MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2007 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Ross, Browning, Burton, Butler, Chaney, Chassaniol, Clarke, Dawkins, Frazier, Hewes, Hyde-Smith, Jackson (11th), Kirby, Lee (35th), Michel, Thomas, White, Williamson
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND THANKING LIZA AND RICK LOOSER AND THE CIRLOT AGENCY FOR DEVELOPING THE "MISSISSIPPI, BELIEVE IT!" PUBLIC SERVICE CAMPAIGN WHICH INFORMS RESIDENTS AND NONRESIDENTS ABOUT THE MANY POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES OF OUR STATE.
WHEREAS, the "Mississippi, Believe It!" campaign was designed to inform and educate the citizens of Mississippi, as well as the rest of the country, about the many positive attributes of Mississippi and was designed to directly combat the negative stereotypes often associated with the State of Mississippi. It includes fourteen public service announcements created to run in newspapers and magazines, a full set of "Mississippi, Believe It!" posters sent to every public and private K-12 school and every college and university in the state, and a Web site that houses the posters in a downloadable format, as well as links to other sites which list little-known facts about the state; and
WHEREAS, the "Mississippi, Believe It!" campaign was designed pro bono by The Cirlot Agency, a Mississippi-based, full-service, marketing, public relations and corporate communications firm, as a gift to Mississippi in an effort to thank the state for supporting its business over the past two decades; and
WHEREAS, the campaign features many of the wonderful people, aspects, stories and facts associated with the State of Mississippi. The campaign was recently featured in The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, the International Herald Tribune and on NBC television. According to Liza Looser, founder and CEO of The Cirlot Agency, and Rick Looser, COO of The Cirlot Agency, the campaign takes common Mississippi stereotypes and twists them to reveal the truth about the state. For instance, the headline of one of the posters reads, "Meet a few of our new good ole boys" and explains that Mississippi has more black elected officials than any other state in the country. Women in high-ranking positions are featured, as well as Chief Phillip Martin of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians; and
WHEREAS, the campaign features the success of Hartley Peavey and Peavey Electronics, and the late Dr. Arthur Guyton. The campaign explains that throughout the 189 years of Mississippi's statehood, untold numbers of the state's citizens have made marvelous medical advances, entertained the masses and invented products that do everything from make lives better to improve space travel; and
WHEREAS, Liza and Rick Looser believe that until Mississippi's own citizens are proud of its successes, the rest of the country cannot be expected to change their perceptions about Mississippi. The campaign points out that all too often, Mississippi is only thought of regarding a short period in her history in which civil rights incidents took place. In many parts of the country, this is all Mississippi is known for and, unfortunately, this negative perception has greatly affected how Mississippi's own citizens view their state; and
WHEREAS, the cost of the "Mississippi, Believe It!" campaign is estimated at over $315,000.00 to date. The Cirlot Agency has donated over $275,000.00 in time and resources to bring this campaign to fruition. Service Printers, Inc., of Flowood, Mississippi, donated over $40,000.00 in printing services and paper costs for the posters; and
WHEREAS, over the past 22 years, Liza Looser has led The Cirlot Agency into a multi-million dollar corporation that services accounts ranging from publicly traded companies to financial institutions and manufacturing corporations on a national and international basis. Liza is also a recent graduate of Harvard Business School. Among the company's many awards and accolades is the prestigious Blue Chip Enterprise Initiative Award, a national competition that recognizes companies that have overcome adversity to enjoy great success. The agency also joined the ranks of SkyTel Communications, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi, Entergy and others by being named a MetroJackson Chamber of Commerce Business & Industry Super Achiever; and
WHEREAS, recognized as one of the top public relation professionals in the country, Rick Looser has worked for the leaders in business and industry, including Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Sherwin Williams, Boeing, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Cingular, among others. Rick was also the lead communications strategist for the competition to win one of the largest defense contracts ever awarded by the U.S. Navy, the DD(X) Program, estimated at more than $60 Billion. Rick has served on the national Advertising Advisory Board of Directors for the Congressional Quarterly magazine based in Washington, D.C., which is considered the most comprehensive news source on Congress. He has also served on numerous other industry and nonprofit boards. A graduate of the University of Alabama, Rick was recently named the Outstanding Alumnus in Public Relations for the University of Alabama's College of Communication; and
WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we recognize the energy and civic dedication of these "citizen ambassadors" for the State of Mississippi, who have donated their time and talents to educate residents and nonresidents and promote a positive image for our state:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend and thank Liza and Rick Looser and The Cirlot Agency for developing and disseminating the "Mississippi, Believe It!" public service campaign which informs residents and nonresidents about the many positive attributes of our state, and extend to them our best wishes for continued success in their future civic and business endeavors.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Liza and Rick Looser for The Cirlot Agency, be forwarded to the Mississippi Development Authority and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.