SE2 is excited to introduce Elizabet Garcia (she/her), a dedicated advocate for community-centered change and a powerful new voice on our team. With a career rooted in amplifying underrepresented voices…
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Brandon Zelasko’s latest article in Health Affairs sheds light on a critical issue that has impacted the LGBTQ+ community for nearly four decades: the exclusion of gay men from blood...
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Developing a positive community norms campaign can be challenging when you’re looking for new ways to communicate about evolving and critical issues like fentanyl and teen opioid misuse. In July,…
Yesterday the political world was shaken when President Biden stepped aside and decided to suspend his campaign to run for a second term. In his announcement he did not specify...
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Research underscores the profound impact of youth connection on healthy decision-making among teens, significantly reducing risky health behaviors. Strong relationships with adults and peers create a nurturing environment that…
In the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, staying ahead of the curve is crucial, especially when engaging with youth. One platform that has been gaining significant traction is Twitch, a powerhouse…
SE2 had the privilege of diving deep into the power of receiving feedback and closing the feedback loop with Feedback Labs, a dynamic nonprofit based in DC. The engaging course...
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We think it’s important to give young people a seat at the table. Read about the SE2 Youth Council and what we’re hearing from members about media, mental health, and being a Colorado teen.
Picture this: you have an appointment with a dermatologist to discuss acne treatments. For the paperwork, you have to use a name that isn’t yours, and makes you uncomfortable when...
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AI is a powerful tool that can help everyone work smarter, more creatively, and more efficiently. It also creates significant risk if we don’t handle it with care. Check out...
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Drinking has long been woven into the fabric of our lives, from corporate events to networking gatherings. Whether it's the Friday happy hour or the celebratory toast at a company...
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In recent years there’s been a fitting shift in communications towards more directly engaging communities. However, there is still a lot more work to do, particularly the vibrant and small yet mighty Black Coloradan community.
“Recovery starts when stigma ends.” That’s the message of a new local public awareness campaign created to dispel stigma around addiction, including opioid use disorder, and to inspire the community to…
In the ever-evolving landscape of work, just one thing is guaranteed: change. With automation, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation reshaping industries, the demand for a skilled and adaptable workforce has...
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She’s a Veteran Engagement Strategist, the founder of Power Maps LTD, and now, part of SE2. Meet our newest principal – Alvina.
In the ongoing effort to address the epidemic of youth vaping, the recent settlement six states plus the District of Columbia secured against Juul presents a groundbreaking opportunity to secure...
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Empathy and understanding are two of the most important qualities we can bring to marketing and life. When we take the time to connect with others on a deeper level,...
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Colorado’s new youth fentanyl prevention campaign uses positive social norms to educate youth about the dangers of pill misuse. In October, the effort was highlighted at a national youth prevention summit.
In the ongoing efforts against opioid misuse, one event supports a comprehensive opioid prevention strategy: the Annual Medication Takeback Day on Oct. 28. This initiative, which is supported locally through…
Using Social Media to Support Mental Health: How Users Marshal Engagement on the R/Anxiety Subreddit
It’s no secret that social media can be toxic and exacerbate mental health issues. But can it also offer support? Guest author Isabel Andersons shares her findings on where supportive communities exist on Reddit
Think for a moment about tobacco. For the companies that profit from it, it’s quite possibly the perfect product. Tobacco quickly makes its customers physically dependent – literally addicted…
Rising vaping, alcohol abuse, food insecurity, gun violence, mental health disparities, and social isolation. Public health officials are working hard to find and communicate solutions for these pressing topics. Because...
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Climate activists argue that our generations will be the last with a chance to slow climate change before it transforms into a climate disaster. That's a lot of pressure. This...
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Our work for CDPHE’s Forward Together campaign wins a 2023 Heartland Emmy®. See the winning ad!
“I believe that creating and fostering community and connection is essential to the human experience, and I do my best to help others when I can.”
Some say that AI will make more of us obsolete. For most of us, it will free us from tasks that aren’t the best use of our talents.
When former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder passed away last month, Colorado and the nation lost one of our most influential champions of women’s rights.
SE2’s Brandon Zelasko attended South By Southwest this year and brought back several lessons for marketers.
Imagine if an airliner dropped from the sky. It would dominate the news. Yet far more people died from fentanyl in Denver just last year than would fit in a...
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The definition of “healthy” is changing. Resources are more readily available for mental health. What about sexual health?
We believe that young people have an important outlook on the world and that they experience unique issues. As we target young folks in our messaging campaigns, it's important that...
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I was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, where I lived most of my life in a colorful, people-powered neighborhood. Our neighborhood was built on immigrant energy, which flowed in my...
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Imagine setting up your office in the lobby at Twitter, Meta or TikTok headquarters. Even if they didn’t kick you out initially, they could at any moment. And you’d have...
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Forward Together seeks to help Colorado teens feel more connected to their peers, parents and other trusted adults.
People who quit tobacco know it can be a difficult process. Often, it takes multiple attempts before someone can quit for good. I have been exposed to secondhand smoke...
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SE2 client One Chance to Grow Up sponsored Corey Hutchins’ influential newsletter to reach an informed audience
Recently I had the opportunity to talk with Brooke Istook, vice president/youth and communities at Thorn, a nonprofit and recent SE2 client. Thorn works to protect youth from online exploitation...
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Who do you listen to for information about social issues? Your doctor? Your favorite celebrities? Your pastor? Your mom? According to a recent Ad Council study, most people trust close...
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Here’s a sobering fact: In Denver, only around 1.4% of businesses are Black-owned. That lands our city at the #6 position for U.S. metropolitan areas with the lowest percentage of...
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What started as a ladies group chat to find a solution to hiding tampons in the office bathrooms turned into a Pinterest-fueled endeavor to cater to any bathroom emergencies that…
Recently I sat down with graphic designer Diana Garcia, SE2’s newest team member, during her first days on the job. We talked about her passion for graphic design, designing for...
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By Evyn Batie A girl stands on a platform with two boys on her sides. She faces a group of peers who stand in a straight line facing her and…
Lawyers act as zealous advocates for their clients. For some, ensuring everyone has representation means checking their values and opinions at the office door. But embracing personal and firm values…
I couldn’t take my eyes off the refrigerator on the roof. I was standing in front of a storm-battered home in the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans just seven...
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Denver-based nonprofit bike shop Bikes Together gets more people on two wheels through its low-cost bike shop and bike maintenance classes. We recently announced that we would match up to…
Can you remember when you got your first bike? Mine had high handlebars and a banana seat. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. What would you do if…
As the climate change conversation heats up, federal and state policymakers will increasingly incentivize consumers to switch to electric vehicles. President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill, which passed the U.S. House in November with...
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Unprecedented. Postponed. Rescheduled. When talking with youth and parents across Colorado this year, I realized that prefixes have swelled in our vocabularies as we start to bisect life into...
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Originally published in SWHelper.org. During the pandemic, many people turned to alcohol as a release valve. Indeed, drinking — including day drinking and overdrinking — became somewhat of a punchline,...
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This summer, as the shortcomings of working virtually started to really sink in, SE2 put out a broad call for an officemate to share a physical space. Our 15-person agency...
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Credit: THCPhotos.org In early September, the Food and Drug Administration faced a deadline. It was due to respond to applications from e-cigarette brands on whether they could remain in the U.S. market. Though the...
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Originally published in EdNewsDaily Even before the pandemic, most executives surveyed by McKinsey identified skills shortages at their companies (with more to come), but fewer than half understand how to fill those...
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Change is hard. It’s even more challenging to sustain and build on positive change over time. These 10 steps offer a roadmap for creating and maintaining Perpetual Movements that drive change for good.
In 2020, as concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic rippled worldwide, youth audiences turned to digital campfire platforms.
The sea change on smoking shows how combining policy reform, behavior change and evolving social norms can start a virtuous cycle of profound and lasting improvements.
As we think about life post-pandemic, organizations and government entities can turn to the Colorado Resiliency Framework for guidance. Explore the framework and see how it can put Colorado back on the path to recovery.
As we think about life post-pandemic, organizations and government entities can turn to the Colorado Resiliency Framework for guidance. Explore the framework and see how it can put Colorado back on the path to recovery.
A new statewide campaign is empowering Coloradans with the facts so that they can make an informed choice when it’s their turn to get vaccinated.
Eric Anderson, our co-founder and senior strategist, interviewed SE2 Director of Content and Creative Juan Cabrera about how effective Spanish language communications can help address the pandemic.
This photo of my daughter, Charlotte, was taken shortly after Barack Obama was elected president in 2009. The caption to the drawing says Charlotte, who was five years old, wishes...
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The annual Denver Startup Week draws creatives, leaders, communicators and entrepreneurial spirits from across the region to talk innovation and strategy. SE2 staff will be attending events and joining conversations...
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Content marketers may have found their social media sweet spot. Or at least that’s what Adweek says about LinkedIn. The professional social media platform, which has struggled in the past...
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For news junkies — and at SE2 there are several of us — this has been quite a week. The tragic flooding in Texas is surely a once-in-a-generation news event....
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The marketing world has a mix of viewpoints about the content-consuming habits of Millennials and Gen Z consumers. On the one hand, super-short video formats are becoming mainstream in advertising,...
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More than three quarters of Denver Public Schools’ population are students of color. Yet only 25 percent of DPS teachers are of color. The Denver Mayor’s office, DPS and Denver-based...
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Great Outdoors Colorado has been improving our state for 20 years, and in that time it has built 1,148 parks, built or restored 725 miles of trails, and protected 1...
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In the Chronicle of Philanthropy, writer Michael Anft considers the sustainable value achieved through large-scale awareness efforts, such as the ALS Foundation’s ice-bucket challenge. He notes a growing belief that while...
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To effectively motivate people to act (to purchase, to change behavior, to participate, etc.), their values, beliefs and lifestyles must be reflected in the messages and communications strategies we use. That’s why...
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When your website barely supports your business needs and your customers hate using it, everyone loses. But it doesn’t have to be that way. About a year ago, I led...
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The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) came to SE2 with a challenge: How best to educate and engage millennials who causally smoke about the slippery slope of...
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Organizations using more traditional forms of media are finding it increasingly difficult to reach their audience and stand out. It’s not surprising given that: Online ad blocking continues to accelerate....
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In Washington, where I started my reporting career, the political action stretched from the lobbying firm offices on K Street to the complex of House and Senate office buildings that...
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If you ever want to feel like an epic underachiever, spend your time with thousands of Teach For America (TFA) alumni. I was reminded of this when I joined 15,000...
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Important issues, and the stories that illustrate their impact, don’t usually cut through the chaos of a reporter’s inbox if there isn’t clear news value. But even if the English-language...
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Lack of access to healthy foods, higher prevalence of stress and built environments that discourage physical activity are just some of the contributing factors. And a recent report finds that we can...
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Today’s communications practice demands projects that are smart, visual, shareable and integrated from top to bottom. This requires a fluid blend of disciplines, skill sets and personnel to develop great...
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This, in turn, puts more pressure on these institutions to develop and implement effective communications strategies. Gone are the days when a public school could rely solely on the neighborhood...
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To cut through the clutter, nonprofits must have a strong communications plan, built on a foundation of sound messaging and compelling stories. The communications challenges and opportunities nonprofits face are...
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Debunking any notion that radio is being eclipsed by the myriad other media options available to us, the study found that the national radio audience hit an all-time high in...
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Following a highly competitive bid process, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s (CDPHE) Prevention Services Division selected SE2 to lead communications and advertising for its Tobacco Free Colorado...
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Our in-house owned media expertise could be difference between a communications dud and the next Ice Bucket Challenge. But first let’s define "owned media". It’s pretty straightforward: Owned media is every...
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CWSF is a membership organization comprised of 17 Western U.S. state foresters and six American-affiliated Pacific island foresters that work together to address key issues in the management of Western...
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“Big data will become an historic driver of progress, helping our nation perpetuate the civic and economic dynamism that has long been its hallmark… the digital revolution continues to work...
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I recently attended a communications conference and one story stuck with me. One of the speakers, Paul Smith, shared the story that reminds me of the importance of how we...
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Most of the offerings on the health exchanges are low-cost, high-deductible plans. Good news for many, but not everyone. An unforeseen consequence: Many newly covered consumers from the last enrollment...
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Even someone like me who is (literally) colorblind can see the shift displayed by this graph, produced by the Pew Research Center based on new census data. It shows how...
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We’ve all seen ads that are funny, scary or uplifting. But do they work, prompting the desired action? I recently attended the National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing, and Media...
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I was lucky enough to talk with Radioo and help share Radioo’s story. Bullied at a traditional public high school after coming out as a lesbian and then as a...
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Did you know that almost 90 percent of adults are confused by the jargon that the health care industry uses? This problem has only increased as the nation, including our...
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Your audience wants custom content; Give them what they want. Recent studies on content marketing have shown that: 90 percent of people find custom content useful. 78 percent of people...
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So far, it’s crushed and recycled about 800 of these high-polluting junkers. The Colorado Automobile Dealers Association launched this nonprofit and the vast majority of vehicles have been contributed by...
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In fact, more than 5,700 Colorado kids under the age of 18 become new daily smokers, and one-in-three will die from their addiction. Both points prove why it is important...
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Web access has joined pencils and notebooks on the list of basic school supplies. Students need the Internet to complete their homework. Parents need it to monitor their children’s academic...
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Well, how many ways can I say this…. yes, si, oui, ja, sim, ken, jes, hai, ndiyo, haan and na'am. YES, you need a social media policy. Frankly, I am...
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While stories help in all kinds of communications, they are critical in the world of public issues because the problems that our clients are tackling -- healthcare, hunger, smoking regulations...
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