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For Immediate Release: June 17, 2013 Media Contact: Anna Bernfeld, 262-814-1544, famic@associationexcellence.com Funeral and Memorial Information Council Launches Unprecedented National Consumer Awareness Campaign Brookfield, Wis. – The Funeral and Memorial Information Council (FAMIC) is proud to announce the launch of Have the Talk of a LifetimeSM, a national, grassroots public awareness campaign aimed at motivating families to have conversations about life, what matters to them and what they value most. These discussions can help families make important decisions about how they wish to remember and honor the lives of their loved ones through the most meaningful memorialization. FAMIC, which is comprised of 10 organizations representing nearly all areas of deathcare, developed this campaign to help remind funeral consumers that the people in their life who matter most have unique life stories. Through meaningful memorialization – that is, taking time to reflect on the unique lives of a loved one and remember the difference they made – funeral consumers take an important step in the journey toward healing after the death of a loved one. "I cannot ever remember a time in my professional career in which a group of key funeral service organizations have united around a common goal and developed a campaign of this nature,” said Linda Darby, the National Concrete Burial Vault Association’s voting representative to FAMIC. "I am thrilled to be a part of this grassroots effort and ask my funeral service colleagues to join me in making this campaign a success. The families we serve are worth it.” The first phase of the Have the Talk of a Lifetime campaign is a grassroots effort. Funeral homes and suppliers that are members of FAMIC organizations will be able to join in this national initiative by using campaign materials to help funeral consumers in their community better understand the importance of memorializing a life well lived. The campaign materials include: A brochure A video Print ads Digital ads Press release Social media tools Have the Talk of a Lifetime website FAMIC organizations will be sharing these materials, as well as suggestions regarding how they might be used, with their respective members. The campaign materials are available at no cost and are easily customizable with a funeral home or business logo. The free materials may only be accessed through www.famic.org or through the websites of the 10 FAMIC organizations. "It is critical that every funeral home and supplier that is a member of a FAMIC organization get involved; your involvement will be what helps us begin to change consumer opinions and attitudes toward memorialization,” said Jim Kepner, FAMIC president and the voting representative of Selected Independent Funeral Homes. "For years, people who work in funeral service have been asking for a national campaign to educate the public about the value of memorialization. Have the Talk of a Lifetime is our profession’s very best effort to launch such a campaign and we are relying on funeral directors and suppliers to help us make this campaign a success.” Pending the results of a feasibility study and fundraising campaign, FAMIC hopes to launch a second phase of Have the Talk of a Lifetime, which will include an advertising campaign that primarily focuses on digital media, but may include other media outlets. "To work on this type of national campaign with a diverse group of funeral professionals has been personally gratifying,” said Kepner. "I am humbled to be a part of FAMIC and to make a positive difference for funeral consumers.” The Funeral Service Foundation (FSF), a FAMIC organization, provided the initial funding for this campaign; the other nine organizations that comprise FAMIC matched the FSF funding to complete the development of the materials. Additional details about the campaign can be obtained by visiting www.famic.org FAMIC is an organization whose membership is comprised of 10 organizations representing more than 16,000 funeral service entities. Members include: Casket and Funeral Supply Association, Cremation Association of North America, Funeral Service Foundation, International Memorialization Supply Association, International Order of the Golden Rule, Monument Builders of North America, National Concrete Burial Vault Association, National Funeral Directors & Morticians Association, National Funeral Directors Association and Selected Independent Funeral Homes. FAMIC is committed to making available to the public direct and open information regarding death care and memorialization from the leading associations of service providers and businesses. For more information, visit www.famic.org # # #
For Immediate Release: June 17, 2013
Media Contact: Anna Bernfeld, 262-814-1544, famic@associationexcellence.com
Funeral and Memorial Information Council Launches Unprecedented National Consumer Awareness Campaign
Brookfield, Wis. – The Funeral and Memorial Information Council (FAMIC) is proud to announce the launch of Have the Talk of a LifetimeSM, a national, grassroots public awareness campaign aimed at motivating families to have conversations about life, what matters to them and what they value most. These discussions can help families make important decisions about how they wish to remember and honor the lives of their loved ones through the most meaningful memorialization.
FAMIC, which is comprised of 10 organizations representing nearly all areas of deathcare, developed this campaign to help remind funeral consumers that the people in their life who matter most have unique life stories. Through meaningful memorialization – that is, taking time to reflect on the unique lives of a loved one and remember the difference they made – funeral consumers take an important step in the journey toward healing after the death of a loved one.
"I cannot ever remember a time in my professional career in which a group of key funeral service organizations have united around a common goal and developed a campaign of this nature,” said Linda Darby, the National Concrete Burial Vault Association’s voting representative to FAMIC. "I am thrilled to be a part of this grassroots effort and ask my funeral service colleagues to join me in making this campaign a success. The families we serve are worth it.”
The first phase of the Have the Talk of a Lifetime campaign is a grassroots effort. Funeral homes and suppliers that are members of FAMIC organizations will be able to join in this national initiative by using campaign materials to help funeral consumers in their community better understand the importance of memorializing a life well lived. The campaign materials include:
FAMIC organizations will be sharing these materials, as well as suggestions regarding how they might be used, with their respective members. The campaign materials are available at no cost and are easily customizable with a funeral home or business logo. The free materials may only be accessed through www.famic.org or through the websites of the 10 FAMIC organizations.
"It is critical that every funeral home and supplier that is a member of a FAMIC organization get involved; your involvement will be what helps us begin to change consumer opinions and attitudes toward memorialization,” said Jim Kepner, FAMIC president and the voting representative of Selected Independent Funeral Homes. "For years, people who work in funeral service have been asking for a national campaign to educate the public about the value of memorialization. Have the Talk of a Lifetime is our profession’s very best effort to launch such a campaign and we are relying on funeral directors and suppliers to help us make this campaign a success.”
Pending the results of a feasibility study and fundraising campaign, FAMIC hopes to launch a second phase of Have the Talk of a Lifetime, which will include an advertising campaign that primarily focuses on digital media, but may include other media outlets.
"To work on this type of national campaign with a diverse group of funeral professionals has been personally gratifying,” said Kepner. "I am humbled to be a part of FAMIC and to make a positive difference for funeral consumers.”
The Funeral Service Foundation (FSF), a FAMIC organization, provided the initial funding for this campaign; the other nine organizations that comprise FAMIC matched the FSF funding to complete the development of the materials.
Additional details about the campaign can be obtained by visiting www.famic.org
FAMIC is an organization whose membership is comprised of 10 organizations representing more than 16,000 funeral service entities. Members include: Casket and Funeral Supply Association, Cremation Association of North America, Funeral Service Foundation, International Memorialization Supply Association, International Order of the Golden Rule, Monument Builders of North America, National Concrete Burial Vault Association, National Funeral Directors & Morticians Association, National Funeral Directors Association and Selected Independent Funeral Homes. FAMIC is committed to making available to the public direct and open information regarding death care and memorialization from the leading associations of service providers and businesses. For more information, visit www.famic.org
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