TAXI New York today launched “What’s Your #ish?”, an integrated social media campaign that encourages a younger generation of Jews to share what being Jewish means to them – their “-ish” – while raising awareness of the work of The Jewish Federations of North America.
The core of the campaign, developed by TAXI New York, relies on people sharing their “-ish,” by connecting through Facebook or Twitter on whatsyourish.com and tagging their post with #ish.
Whether it’s being a bit neurotic-ish, loving Shabbat-ish, or being a sucker for Bubbe-ish, for every #ish submitted, JFNA will credit 25 cents to a $50,000 #ish Fund that will be distributed across the core thematic needs supported by the Jewish Federation Annual Campaign, including poverty, elder care, Jewish identity and Israel solidarity. Participants can then vote on how they want the #ish Fund allocated across the JFNA causes.
“The Jewish Federations awareness numbers are relatively low with younger Jews across America” said Durk Barnhill, General Manager of TAXI New York. “Our objective is to raise awareness and interest in the Federations. But you can’t tell this audience why they should be interested in a good cause. You need to let them participate in the idea and define it for themselves. So that’s what we did with the #ish campaign.”
The drive for “ish”s is being supported by a series of videos, shared via YouTube (youtube.com/jewishfederations), a paid media plan and a viral push through social media networks. The videos give examples of “-ish”s, things that Jews value and cherish about their culture—some humorous, some poignant.
The site, whatsyourish.com serves as a point of entry and aggregator for content that will be shared across social media platforms where the target audience already shares information and ideas. By tagging posts with #ish on Facebook and Twitter, individual entries will be collected and fed back to whatsyourish.com, contributing to an ongoing conversation about what it means to be Jewish for a generation of Jews that has a relationship with their religion unlike any generation before them.
The campaign, led by TAXI, is a true collaboration between several groups whose passion for the work came together to bring a fresh message in an unprecedented way. Including Socialbomb, to develop a “social funnel,” for both Facebook and Twitter, that filters noise and amplifies meaningful exchanges for the Federations. And Josh Miller, of Little Minx, who signed on as director for a cause he could get behind.
The Jewish Federations of North America consists of 157 Jewish Federations and 400 Network communities, which raise and distribute more than $3 billion annually for social welfare, social services and educational needs worldwide. The Federation movement collectively represents one of the top 10 charities on the continent.
“What’s Your #ish? really allows younger Jews to express themselves in a creative way while learning about their local Jewish Federation,” said Adam Smolyar, Senior Vice President for Strategic Marketing and Communications at JFNA. “It’s a campaign that promotes an authentic conversation by using online tools this group already uses.”
About TAXI
TAXI Canada Inc. (www.taxi.ca), TAXI Inc. (www.taxi-nyc.com) and TAXI Europe BV (www.taxi-eu.com) are companies with core expertise in Strategic Planning, Advertising, Design, Interactive, Relationship Marketing and Content. Founded in Montreal (1992), the agency’s offices include Toronto and TAXI 2 (1992, 2006), New York (2004), Calgary (2005), Vancouver (2007) and Amsterdam (2009). TAXI was named Canadian Agency of the Year by Marketing Magazine in 2001 and 2005, and Strategy Magazine’s Agency of the Year award in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2008. TAXI New York in 2007 and 2008 won the O’Toole Award for Creative Excellence from the American Association of Advertising Agencies. Client assignments in Canada include TELUS Consumer Solutions, Pfizer’s VIAGRA, Burger King, Heineken, Canadian Tire, Reitmans Group, Bombardier and Dairy Farmers of Canada. On the US roster are: New York Life, Blue Shield of California, Rail Europe Group, Metro International, and New Holland Agriculture. TAXI Europe clients include KPN Royal Dutch Telecom International, Heineken, TNT Post, BNP Paribas, ING, and the Hi and Telfort telecommunications brands.
