Overview
More than 32 million Americans were living in poverty—a little known and highly disturbing fact.

Insight
A number can be easy to ignore. We needed to bring it to life so people might grasp the scope of the problem.

Approach
Make poverty a place. Introduce America to a new state: Poverty, USA. With 32 million residents, it was nearly the size of California.

Results
More than $6.5 million was donated in broadcast and print during the first year. Perceptions that the poor were lazy and unmotivated decreased substantially. The campaign was awarded the Public Relations Society of America’s highest honor, a national Silver Anvil.