02.09 - The Trevor Project partners with interactive advertising agency to retool online efforts

Interactive agency Sensis providing pro-bono Web site development, digital campaign implementation LOS ANGELES – The Trevor Project, the non-profit organization that operates the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, is teaming with Los Angeles-based interactive advertising agency Sensis to retool its digital communication strategies and more effectively spread its message across the nation. Sensis is carrying out extensive primary and secondary research to identify the organization’s core audiences, understand their online behaviors and derive best practices for the non-profit’s marketing efforts. Through the creation of a digital roadmap, Sensis will work with The Trevor Project to develop and implement an e-mail communications program, search engine optimization plan and create of a new Web site. The digital campaign is scheduled to launch this fall. “Through our partnership with Sensis we will be able to enhance and expand our digital communications strategies and reach more young people in need of our programs and services,” said Charles Robbins, executive director and CEO, The Trevor Project. “LGBTQ youth remain up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. Thus, implementing a fresh approach to engage our target audiences is another crucial step we can take toward combating this tragic statistic.” The partnership is part of Sensis’ Innovation Project, an internal program designed to promote creativity and interaction between the agency’s different departments. The project kicked off in fall 2008 when Sensis began researching non-profits that would benefit from the agency’s interactive advertising capabilities and multicultural advertising experience, including LGBTQ campaigns. Once Sensis selected The Trevor Project, the two organizations worked together to develop a list of improvements needed for The Trevor Project’s Web site and digital communications. During the project’s next phase (occurring in March), Sensis team members will divide into groups — each consisting of at least one employee from the agency’s upper management, creative, account service and Web development departments — to develop proposals for interactive advertising that will best help The Trevor Project expand its reach across the country. The teams will then present their proposals to The Trevor Project, which will choose the campaign Sensis’ entire team will implement pro-bono later this year. The value of Sensis’ services is expected to exceed $100,000. “We identified The Trevor Project as an organization that could truly benefit from the wide-reaching capabilities of interactive advertising. We will build on the non-profit’s current brand to make its Web site and social networking features the premier online destination for LGBTQ youth,” Sensis CEO Jose Villa said. “This will be a great example of how digital communication can be utilized to strategically engage a hard-to-reach audience.”