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| Young Adults Select 'Wired Networkers' as New Pop Culture Term to Define Their Generation |
Register and Vote 2004 Challenges Young Adults
to Name 18-24 Year-Old Voting Bloc
WASHINGTON, July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Register and Vote 2004 asked young
adults across the US to submit ideas and vote on a pop culture term to define
the powerful 18-24 year-old voting bloc. The young adults who voted selected
"Wired Networkers" as the winning name to describe their voting demographic.
The new term won with 46 percent of the votes, over "The Go-Gos" with 31
percent and "The Detached Connectors" with 23 percent of votes.
Through the informal and fun poll, Register and Vote 2004 increased
political interest and activity while empowering 18-24 year olds to self-
select a defining name for their generation. Participation in the poll titled
Name the 18-24 Year-Old Voting Bloc, further engaged young adults in the
voting process by allowing them to vote on their own name, before voting again
in November. With society and news reporters labeling voting blocs to
characterize certain groups, Register and Vote 2004 encouraged young adults to
get involved in the naming process and decide for themselves how they wanted
to be known.
"Through the naming and selection process, young voters were able to be
proactive about their group title, become more politically engaged and
characterize their own voting bloc in the elections this year," said Polli
Brunelli, Director of the Federal Voting Assistance Program. "Through the
Name the 18-24 Year-Old Voting Bloc project, Register and Vote 2004 aimed to
empower young adults to fight the stereotype that this generation is apathetic
about voting."
Young adults submitted name suggestions via email to the Register and Vote
2004 campaign Web site. The most interesting and relevant ideas for names
became the three options posted on http://www.registerandvote2004.org and sent
out to Register and Vote 2004 mobile alert subscribers for voting.
The text message poll on Name the 18-24 Year-Old Voting Bloc sent to
Register and Vote 2004 mobile alert subscribers garnered a response rate of
more than 42 percent of subscribers. The text message component is a new and
important part of the Register and Vote 2004 campaign and proves to be an
effective communications tool for this age group.
"Pop culture terms like 'soccer mom', 'Gen X' or 'NASCAR dad' are all
titles used in everyday conversation," said Caitlin Davis, 19 year-old
spokesperson for Register and Vote 2004. "These names define a segment of the
population, and we wanted to empower young people like me to do this for their
own population."
In the long term, the goal of Register and Vote 2004 is to develop a
generation of voters who recognize that although the level of political
engagement varies, voting is an important way for each person to be heard.
Since 1980, the Advertising Council has partnered with the Federal Voting
Assistance Program (FVAP) to increase citizen awareness of the importance of
voting. Register and Vote 2004 is specifically geared towards the upcoming
election, but the campaign will continue through non-election years as well.
Register and Vote 2004 seeks to increase voter registration and voting
behavior among 18-24 year-olds in 2004. The campaign is sponsored by the Ad
Council in partnership with the FVAP. It features multi-media public service
advertisements and a Web site designed to increase participation in the
political process. Young adults age 18-24 years old, are more politically
informed and engaged than most Americans realize. Register and Vote 2004
seeks to show that interest of any level for an issue is enough of a reason
for young people to engage in the political process and vote. Voting is easy.
Don't just take a stand, act. For more information, visit
http://www.registerandvote2004.org.
The Advertising Council is a private, non-profit organization with a rich
history of marshalling volunteer talent from the advertising and media
industries to deliver critical messages to the American public. Having
produced literally thousands of PSA campaigns addressing the most pressing
social issues of the day, the Ad Council has affected, and continues to
affect, tremendous positive change by raising awareness, inspiring action, and
saving lives. To learn more about the Ad Council and its campaigns, visit
http://www.adcouncil.org.
The Federal Voting Assistance Program provides US citizens worldwide a
broad range of non-partisan information and assistance to facilitate their
participation in the democratic process, regardless of where they work or
live. The FVAP also acts on behalf of the Secretary of Defense to administer
the Federal responsibilities of the National Voter Registration Act, which
designates armed forces recruiting offices nationwide as voter registration
agencies allowing eligible US citizens to apply for voter registration, or
apply to change voter registration data, at 6,000 Armed Forces Recruitment
Offices nationwide. To learn more about the FVAP, visit http://www.fvap.gov.
SOURCE Register and Vote 2004
back to topRelated links:
CONTACT:
Beth Costiglio of the Ad Council,
+1-212-984-1923, or Megan Pohorylo, +1-703-741-7505, for Register
and Vote 2004
