Hello Everyone -
How is your summer so far?
COVID cases seem to be on the rise in North Jersey. My wife and I are on the mend while our young children make their way through COVID quarantine. Fun times being tethered close to home.
Fortunately COVID and distance can’t prevent me from sitting down and speaking with remarkable business leaders who are doing good while doing well.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with my friend and colleague Laurie Keith of the Ad Council. Laurie is based in San Francisco and has been with the Ad Council for 12+ years. I first met Laurie a few years ago at a Digital Fork dinner hosted by my former boss at Buddy Media, Jeff Ragovin.
Laurie and her team’s work is vital in its support of broadcasting the importance of a variety (30+ active ones to be exact) of issues affecting Americans across the digital landscape.
About the Ad Council
Founded in 1941 by James Webb Young, Co-Founder Young and Rubicam
Originally started as the ‘War Council’ three weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor
Premise of the organization was to galvanize the advertising industry around social good by addressing important issues affecting Americans
Some iconic campaigns Ad Council has been behind: ‘Smokey Bear,’ ‘Loose Lips Sink Ships,’ ‘Crash Test Dummies,’ and most recently ‘Love Has No Labels’ & ‘Vaccine Adoption’
The organization works at the intersection of media, creative and emerging technology in order to get an issue’s message across to a target viewer — all of which is donated through Ad Council’s partnerships
Ad Council’s advisory committee - made up of philanthropists, medical professionals, researchers and educational professionals - help determine which issues to focus on and support
About Laurie
Laurie has been with the Ad Council for 12+ years and in her newest role she is charge of ‘emerging media.’ How will Web3/Crypto/XR/VR become a destination to learn about the issues Ad Council is supporting? How is consumer behavior changing where it’s necessary to create a presence in these new contexts? Previously, her remit was developing and maintaining partnerships with the major social and digital platforms.
She spent the first 4-5 years after college graduation working in media and advertising at large agencies in Chicago and LA before reaching an early career inflection point where she wanted to combine her passion for social good with her media/advertising skillset.
Getting involved
If you’re a brand that’s looking to support a particular cause that the Ad Council is behind, feel free to reach out to Laurie on social media. Her Twitter is https://twitter.com/lauriekeith or shoot her an e-mail.
Brands can help with financial contributions to support Ad Councils’s mission and efforts to address the 30+ issues on our campaign docket, their senior marketing executives can serve on our Board of Directors, Leadership Council, and/or participate on various committees, and partnerships with individual campaigns such as Love Has No Labels.
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