The Buzz Bin

It’s time for some good news, pr friends. We’ve been all over the headlines lately getting a bad rap, but this week Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide signed on with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in an effort to encourage America’s Youth. And that’s good news.

The three year $3.3 million ‘Choose Respect’ initiative is to encourage America’s youth to form healthy relationships and avoid violent dating patterns. And how do they plan to do it? Social media.

Jennifer Wayman, SVP and group director of social marketing at Ogilvy in Washington, reports in the recent PR Week that the campaign will be heavily focused on new media and social networking. She says the idea is to concentrate on the ways in which kids between the ages of 11 and 14 find and consume information.

There are several factors that make this contract exciting for all of us. One is the social media component and the fact that a part of the Department of Health and Human Services is using it. There seems to be a shift occurring when it comes to social media.

It’s good news and signifies that times are changing. And that, is the best news I’ve heard all week.