Mint Hires PR Firm to Try to Popularize the $1 Coin

[astrostu]

THIS ARTICLE DOES NOT HAVE MUCH OF A BIAS, BUT IS ALMOST PURELY REPORTIVE.

 

The US Mint is working with GolinHarris on a campaign promoting the use of presidential $1 coins as common currency.

The effort's PR budget is as much as $2.4 million for the first year with an option to renew for subsequent years if both parties are satisfied, said Patrick McAfee, director, US Mint Office of Dollar Coin Programs.

 

“What we are trying to achieve is that people would use presidential $1 coins just like they would use dollars and coins,” McAfee said.

 

Interpublic Group's (which Golin is part of) advertising agency Campbell-Ewald and marketing organization Momentum Worldwide are working with Golin on the campaign, which has a total budget of $12 million for the year. Golin is leading the cross-agency effort while Campbell-Ewald is managing advertising efforts and Momentum Worldwide is conducting retailer outreach.

 

The campaign's test phase will begin this July in Charlotte, NC; Austin, TX; Grand Rapids, MI; and Portland, OR. Golin is conducting media outreach to local and regional publications, and organizing promotions with retailers prior to launching a national campaign, said Wendy Love, Golin EVP.

 

GH is planning events, said Love, who added that a campaign Web site is also in development.

 

Golin is emphasizing the environmental and economic benefits of using the coins instead of paper money, noting that they are recyclable and can save the US up to $5 billion in a decade, said Love.

 

“We really need a compelling reason for people to change their behavior towards the dollar coin in general. This campaign is designed to focus on the fact that these coins are 100% recyclable and that they last for a long time, which saves natural resources and money,” she said. “The thing we are testing with this campaign is the idea that there is a different sort of benefit with using this coin.”

 

The test portion of the effort will run through November; it was not planned to coincide with the presidential election, Love said.

 

An undetermined number of Golin staffers will work on the campaign, which the agency will run from its Chicago and Washington offices. The account was awarded April 23, though only recently announced.

 

McAfee said two agencies pitched in a one-round RFP process, but he declined to name the losing agency. The Mint and Golin do not have a prior relationship. Procurement led the agency search for the Mint, he noted.

 

Previous promotional efforts successfully reached students, but the ongoing campaign seeks to popularize the coins for use in everyday transactions, as opposed to as keepsakes, Love said.

 

“During the first year, the first four coins were released and they were very popular as a collectible, because children are in school learning the presidents and this is a very good way to learn the presidents in order,” she said. “This is not focused so much on education, and not focused so much on collecting all the presidents over the years, but it's focused more in using the coin for the dollar amount.”

 

The US Mint awarded a one-year contract, worth approximately $5 million, to Weber Shandwick in 2006 to run a national communications campaign for the presidential coins.

 

However, that campaign was focused on public awareness of the coins, while the current campaign centers on increasing the coins' circulation, McAfee said.

 

WS is now doing other support work for the Mint, but the division of the US Treasury Department works with no other PR agencies, he said.

 

Jennifer Norton, WS VP and director of corporate communications, declined to comment on the news.

 

The mint released the first presidential coin, depicting President Washington, last February with successive coins distributed roughly every three months thereafter. The most recent $1 coin, depicting President John Quincy Adams, was made available to the public on May 15.

 

 

 

THE FOLLOWING IS MY OWN REACTION TO THE ARTICLE.

 

I think that the Mint faces two problems here. First, the coins are ugly. The presidents look like muppets. But, that hasn't stopped the public from using coins with other Old Dead Men on them. Second, people are not going to use the $1 coin if they have the $1 bill. They think the paper is lighter, they'll mistake the coin for a quarter, etc. (but when was the last time you carried more than ~5 $1 bills in your wallet?). So to get rid of the $1 bill is really the only way, I think, to get the public to use the coin. And I think the government should - it simply makes fiscal sense in the long-run.

[harvey8542]

 

(but when was the last time you carried more than ~5 $1 bills in your wallet?).

 

I have alot of them when the wife and I go to the Nudy Bar

 

Thank's for the info and I agree that they will have a hard time getting them to circulate.

[World Colonial]

There are some people who believe that getting rid of the $1 bill would make sense but I am not one of them. I have made this comment before and I will make it again. When it comes to "penny ante" stuff like this, people get religion in economics. But they have no "religion" when it comes to the trillions that government collectively throws down endless ratholds which is almost the entire budget in my mind.

 

As far as increasing the usage of the dollar coin, is it marketing, distribution or the fact that people just do not want to use it? If the latter, then removing the BEP's "customer" choice will be the only way to do so.

[Schatzy]

I don't mind dollar coins. When I was in the navy and living in europe they use the dollar coin and I didn't mind. When you fill up the piggy back...there will be more money in there.

 

Stop making the dollar and people will start using the coins!!

[jtryka]

Well this will work, whenever you embark on a path that completely flies in the face of common sense (i.e. having both the dollar bill and coin and wonder why no one uses the coin) then just hire a PR firm, it certainly can't hurt! Instead of wasting the $2.4 million on the PR firm, why don't they just hand out 2,400,000 of them to people all over the country? What's that like every 15th person gets one to use? Or do a nice buy 5 get 1 free program, that way you get 12 million more in circulation besides the 2.4 million you gave away free, then maybe people might actually decide they aren't such a hassle to use after all.

[astrostu]

As far as increasing the usage of the dollar coin, is it marketing, distribution or the fact that people just do not want to use it? If the latter, then removing the BEP's "customer" choice will be the only way to do so.

 

I'm pretty sure it's the latter. I haven't had any problems getting these from my bank, and I haven't had any trouble spending them, but I've never gotten them back as change. I think the bulk of it is that people just don't want to use them. If there were a demand, they would be available, I believe.

[Revenant]

In every country that uses such a coin, the introduction of the coin coincided with the elimination of the corresponding note. Until the government developes the spine shut off the presses on the $1 bill or to gradually and significantly scale back it's production then the $1 coin will never succeed. It'll always follow the S.B.A. and the Sacagawea to the fate of the dodo. It's funny to watch though....

 

I'm not saying the $1 bill SHOULD be taken out though.

 

Here's an idea, since they're developing coins that won't succeed in circulation anyway, lets go back to the BIG ones like the Eisenhowers. At least that way they can have room for some really big, bold, COOL designs. .... I know, I'm a dreamer...

[BankNote1]

I am with most who know the only way to get people to use the $1 coins to stop printing the $1 notes.

Over the last few years I have quit carrying money altogether. I use my bank card for everything. As for me I don't use coins or notes.

[Conder101]

There are several things in this PR that either don't make sense or are silly.

 

The US Mint is working with GolinHarris on a campaign promoting the use of presidential $1 coins as common currency.

The effort's PR budget is as much as $2.4 million for the first year with an option to renew for subsequent years if both parties are satisfied

Interpublic Group's (which Golin is part of) advertising agency Campbell-Ewald and marketing organization Momentum Worldwide are working with Golin on the campaign, which has a total budget of $12 million for the year.

Ok, so are we spending 2.4 million or 12 million dollars on this campaign this year?

 

“We really need a compelling reason for people to change their behavior towards the dollar coin in general. This campaign is designed to focus on the fact that these coins are 100% recyclable and that they last for a long time, which saves natural resources and money,”

OK, so we are hitting the "Go Green" approach, Save the planet and all that (Note to campaign, no pictures of open pit copper mines or the polution caused by the smelting process.)

 

“During the first year, the first four coins were released and they were very popular as a collectible, because children are in school learning the presidents and this is a very good way to learn the presidents in order,”

A very good way if you don't mind the fact that it will take you 11 years to learn 43 people. Start teaching them the presidents in second grade and with luck they will learn about the recent ones just in time for graduation and they will be old enough to vote for the next one.

 

They might be a teaching aid after the series is complete but they are a lousy one while it is going on.

 

The US Mint awarded a one-year contract, worth approximately $5 million, to Weber Shandwick in 2006 to run a national communications campaign for the presidential coins.

 

However, that campaign was focused on public awareness of the coins, while the current campaign centers on increasing the coins' circulation,

Well that campaign was sure a rousing success wasn't it. Well the $5 million campaign was a bust, let's do a $2.5 million one. (or is it $12 million?)

 

At least four times since 1973 the mint has paid Triangle Research Institute to make a study of our coinage system and make recommendations. Every time they said the same thing "Eliminate the cent and the half dollar, make a small sized dollar coin and eliminate the dollar bill so that it will circulate." Four times they paid them for that advice, and then millions and million of dollars more to PR firms to try and get people to do something they don't want to do rather than the simple, cheap solution that everyone keeps telling them to do. Get the government to stop making dollar bills. (If the government is too afraid to do that then work on it from the Federal Reserves end and try to convince them to stop ordering them. If the Fed stops ordering them the BEP will develop a "stockpile" and then stop printing them.)

[astrostu]

There are several things in this PR that either don't make sense or are silly.

 

The US Mint is working with GolinHarris on a campaign promoting the use of presidential $1 coins as common currency.

The effort's PR budget is as much as $2.4 million for the first year with an option to renew for subsequent years if both parties are satisfied

Interpublic Group's (which Golin is part of) advertising agency Campbell-Ewald and marketing organization Momentum Worldwide are working with Golin on the campaign, which has a total budget of $12 million for the year.

Ok, so are we spending 2.4 million or 12 million dollars on this campaign this year?

 

My read was that second paragraph was more of an ad for Interpublic Group. Kinda like a University will advertise how much grant money they bring in annually in the same article they mention they just got an endowment for x-amount.

[Conder101]

Then they need to work on their english because the way the sentence is worded it says the campaign has a total budget of 12 million for the year not that the agency has a 12 million dollar budget.

[Dcoin]

"Mint Hires PR Firm to Try to Popularize the $1"

 

The definition of crazy is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different result.

[BillJones]

More taxpayers' money wasted on a futile project. But what does the government care? They waste money then borrow it or ask us to pay higher taxes. Is it such a mystery that some of us get upset with big government?

[silvermonger-migration]

What does logic and reason have to do with govament work?

 

when you are a US Government agency its not about what works its about spending all your allocated budget! In this case, probably with the PR firm that flew you to the Bahamas for a golf weekend.

 

I have another idea to use up the prez bucks. we have been sending planeloads of paper money to Iraq for years. 100s of millions so far in cash money, new crisp 100dollar bills,

Why not send coins instead, Im sure the Iraq officials will spend them just as readily.