp Rock franchise), Ana Ortiz (“Ugly Betty”), Wilmer Valderrama (“That Seventies Show”), Jorge Garcia (“Lost”) and more, comprise of characters with opposing viewpoints. The first short will launch in February on BeCountedRepresent.com with subsequent shorts to follow through the end of May.
- Voto Latino Free Digital Downloads – Apple will provide Voto Latino with 100,000 census-themed iTunes cards that will be distributed to community organizations, universities and radio stations. The cards allow recipients to download 25 free songs from major artists across a wide range of relevant musical genres, who have donated their tracks to the campaign.
- Text2Represent SMS campaign – Voto Latino will send targeted text messages to tens of thousands of U.S. Latinos to ensure that they and their families understand the importance of the Census and being counted.

“Be Counted, Represent!” On the Air

- Voto Latino + Fonavisa/Universal Records Radio PSAs/Radio Coalition – Voto Latino will tap into its existing Radio Coalition, a network of 75 stations across the country, to promote census participation by producing a Radio PSA featuring popular Latin recording artists (such as Pitbull and Kinto Sol) and developing Census talking points for DJs to educate listeners on the importance of being counted. Voto Latino will also partner with leading Regional Mexican record label Fonovisa/Universal Records to reach the Mexican immigrant community, and will tap Fonovisa’s award-winning roster of artists, including Los Tigres del Norte, Graciela Beltran, Los Tucanes de Tijuana and German Montero.

“Be Counted, Represent!” In Partnership
- Voto Latino Shares “Be Counted” Platform to lead NGO Partner Groups – Voto Latino enlists national partner organizations, namely, organizations reaching millenials and other hard-to-count groups, such as MALDEF, Rock the Vote, SAVE, Mobilize, and Future Majority, amongst others.

When Voto Latino headed to Los Angeles to shoot the PSAs for the campaign, we knew a digital revolution would begin with the very people helping to make this important cause known to all.

Check out the tweets below from @RosarioDawson (co-founder of Voto Latino), @DDLovato, and @WillyVille as they tweeted throughout the day!

Be on the lookout for the PSAs starring Rosario Dawson, Luis Guzman, Demi Lovato (Disney’s Camp Rock franchise), Ana Ortiz (”Ugly Betty”), Wilmer Valderrama (”That Seventies Show”), Jorge Garcia (”Lost”) and more as they comprise of characters with opposing viewpoints about the Census!