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StoptheDrugWar.org Sponsorship

StoptheDrugWar.org-- The Audience to Reach for Drug Policy Discussion and Reform

StoptheDrugWar.org works for an end to prohibition and the "drug war" in its current form. Our primary but not exclusive emphasis is US policies. Our best-known program is the online publishing of extensive reporting and discussion on drug policy and reform efforts, particularly the Drug War Chronicle newsletter. A substantive discussion of our organization's mission, history, current programs, personnel and other info is available at http://stopthedrugwar.org/about/.

We are pleased to announce a new sponsorship program for our newsletter and web site -- with discount rates available to NCIA members. As a publisher with seven-figure audiences on both our web site and through syndication,StoptheDrugWar.org reaches a broad range of news and policy enthusiasts in the US and elsewhere. But our site, email list, and Facebook and Twitter feeds also reach a core audience consisting of the most engaged participants in the drug policy reform and the drug debate.

This core readership is a diverse mix of liberals, libertarians, policy wonks, justice advocates, patients, legal marijuana industry professionals, public health professionals, media, marijuana policy reformers and others. An advertising buy or sponsorship with StoptheDrugWar.org will therefore yield disproportionate impact for your business or organization, by reaching the issue's most engaged audience, through the venue they've been reading each day or week for years.

Here are a few testimonials that notable readers have provided:

"Drug War Chronicle serves a uniquely valuable purpose. It is original hard-hitting reporting that isn't skewed to the perspective of one drug policy reform group's perspective. When I tell people what is happening broadly in drug policy, I am mostly telling them what I read in Drug War Chronicle. Every week our views are challenged by the conventional wisdom -- it is an immediately relevant refresher on the big picture of why I get up every morning... to end the human suffering caused by drug prohibition. If Drug War Chronicle were to disappear, the obvious tangible value it brings would be lost. But one thing that might be overlooked is the inspiration it gives to people fighting the good fight and the morale boost that happens when people realize that great work is being done on this front by people of conscience all over the world."
- Troy Dayton, CEO, Arcview Group

"Before I started Colgate University's chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, I would stay up to date on issues in drug policy by reading stories in Drug War Chronicle. The information I gained familiarized me with the growing movement for drug policy reform and stoked my passion to actively change our nation's unjust policies. As leader of the chapter I used StoptheDrugWar.org to keep myself informed and to teach other students about the most up to date drug policy issues both within the United States and abroad, and in my own research on how illicit drug markets operate around the world. Since my graduation, Drug War Chronicle has helped me in my work at the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, on the Colorado Amendment 64 campaign, and now at the law firm of Vicente Sederberg in Denver, where I advise the state of Colorado on implementing marijuana legalization."

- Andrew Livingston, Policy Analyst, Vicente Sederberg LLC

"Oaksterdam University has long enjoyed sharing the information compiled by Drug War Chronicle with students of the History of Cannabis and Marijuana Prohibition. DWC excerpts are informative and helpful to our Legal, Politics & History classes, as well as Civics, Dispensary Management and Operations, and Advocacy courses. One of the most important services we provide is the ability to bridge to sources of good information, and I have long considered you one of our vital resources. It is simply one of the most comprehensive sources I direct my students towards. Your website and communications are a cornerstone of our Political Science department, and provide important lessons for anyone involved with Cannabusiness or drug policy reform."
- Dale Sky Jones, Executive Chancellor, Oaksterdam University

Sponsorship Options:

The following are list prices on our primary advertising channels. However, we also offer package deals in which each component is discounted, discussed below, and we are willing to discuss other options. Pricing listed here is effective 8/28/14, and may vary.

Newsletter Sponsorship: This is a display and/or text advertisement appearing at the top of Drug War Chronicle articles on our web site, as well as in Chronicle email editions and on the main web page of the associated Chronicle issue. (The Chronicle is no longer primarily organized by weekly issue, having shifted to daily publishing, but the weekly issue format has been preserved as a feature.) Our current list price for newsletter sponsorship is $600 per issue. Additional placement in the footer of Chronicle email editions can also be discussed.

Direct-Sponsored Email: This is an email newsletter sent standalone to our email list (currently 24,500 subscribers, representing the most engaged and longstanding drug policy audience). The newsletter consist of an advertiser's chosen content, preceded by a StoptheDrugWar.org header at the top of the email (so our subscribers know the email came from us), and one or two sentences introducing the newsletter as paid content. This is the most aggressive and direct form of advertising that we offer. No more than one direct-sponsored email per month will be sent to our list (total, not per advertiser), under current plans. The direct-sponsored email is currently priced at $2,000.

Display Ads: 728x90 (leaderboard -- above the fold), 300x250 (medium rectangle -- above the fold), and 160x600 (skyscraper -- below the fold). Our list prices are $6 CPM for leaderboard or medium rectangle ($10 for both on the same pages), and $3 CPM for skyscraper. (Actual campaign pricing would be determined through discussion.) StoptheDrugWar.org can confidently deliver a minimum of 100,000 impressions for any of these ad types in any given month, and usually more, assuming variations in traffic during the year remain within foreseeable levels. Traffic can be metered and distributed over time as requested, with assessments performed early within the process and throughout. Ad inventory is managed, and campaign reporting provided, through Google's DoubleClick for Publishers.

Packages:

We currently offer a one-month sponsorship package for $4,000, including: one direct-sponsored email; newsletter sponsorship for all articles published the month; and one above-the-fold ad appearing on all of our web pages (choice of leaderboard, rectangle, or a mixture, up to 250,000 impressions, at least 100,000 impressions guaranteed).

There are also some secondary options that StoptheDrugWar.org has to offer, which may or may not be applicable to any given advertiser. They do not have specific prices associated with them, but rather could be discussed as possible supplements within a package. These options include:

Editorial Content: This would be content published on our web site and/or email list, beyond what we have provided for free to any sponsor in the past, in conjunction with an ad campaign. For example, Drug War Chronicle might run an interview with an organization's chairman or director, or a business's CEO, discussing what the organization has to offer on issues of concern to our readers, or other information of interest. Such a piece could be timed to coincide with ads that are running, could be reprinted in a Direct-Sponsored Email, appear in additional issues of Drug War Chronicle (web and email), etc.

Social Media: StoptheDrugWar.org can use our social media to promote an advertiser's web site or special pages. Our Facebook group at the time of this writing (8/28/14) reaches 49,000 followers, our Twitter feed 15,600.

Mailer: It may be possible to include an organization's flyers in upcoming mailers to our membership, although our direct mail program is not currently active.

SAMPLE ONE-MONTH CAMPAIGN #1 (preferred):

  • above-the-fold 300x250 display banner (and/or or mix of 300x250 with 728x90), at least 100,000 impressions per month, potentially up to 250,000
  • Direct-Sponsored Email (your organization's newsletter) emailed to our subscriber list once during the sponsorship month
  • Newsletter Sponsorship (text and/or graphic at top of all article web pages in a given weekly issue, as well as the issue's main page and email editions), no maximum number of impressions
  • Editorial Content and Social Media to be negotiated (included as part of package)
    - $4,000 -

SAMPLE ONE-MONTH CAMPAIGN #2:

  • 300x250 above-the-fold display banner (and/or or mix of 300x250 with 728x90), 100,000 impressions per month, $6 CPM: $600 per month
  • Direct-Sponsored Email (ProCon.org newsletter) emailed to our subscriber list once during a given month: $2,000
  • Editorial Content and Social Media to be negotiated (included as part of package)
    - $2,600 -

Demographics:

US Visitors: 84%

Age (adult visitors):

18-24: 16%
25-34: 30%
35-44: 17%
44-54: 15%
55-64: 16%
65+: 6%
 

Gender:

Male: 67%
Female: 33%

(Additional demographics are available upon request.)

Contact: David Borden, Executive Director, (202) 236-8620 or [email protected]

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