• by Amy Corr  @MediaPostOTL, December 11, 2014

Following a review, YMCA of the USA, the national resource office for 2,700 Y's, named Droga5 New York as its agency of record to support its national positioning efforts. The agency will be charged with developing a creative strategy to help increase understanding of the Y's impact in communities across the country, engage individuals more deeply in the Y's cause and support the Y's fundraising efforts. "The Y is moving the needle on critical social issues in important ways. However, research tells us there is still some confusion as to the depth of our work," said Donna Bembenek, Vice President of Marketing Communications, YMCA of the USA. "We are thrilled to work with Droga5 to develop compelling, creative ways to bring our story to life in order to help the public understand the impact their local Y's are driving every day." The new creative strategy will build on current positioning efforts and launch in 2016. This is the first national ad campaign of this scale and scope launched by the Y since World War I. "The Y is a truly purposeful and valuable community pillar for so many," says Jonny Bauer, Global Chief Strategy Officer at Droga5. "We're passionate about ensuring the breadth and depth of the YMCA story be told." YMCA spent $10 million on measured media in 2013 and $6.8 million in the first half of 2014, according to Kantar Media.