News

“Unadoptable is Unacceptable” wins Council on Foundations Award

2013-04-18T12:53+00:00

For the 107,000 children who are available for adoption in the U.S. foster care system, there aretwo very different paths—be adopted by a permanent family or age out without the care and support of a permanent, loving family.

In 2011, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption asked GMMB todevelop a communications strategy to release research on the outcomes of its signature program,Wendy’s Wonderful Kids (WWK).The unprecedented, fiveyearresearch effort found implementing DTFA’s child-focused adoption recruitment model, leads to higher rates of adoption particularly among children traditionally seen as more difficult to find adoptive families. The research has been heralded among policymakers and adoption managers and practitioners as proof that all children are adoptable.

GMMB created an animated video—“Unadoptable is Unacceptable”— using kinetic typography to highlight these positive findings and to combat the misconception that some children in foster care are unadoptable.

This prestigious award joins a 2012 Gold ADDY Award for Electronic Broadcast, a 2012 Silver Telly Award, and best video production from Columbus American Marketing Awards.

GMMB Takes Home 13 Pollie Awards!

2013-04-10T13:41+00:00

GMMB took home 13 awards at the American Association of Political Consultant’s (AAPC) 2013 Annual Pollie Awards & Conference – seizing top honors for ads created for candidates, causes and independent expenditure campaigns.

Six spots produced by GMMB as part of the Obama Media Team earned recognition, including three Gold Awards, four Silver Awards and two Bronze Awards. GMMB also won a Special Pollie Award for “Best Initiative Campaign” for its work on behalf of Maryland Jobs and Schools, which resulted in the Question 7 ballot initiative being overwhelmingly approved by Maryland voters.

Every year, AAPC gives out Gold, Silver, Bronze and Honorable Mention Pollie Awards to political consultants and public affairs executives for outstanding work, creativity and contributions to electoral politics. GMMB’s wins include:

Special Pollie Award for The Best Initiative Campaign for Maryland Jobs and Schools’ “Yes on Question 7”

Gold for Obama for America’s (OFA) TV Campaign (Democrat) in the overall campaigns (candidate) category

Gold for OFA’s “Challenges” spot in the best use of personality (celebrity) category

Gold for Montana JETPAC’s “Cover” spot in the independent expenditure (governor) category

Silver for OFA’s “Mitt v Mitt” spot in the online advertising (Democrat) category

Silver for OFA’s “Determination” spot in the for president (candidate) category

Silver for DSCC’s “See Straight” spot in the independent expenditures campaign (US Senate) category

Silver for DCCC’s “Holding” spot in the independent expenditures campaign (US House) category

Bronze for Sierra Club and NRDC’s “Double-Half” spot in the online advertising (nationwide) category

Bronze for OFA’s “537” spot in the for president (Democrat) category

Bronze for OFA’s “The Choice” spot in the best use of contrast (president-Democrat) category

Honorable Mention for Save Our Environment Action Fund’s “Vacation Dog” spot in the internet (public affairs) category

Honorable Mention for Maryland Jobs and Schools’ “Muscle” spot in the TV (initiative and referendum) category

Explore SUN’s New Website!

2013-03-19T11:35+00:00

GMMB’s partnership with the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement was born from over a decade’s worth of work in bringing people together to improve nutrition for mothers and children through effective advocacy.

SUN is a unique country-driven approach that works to bring the right people and resources together to drive sustained, lasting progress for improving nutrition everywhere. The SUN website not only showcases the broad progress being made in the Movement overall, but provides concrete information on what exactly is happening on the ground to scale up nutrition in 33 (and counting!) SUN countries.

From concept to design to content development, GMMB worked with partners in the SUN Movement to strategically capture their unique vision and ensure that the Movement’s progress at all levels is communicated effectively though the website. Through a continuous process over the past 2 years, the website has evolved into a central platform for advancing SUN’s goals and has become a strong, trusted point of reference in the broader global nutrition, health and development community.

We welcome you to explore the SUN website:

GMMB Wins Big at the 2013 American Advertising Awards

2013-03-14T16:44+00:00

GMMB celebrated big wins at the 2013 American Advertising Awards receiving a total of eight awards for creative work produced for the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), CTIA–The Wireless Association®, AARP, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) and the Millennial Trains Project.

The American Advertising Awards are the advertising industry’s largest competition for creative excellence. GMMB’s wins include:

Best of Public Service Category and Gold for CTIA–The Wireless Association®’s “Emergency Preparedness PSA” in the Public Service Category

Gold for NCTA's “Monster Media Wall”in the Out-of-Home category

Gold for CTIA–The Wireless Association®’s “The Wireless Mind”spot in the TV category

Gold for The Center for the Next Generation’s “Drowning”PSA in the Public Service category

Silver for AARP's "Words"spot in the TV category

Silver for Millennial Trains Project’smore than 60-second video in the Branded Content category

Silver for ACS CAN "Beaker" ad in the Print category

Too Small to Fail - A Campaign for America’s Kids

2013-03-11T22:44+00:00

The Center for the Next Generation (TCNG) had a vision for the launch of its “Too Small to Fail” campaign: wake up our country to the challenges facing America’s kids. While some organizations might have chosen to do that by simply putting out a press release and a report, TCNG knew that wouldn’t be enough to break through. And, with more children living in poverty today than in the last 50 years, a rise in childhood chronic illnesses and a lag in education behind other developed countries, even “breaking through” wasn’t enough. TCNG wanted to shake things up in a way that would get peoples’ attention and inspire them to learn more.

GMMB worked with TCNG to produce provocative TV spots designed to startle the nation’s TV viewers and spark conversations about how to strengthen the future for America’s youth. The award-winning “Drowning” spot opens with a shot of still, dark water. Suddenly, a fully-clothed boy falls into the water. The audience is forced to watch the child struggling under water until copy comes on screen asking the viewer, "Can't watch one child in danger? You do it every day. Stop Watching."

And the media took notice.

Visit Too Small to Fail for more information about the campaign and be sure to read this article penned by GMMB’s own Jim Margolis, a senior advisor to President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 election campaigns, and Mark McKinnon, President George W. Bush’s chief media advisor, that highlights the bipartisan nature of the campaign.

One important note: the child was an actor surrounded by adults and a professional lifeguard and was never in danger.

Council of the Great City Schools Releases Common Core Video

2013-03-05T20:19+00:00

Last year, the Council of the Great City Schools asked GMMB to produce an online video with parents in the nation's largest urban school districts as its principal audience. The video would be the centerpiece of a campaign to inform these parents on the Common Core State Standards. The campaign, which included materials in English and Spanish, was meant to help parents understand what to expect during implementation of the Common Core. It was also designed to prompt parental support for the major changes the implementation process would imply. GMMB began by simplifying the admittedly complex subject and worked to make the messages of the Council resonate clearly with the target audience. Visually-scribed animation proved an ideal medium to accomplish this task. After countless hours of carefully evaluated scripts and storyboards, the result is a 3-minute video — available in both Spanish and English — that speaks directly to urban parents in a way that is at once substantive, accessible and memorable.

Lawyers’ Committee Supports the Voting Rights Act at the Supreme Court

2013-02-27T22:52+00:00

Today, February 27, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Shelby v. Holder, one of the most important recent cases challenging the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Section 5 requires jurisdictions with a history of persistent racial discrimination to obtain federal approval before changes to voting laws become legally enforceable. In a nutshell, Section 5 ensures that minorities have equal access to the ballot box in areas where there is a strong historical precedent of voter suppression, and is applicable in all or parts of 16 states, including most states in the South, as well as Alaska, Arizona and parts of South Dakota, Michigan, California and New York.

GMMB was on the Supreme Court steps to support our client the Lawyers’ Committee in their fight to protect voting rights. GMMB was responsible for organizing and securing media interviews for Barbara Arnwine, President and Executive Director and Jon Greenbaum, Chief Counsel and one of three interveners in the case. GMMB set up onsite interviews with NPR, Sirius Radio, Arkansas Democratic Gazette and Voxxi News. Barbara and Jon spoke at a live press conference on the steps attended by top tier outlets, including CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, NPR, BBC, PBS Newshour, MSNBC, Fox News, Al Jazeera, Washington Post, New York Times, The Nation, LA Times, AP and Reuters. To kick-off today’s media activities, GMMB was also able to place an op-ed, jointly penned by Barbara and ACLU, in this morning’s The Hill newspaper. The op-ed can be viewed online here.

GMMB Analyzes Education and the State of the Union

2013-02-14T22:16+00:00

As former teachers and education reporters, and as current parents, siblings and engaged community members, our staff at GMMB recognizes the power of a great education. We’ve lived it. And we're passionate about it.

We partner with amazing clients who work hard to ensure that all students have the highest quality education possible. Our clients push for opportunities for our youngest learners, for lifelong learning for every citizen and for realizing the dream of a college education.

GMMB analyzed the education portion of President Obama’s State of the Union, as well as the social media conversation around it. What did we find? Education was the highest trending topic around the State of the Union address.

Click here to find our analysis on education and the State of the Union.

GMMB Wins Big at the Reed Awards

2013-02-04T23:26+00:00

Strategic communications firm GMMB took home six awards at Friday’s 2013 Reed Awards – taking top awards for advertisements created for candidates, causes and independent expenditure campaigns. Three spots, produced as part of the Obama Media Team, took top honors; as well as two ads created by GMMB and its affiliates for Montana Hunters and Anglers Leadership Fund and for the Save Our Environment Action Fund.

“537,” an ad which reminded the electorate that one vote can make a difference, won two awards, including Best TV Advertisement of 2012. It was one of the only ads of the 2012 election cycle to not mention either candidate by name. “Challenges,” an ad featuring the vocal talent of actor Morgan Freeman, won the award for Best Use of Voiceover Talent. “The Choice,” the first spot of the 2012 election season to feature President Obama speaking to the camera, took the award for Most Effective Comparative Ad.

“Surveillance,” the third in a series of spots for Montana Hunters and Anglers Leadership Fund in the Montana Senate race, won the award for Best IE Campaign/Issue Advocacy. This campaign challenged the conservative credentials of a powerful GOP Senate candidate and helped drive Republican votes to the Libertarian candidate, thus helping re-elect Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT).

“Vacation Dog,” a satirical spot created for the Save Our Environment Action Fund to support aggressive new federal fuel efficiency standards, took the award for Best Online Advertising Campaign. The ad was viewed more than 3 million times online during the course of its pre-roll run, including more than 106,000 unique YouTube views.

The Campaign & Elections Reed Awards honor excellence in political campaigning, campaign management and political consulting.

Here are a few of the winning spots:

GMMB’s Jim Margolis on the Inauguration

2013-02-01T21:30+00:00

Jim Margolis, a senior partner at GMMB, served as a Senior Advisor to Barack Obama in both his 2008 and 2012 campaigns for the White House, taking a lead role in each cycle’s advertising effort and helping direct the campaign as a member of the core strategic team. Jim also co-managed and produced the two Presidential Inaugurals, with creative and thematic responsibility for the four-day events. GMMB-staff members interviewed Jim about his role in the 57th Presidential Inauguration, highlighting what the traditions mean to him and which moments he found most memorable.