Following the initial launch in June, ICMA's Life, Well Run campaign team focused on placing a series of digital ads--developed around three ad themes--on sites related to each of the campaign’s target audiences: elected officials, business and civic leaders, and students.

To date the ads have generated more than 37 million impressions and more than 78,000 click-throughs to the Life, Well Run website. The overall click-through rate is more than double the industry benchmark. The strongest performing ads have been the ones for students, with a click-through rate of nearly five times the industry benchmark.  Since the digital ads began running in July, traffic to the Life, Well Run website has increased by 2,600%.

ICMA has now placed print ads in county or municipal league publications in 10 states: New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Texas, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Arizona. The ads use the same theme and graphics as the digital ads and target elected officials by promoting how partnering with a professional local government manager can help them achieve their vision and policy goals to move their communities forward. Like the digital ads, these ads are co-branded with state association logos.

In September, the Life, Well Run team issued a multimedia press release announcing the launch of the campaign through PR Newswire’s MultiVu platform, and the response has been impressive. To date, the press released has garnered nearly 32 million impressions, more than 13,000 pageviews and 40,000 video views, and has been picked up by 30 media outlets across 18 industry categories in 276 newspapers, blogs, television channels, and websites. 

The Life, Well Run logo and the accompanying text, “Local government managers build communities we’re proud to call home,” was displayed on the Reuters electronic billboard in Times Square in New York City three times during morning and evening rush hour in mid-September.

Fundraising for the campaign has been strong. As of October 31, 2013, the campaign has raised more than $1.3 million. In Q1 of FY1014, we raised $89,240 (26% increase over Q1 FY2013), and at the Annual Conference in Boston, we raised $16,599 in cash contributions (74% increase over the 2012 Conference in Phoenix).

On January 23, 2014, Life, Well Run will conduct a satellite media tour with Pat Martel, city manager of Daly City, California; and Scott Hancock, executive director of the Maryland Municipal League. The two ICMA members will be interviewed about the campaign and professional local government management. The interviews will air live in media markets around the country. Tapes of the interviews will be available to all the media for those who want to air excerpts, but can’t do the interviews live.  Stay tuned for more information.

If you missed the free Life, Well Run webinar on November 18, click here to access it and get updates from ICMA executive director, Bob O’Neill; campaign manager, Catherine Smith; and Juniper Korkie, ICMA’s director of strategic development and digital strategy.

Want to get more involved in the campaign? Use the campaign resources to spread the word about Life, Well Run in your community and state or donate to help us expand the campaign.  For more information about Life, Well Run, contact Catherine Smith, campaign manager, at 202-962-3632 or csmith@icma.org.