Homeland Security Urges Small Businesses to 'Define Their Day After' Through New...

Homeland Security Urges Small Businesses to 'Define Their Day After' Through New Public Service Advertisements

WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
As hurricane season approaches, Homeland Security's Ready Campaign
and The Advertising Council are reaching out to small businesses and
encouraging them to "define their day after" by putting emergency
preparedness at the top of their to-do list. A series of national
public service advertisements (PSA) entitled "Procrastination" were
released nationwide today for radio, print, internet and outdoor
media. These PSAs focus on what can happen when a business owner
chooses to place making an emergency plan at the bottom of their to-do
list. The theme taps into the natural tendency for individuals to put
off making plans for another day.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, small businesses employ more
than half of all Americans. However, Institute for Business and Home
Safety research shows that, at the minimum, one in four businesses
never reopen following a disaster.

"Research conducted by the Ad Council found that more than 85
percent of small businesses understand that emergency preparedness is
important, yet only four in ten businesses have a plan to protect
their businesses," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
"The ability of these businesses to survive and recover quickly from
both natural and man-made disasters directly benefits employees,
customers, the community and the local, and even national, economy."

These PSAs were created by Neiman Group and mark the third round
of national PSAs created for Ready Business, a component of the Ready
Campaign. Ready Business is designed to help owners and managers of
small- to medium-size businesses prepare their employees, operations
and assets in the event of an emergency by providing practical steps
and easy-to-use templates. To date, the Ready Business effort has
received more than $91.1 million in donated media support; its Web
site has received more than 29.7 million hits and more than 2.6
million unique visitors; and more than 2.3 million Ready Business
materials have been requested or downloaded from the Web site.

"In speaking to a number of small business owners, we understand
that making an emergency plan often takes a backseat to the numerous
tasks that need to be accomplished on a daily basis," said Ad Council
President and CEO Peggy Conlon. "Ready Business provides critical
resources and encourages businesses to take the time to protect what
they have worked so hard to build. We hope these new PSAs will
encourage all business owners to put making an emergency plan at the
top of their to-do list and serve as a reminder of the information
readily available to help prepare businesses for an emergency at
ready.gov."

The Ready Campaign

February 2008 marked the Ready Campaign's fifth year at the
Department of Homeland Security. Launched in 2003, in partnership with
The Advertising Council, Ready was designed to educate and empower
Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies, including natural
disasters and potential terrorist attacks. It has proven to be one of
the most successful campaigns in Ad Council's more than 65-year
history. Since its launch, the campaign has generated more than $703.2
million in donated media support. Individuals interested in more
information about family, business and community preparedness can
visit www.ready.gov or call 1-800-BE-READY to receive free materials.

The Advertising Council

The Ad Council is a private, non-profit organization with a rich
history of marshalling volunteer talent from the advertising and media
industries to deliver critical messages to the American public. Having
produced literally thousands of PSA campaigns addressing the most
pressing social issues of the day, the Ad Council has effected, and
continues to affect, tremendous positive change by raising awareness,
inspiring action and saving lives. To learn more about the Ad Council
and its campaigns, visit www.adcouncil.org.

The U.S. Small Business Administration

The Small Business Administration provides long-term disaster
recovery in the form of low-interest loans to homeowners, renters,
businesses of all sizes and private, non-profit organizations. The SBA
continues to advocate the importance of disaster preparedness via
public service announcements, participating in emergency planning
events staged by local chambers of commerce, and partnerships with
private sector organizations. In November 2007 the SBA teamed up with
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company to produce a 10-page disaster
preparedness guide for small business owners.

For more information on SBA's disaster program and preparedness
tips, and links to the public service announcements and the Nationwide
disaster guide, visit
www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance/disasterpreparedness/.

DHS Press Office: 202-282-8010

Copyright Business Wire 2008