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National Citizens’ Action Group, ReadtoVote.org,
asks Congress to sign a simple PLEDGE To
Read the bills They’re debating before They cast Their votes

Co-Founders of Influential “Tappening” Campaign Launch an Educational, Political Ad Campaign Seeking “Chalkers to Rewrite History” on the Steps of the Capitol

New York, NY—Sept. 8, 2009—Founded and financed by the dynamic marketing duo behind the widely lauded and influential “Tappening” campaign (http://www.tappening.com), ReadtoVote.org (http://www.ReadtoVote.org) has sprung forth as a nonpartisan reaction to the gross confusion and ignorance surrounding what’s actually in the critically important health and energy bills currently being debated by Congress (which, apparently, even some of the legislators themselves don’t understand).

With a combined 50 years of marketing experience between the two, Mark DiMassimo and Eric Yaverbaum have been wreaking havoc since 2007 on the multinational corporations selling bottled water in this country, via “Tappening.” (If not exactly havoc, then certainly some seriously high-profile and well-chronicled disturbances, while educating millions of people on the virtues of tap water.)

DiMassimo and Yaverbaum now hope to convince every member of the House and Senate to sign a “ReadtoVote” pledge, agreeing never to vote on any bill before personally reading and understanding every word of it. They’re launching this new endeavor with a $750,000 marketing and advertising budget and recruiting 1018 “chalkers” to write the pages of America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 on the steps of the Capitol building, one page at a time.

“Only after they read the bills can our legislators cast a meaningful vote and communicate factually to their constituents,” says DiMassimo. “In a social world, people demand that democracy be more participative. When we all know what we’re talking about, we will have the basis for mutual understanding and a more productive process.” Yaverbaum adds, “We hope the general public will make the same commitment, via ReadtoVote.org.”

Widely regarded as one of the most innovative “creatives” in the field of advertising, DiMassimo runs NYC–based advertising, design and digital agency DIGO (http://www.digobrands.com), the Agency for a Social World™, which Fast Company recently cited as one of the Foremost World-Changing Agencies in the country. Yaverbaum, President of PR hot shop Ericho Communications (http://www.erichopr.com), was called a “fast-talking, quick-moving New York public relations guru” by Forbes this past year. In addition to having his sixth book published this fall, Yaverbaum is also a weekly guest on Fox’s “The Strategy Room” and was the first Democrat to accept an invitation to the “Taxpayer Tea Party” in Times Square in July, as a speaker with a contrary perspective.

“Being a Democrat on many Fox TV panels focused on health and energy bills this past year has been enlightening,” says Yaverbaum. “My politics certainly have not aligned with the majority of the viewers’. Yet as I read the actual bills currently before Congress, my opinions evolved. The more I read the more questions I had. I wanted answers, rather than simply to promote the agenda of the man I wanted in office. I was taken aback by the critical reaction from both left and right. Most striking to me, however, were the disagreements inspired not by facts, but by virtually fabricated sound bites and disinformation generated by interest groups and an astonishing amount of advertising spent on both sides. The actual facts can only be found in the bills themselves.”

ReadtoVote.org was born when DiMassimo—no stranger to politics himself, having worked with Bill Bradley during Bradley’s run for President in 2000 and as a brand consultant to several Washington, D.C., organizations—wondered aloud what had happened to his partner’s normally tidy desktop, covered at the time by tall stacks of legislation. Yaverbaum’s simple reply, “The stacks are there so I actually know what I’m arguing about,” which led DiMassimo to his enthusiastic reaction, “Everyone should! And maybe we can do something about that!”

DiMassimo concludes, “What could be more important and gratifying than investing in a nationwide effort to politely request that our elected officials read the very bills they debate and vote on. And to suggest to the general public that they monitor which legislators actually read the bills and which do not.” Yaverbaum adds, “It’s important for the public to educate themselves. After all, the future of our nation is at stake.”

ReadtoVote.org has 4789 pledges as of Tuesday, Sept. 8, the day of the site’s launch. Letters of invitation have gone to every current member of the House and the Senate. The general public will be provided with an automatic link on the site that will allow them to download the Cap and Trade Bill and the Health Care Bill. In addition to the site, marketing will include wild post ads in Washington, DC, New York City, Chicago, L.A., and Miami. All ads are downloadable at http://readtovote.org/site/?cat=4

Mark DiMassimo and Eric Yaverbaum, co-founders of ReadtoVote.org,
are available for interview upon request.

Copies of ads created by DIGO are also available upon request.

About ReadtoVote.org:
Co-founders of the highly acclaimed Tappening movement, Mark DiMassimo and Eric Yaverbaum, aim to create momentum and inspire all elected officials, as well as the general public, to actually readthe bills being debated in our nation. ReadtoVote.org asks for a pledge to read these bills, and provides a link that allows visitors to easily download the major bills currently before Congress. DiMassimo and Yaverbaum plan to continue to invest in bold, brazen, educational marketing campaigns that focus on issues that are profoundly impacting the future of our country.

About Tappening:
Founded in November 2007 by Mark DiMassimo and Eric Yaverbaum, Tappening is an educational campaign designed to encourage the public to drink only tap water, and to send a message to the bottled water industry about its unnecessary and extreme waste of fossil fuels and resultant pollution of the Earth.

About DIGO:
The advertising, design, and digital Agency for a Social World™, New York City–based DIGO (short for DiMassimo Goldstein) was founded by Mark DiMassimo in 1996. Prior to that, DiMassimo created pioneering digital and interactive programs for blue chip clients, led creative on some of the most successful launches of all time, including those for the AT&T Universal Card and the Citibank AAdvantage Card, and rose to the top of the direct marketing world before jumping to a prime creative position at a boutique shop that he helped build into a thriving integrated powerhouse in only three years. When DiMassimo launched DIGO with one employee (a strategist), it quickly became one of the fastest-growing agencies in the U.S. Working with visionary clients on innovative business models, the agency evolved a unique approach that reflected the new world of the consumer.

DIGO clients have included a mix of innovative growth companies, blue chips, and social causes, including Crunch Fitness, Pfizer, Gateway, Tappening, Rare Conservation, American Red Cross, Comcast, Starwood, ESPN, thinkorswim, Investools, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, J.H. Cohn, and TV Guide.com, among others. For more information, visit http://www.digobrands.com

About Ericho Communications: