NEW YORK, Aug. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Having achieved its goal of a 72% mail-back participation rate, coupled with strong cooperation by non-respondents with Census workers during door-to-door follow-up visits, this week the U.S. Census bureau reported a budget surplus of $1.6 billion to be returned to the government.

According to media reports to date, these results in part stemmed from Census awareness being at an all-time high, citing the efforts of an extended team of 14 core marketing communications agencies for their strong support. Led by Draftfcb New York, the extended Team Census also included: Draftfcb Puerto Rico (for people residing in Puerto Rico only); IW Group (Asian Audiences); GlobalHue (Black audiences, i.e. African, Caribbean); GlobalHue Latino (Hispanic – including Portuguese); d'exposito (Hispanic); G&G (American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander audiences); Allied (Russian, Polish, Arabic, Armenian, Iranian, Ukrainian); Plum (Greek Audiences); Scholastic (Census In Schools Program); MarCom Group (recruitment advertising); Jack Morton (Events/Portrait of America Road Tour); Weber Shandwick (public relations); and Initiative (select media buying).

Under the guidance of Draftfcb New York, the 2010 Census campaign marked the first time the Census Bureau activated a fully integrated program, which targeted every individual living in the U.S. and its territories. The campaign combined advertising, public relations, events, sponsorships, social media and partnerships to achieve its objectives. The high response rate and budget surplus are strong indicators of its effectiveness.

"It was stated early on that for each percentage point increase in mail response, the cost of conducting the census could decrease by $85 million," said Jeff Tarakajian, Draftfcb group management director and leader of all multi-agency advertising efforts for Team Census. "U.S. Census reaching this impressive landmark is proof of the effectiveness of our highly strategic and creative – not to mention incredibly multi-faceted – marketing program."

SOURCE Draftfcb