Ads created for Washington Healthplanfinder, an integrated marketing campaign developed to promote access to free and low-cost health insurance, also won three Gold awards in the Regional/National Single TV Spots and in the Regional/National TV Campaign categories and Silver in the Regional/National TV Campaign category. Two holiday-themed ads created for AARP, “Holiday Scammers” and “Season of Scams,” also won Gold awards.

Finally, GMMB’s “Fight the Ladykiller” campaign, created for the Women’s Heart Alliance to encourage action in the fight against women’s heart disease won two Gold awards, with the “Obituary” poster and “Inflict” video each winning Silver awards in the Collateral and Broadcast categories.

GMMB works with some of the world’s most recognized and respected leaders, foundations, nonprofit organizations and corporations on issues and causes that improve lives. For more information, go to http://www.gmmb.com and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Corrigan has more than two decades of experience as a copywriter and creative director. Most recently, Corrigan served as a VP/Creative Director at Wunderman’s Washington, D.C. office. He also spent many years at Arnold Worldwide, managing the creative efforts for Choice Hotels International. In his role at GMMB, Corrigan will be   leading creative teams and shaping campaigns for AARP as well as leading GMMB’s creative work for Mixify, the American Beverage Association’s campaign to promote healthy, balanced lifestyles among teens.

 “Compelling creative is key to achieving GMMB’s mission to create real and lasting change in the world,” said Raelynn Olson, managing partner at GMMB. “It’s what moves people to act. We’re delighted to have Don’s unique expertise and experience as a complement to the other creative talent on our team.”

The awards, announced in New Orleans at the Association’s annual conference, include a clean sweep of the Television Super PAC (Democrat) category, with Gold and Silver awards for Put Alaska First and Bronze for an ad for VoteVets Action Fund in Kentucky’s senate race. Every year, AAPC awards Gold, Silver, Bronze and Honorable Mention “Pollies” to political consultants and public affairs executives. The full list of awards by category comprises:

1. Television – Super PAC (Democrat):

Gold: Forever, for Put Alaska First in support of U.S. Senate candidate Mark Begich

Silver: Beat, for Put Alaska First in support of U.S. Senate candidate Mark Begich

Bronze: The Walk, VoteVets Action Fund in support of U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes

2. Best use of negative/contrast:

Silver: Absolutely, Reagan, Four Years – for Mary Burke for Wisconsin

3. Television – Best Use of Negative/Contrast (Senate,Democrat):

Silver: Ahead – for Mark Warner for Virginia

4. Television – Independent Expenditure Campaign, United States House Of Representatives:

Silver: Remember – for DCCC IE in support of U.S. Congressman Scott Peters

5. Television Independent Expenditure Campaign, United States Senate:

Gold: The Walk – for VoteVets Action Fund in support of U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes

6. Television Public Affairs – National:

Silver: Mother's Instinct – for the American Lung Association, in support of federal clean air regulations

7. Web Video – Best Use of Humor:

Silver: Absent – for Charlie Crist for Governor

8. Newspaper – Full Page Ad:

Bronze: Print Ad – for Bristol Bay Regional Seafood and Development Association against the Pebble Bay mine

NBC made the smart decision to stream all 11 hours of its Super Bowl coverage for free on their website and mobile apps.  On average, there were 800,000 viewers per minute streaming the game.  The major broadcast networks have, for the last few years, made this exception for the Super Bowl, but not other major sporting events such as the World Cup or the Olympics.  NBC explained that the decision to stream it was made to “help raise overall awareness of TV Everywhere” but also helps position the NBC brand as a leader across all platforms, blurring the line between what is often called “traditional media” and “new media.”  Can you imagine the outcry from cord-cutters everywhere had NBC not streamed it?  Cord-cutting is indeed a problem that broadcasters and advertisers have to address, but broadcast audiences for the Super Bowl continue to grow (as do the rates broadcasters charge advertisers).  6.5% of households have dropped pay TV in 2014, but NBC recognized this was an important and hard-to-reach audience and grasped the opportunity.

The fact is indisputable that each year more people will find a way to watch the Super Bowl and share their thoughts with the world.  It’s up to broadcasters to find a way to both monetize that spirit and keep viewers happy, while it’s up to the advertisers to adapt in order to capitalize on it.

BROADCAST COSTS & AUDIENCES

30-second Super Bowl spot this year cost advertisers on average $4.5 million. For comparison’s sake, a spot in 1967 in Super Bowl I cost advertisers $42,000.

The $4.5 million bought advertisers access to a 49.7 overnight household rating, a gain from last year’s 47.6 rating. This means that 49.7% of television homes was watching the game, a Super Bowl record.

On an individual level, the game drew an historic 114.5 million viewers, topping last year’s total of 111.5 million. By comparison, the series finale of MASH in 1983 saw 105.9 million viewers and a 60.9 household share, which is the largest audience for a TV series finale ever.

Those numbers result in roughly a $0.04 cost to reach each viewer, assuming everyone is watching every ad. This is actually a bargain if you put it up against other cost per viewer models.

STREAMING AUDIENCE AND ADVERTISING

• According to CNN, the NBC livestream of the game reached a peak of 1.3 million viewers at the point of Malcolm Butler’s game-clinching interception.
• Adobe Analytics said there were 800,000 viewers per minute streaming the game.
• NBC sold its streaming spots separately from the TV broadcast, so those streaming the game did not necessarily see the same spots as those watching on broadcast TV.

SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT

• The game was the most tweeted Super Bowl ever – 28.4 million tweets were sent during the broadcast, destroying last year’s 24.9 million. The most tweeted sporting event ever was the 2014 World Cup semi-final between Germany & Brazil, which saw 35.6 million tweets. The most tweeted moments last night were the climactic Malcolm Butler interception, the immediate end of the game after the Patriots won, and the moment following Katy Perry’s halftime performance.
• Of the 66 national TV ads that aired during the game, 33 used a hashtag.
• Facebook saw 265 million posts by 65 million unique users, higher than the 50 million users who posted about the Super Bowl last year.

Allison Thomas was promoted to Senior Vice President to lead planning and research across the firm.  A skilled strategist and analyst, Allison helps clients gain deeper audience insights to guide effective strategies. With more than a decade of experience at GMMB, she has helped some of the nation's leading foundations, nonprofits, associations and government agencies develop and implement successful strategies to advance domestic and global health, economic empowerment and civic engagement.

Christine Glunz was promoted to Senior Vice President to help lead the firm’s work on a range of issues including health care, public health, sustainability, and the environment. With more than 15 years of experience in public policy and political communications, Glunz provides clients with strategic and crisis communications counsel as well as reputation management and media relations expertise. Christine started her career in the White House during the Clinton Administration and later returned to the Executive Office of the President to work for President Obama. She has held several senior communications positions in the U.S. Congress, for the State of Illinois and also on several high profile U.S. political campaigns. 

SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

From the start of President Obama’s address through the conclusion of the official Republican response by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, more than 2.6 million tweets were sent related to the SOTU. According to Twitter, the president’s proposal to offer two years of free community college to all was the most-tweeted about speech topic (ranking above equal pay, climate change, tax reform and healthcare).

In the last 24 hours, more than 50,000 people tweeted about community college and higher education, and 12,000 people used the #FreeCommunityCollege hashtag. While most tweets were positive—highlighting the benefits of expanding access to higher education and reducing student debt—some lawmakers, such as Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, were less supportive or questioned how such a proposal would be financed.

@BarackObama: "Free community college is possible—and I want to spread that idea all across America." —President Obama #SOTU (4,147 retweets)
@SenRandPaul: Middle class economics? Wonder if you'll learn about that in free community college? #sotu (1,426 retweets)

SPEECH HIGHLIGHTS

Education (General)

It took the President just 1 minute and 24 seconds to mention education for the first time, when he said that “more of our kids [are] graduating than ever before.” It was one of the statistics he cited to buttress his case for 2014 as “a breakthrough year for America.”

The President made the case for the restorative power of education with a story about Rebekah and Ben Erler, a Minneapolis couple pointed to as emblematic of the American spirit and of the need for the country to prioritize “middle class economics.”

Relating how the Erlers managed to weather their deteriorating financial situation after the acceleration of the recession that began in 2008, the President said Ben took on odd jobs, even if they kept him on the road for long stretches of time. “Rebekah took out student loans, enrolled in community college, and retrained for a new career… got a better job, and then a raise.”

Even in the depths of the recession, the President said, “We believed we could prepare our kids for a more competitive world. And today, our younger students have earned the highest math and reading scores on record. Our high school graduation rate has hit an all-time high. And more Americans finish college than ever before.”

President Obama mentioned making student loans more affordable as one area where he believes important work remains to be done. Returning to the Erlers as his proxies for middle class Americans, the President said, “Because families like Rebekah’s still need our help. She and Ben are working as hard as ever, but have to forego vacations and a new car so they can pay off student loans and save for retirement.”

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who has called for getting rid of the Education Department, did not directly address education issues in the official Republican response. Instead, she focused on opposing the reach of the Obama administration. Republicans say the administration has overstepped its bounds through policies like waivers for states from No Child Left Behind requirements. “We'll work to correct executive overreach,” she said. “We'll propose ideas that aim to cut wasteful spending and balance the budget—with meaningful reforms, not higher taxes, like the President has proposed.”

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R.-TN), chairman of the Senate Education Committee, tweeted: “Unfortunately, much of what I heard from POTUS are partisan proposals that have no chance of becoming law.”

Higher Education

The President reiterated his proposal—previewed in campaign-style events around the country in recent weeks and widely panned by Republicans—for two years of free community college to qualified students.

“By the end of this decade, two in three job openings will require some higher education,” the President said. “Two-in-three. And yet, we still live in a country where too many bright, striving Americans are priced out of the education they need. It’s not fair to them, and it’s not smart for our future. That’s why I am sending this Congress a bold new plan to lower the cost of community college — to zero.”

The President said 40 percent of college-going students choose community college, and praised it as a vehicle for educational attainment for young people, older people, veterans, and single parents transitioning back into the job market. He cited programs in Tennessee and Chicago as evidence that free community college has bipartisan potential. “I want to spread that idea all across America,” the President said, “so that two years of college becomes as free and universal in America as high school is today.”

The President did not say how he would fund the plan, which has drawn criticism regarding the federal government’s proper role in public education. Community colleges are primarily affiliated with state and local governments.

President Obama made an almost parenthetical mention of student loan affordability, an issue that has roiled opinions in education, state, and federal policy circles in recent years. “I want to work with this Congress to make sure Americans already burdened with student loans can reduce their monthly payments, so that student debt doesn’t derail anyone’s dreams,” he said. Republicans in Congress have signaled that they hope to look at issues of student aid and affordability.

The speech focused on postsecondary access and equity, but said little about the importance of degree or credential attainment. The President spoke briefly about the importance of education to workforce readiness and the strength of the economy, crediting Vice President Joe Biden’s efforts to “update our job training system” and “connecting community colleges with local employers to train workers to fill high-paying jobs like coding, and nursing, and robotics.” He also made a pointed ask for “more businesses to follow the lead of companies like CVS and UPS, and offer more educational benefits and paid apprenticeships — opportunities that give workers the chance to earn higher-paying jobs even if they don’t have a higher education.”

Early Learning

The President did not press for universal Pre-K as he has in previous State of the Union addresses. Instead, he highlighted tax proposals that would assist working parents in paying for child care, again, as part of his central theme of promoting “middle class economics.” The President said that Rebekah and Ben Erlers pay more in childcare for their two sons than they do for their mortgage. “It’s time,” the president said, “that we stop treating childcare as a side issue, or a women’s issue, and treat it like the national economic priority that it is for all of us.”

President Obama pushed to triple the maximum Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit to $3,000 for each child under 5. According to a White House fact sheet, the plan also would expand income eligibility for the tax credit to families making up to $120,000, with an additional $500 per child credit available to families with two working parents. This would be paid for through increases in capital gains taxes and fees imposed on large banks.

The President’s plan to make preschool available to all 4-year-olds, proposed in 2013, has not moved forward in Congress. Many governors—Democrats and Republicans—have advanced early learning efforts. The Obama administration has incentivized states through competitive grants—like the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge—and hosted a White House Summit on Early Childhood Education. A December 10, 2014 event brought together educators, elected officials, foundations, and corporate partners to announce $1 billion in public and private commitments to support early learning.

K-12

The President’s speech was remarkably light on references to front-burner, K-12 education issues such as ESEA reauthorization, Common Core State Standards and assessments, teacher evaluations, and persistent achievement gaps. The SOTU did not once reference teachers, and the President’s comments about the importance of education included:

In previous eras of prosperity, “We gave our citizens schools and colleges, infrastructure and the internet—tools they needed to go as far as their effort will take them. That’s what middle-class economics is.”
To ensure the country’s long-term competitiveness, “We have to make sure folks keep earning higher wages down the road, we have to do more to help Americans upgrade their skills.”
“America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free, sent a generation of GIs to college, and trained the best workforce in the world. But in a 21st century economy that rewards knowledge like never before, we need to do more.”

Additional Issues

President Obama briefly referenced education in connection with the other issues:

Technology: “I intend to protect a free and open internet, extend its reach to every classroom, and every community, and help folks build the fastest networks, so that the next generation of digital innovators and entrepreneurs have the platform to keep reshaping our world.”
Cyber Security: “I urge this Congress to finally pass the legislation we need to better meet the evolving threat of cyber-attacks, combat identity theft, and protect our children’s information.”
Immigration: “Yes, passions still fly on immigration, but surely we can all see something of ourselves in the striving young student, and agree that no one benefits when a hardworking mom is taken from her child, and that it’s possible to shape a law that upholds our tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.”

Click here to find more of our analysis on education and the State of the Union. We hope you find it helpful.

Bataille is joining a veteran team of experts who have advised clients for nearly 30 years to shape policy and improve quality and access to health care for all Americans.  The firm advises a range of healthcare clients on implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the evolving healthcare system, including consumer healthcare enrollment campaigns, health literacy and patient protection, and primary care payment reform and care coordination.

“Julie is a passionate, dedicated professional, with a stellar career in health communications,” said Raelynn Olson, GMMB’s managing partner. “Her strategic and operational expertise and leadership skills make her a strong asset to the firm.”

GMMB works with some of the world’s most recognized and respected foundations, political leaders, non-profit organizations and corporations on issues and causes that improve lives. For more information, go to http://www.gmmb.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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