Odney supported the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a subcontractor to the awardee on the Pan Respiratory Virus Public Education Campaign Risk Less. Do More. The campaign’s purpose was to reduce the number of hospitalizations and deaths caused by seasonal respiratory viruses—influenza, RSV and COVID-19—by encouraging at-risk populations to receive preventative immunizations.
The primary audiences were:
- adults ages 65+
- long-term care facility residents
- health navigators (people who influence primary audiences and help them make health care decisions)
Additional dedicated campaigns focused on reaching younger adults, including those in Black, Latino, and rural markets who have a higher prevalence of health complications, fewer health care resources, and other factors that raise their risk for severe disease. Our exclusive role was to reach rural audiences, leveraging our deep understanding of these hard-to-reach audiences and successful communications strategies that motivate them to act.
We developed creative concepts and executed a strategy that empowered rural Americans across the country to take control of their health by talking to their health care providers about how to avoid serious PRV illness. In our role, we formulated creative messaging, developed tailored advertisements, and planned and bought traditional paid media. We also advised on digital and social media plans and earned media outreach.
In addition, we created custom video and digital ads targeted specifically to rural audiences, including the “Cars” spot that was selected by HHS to run on national TV because of its effectiveness. We also initiated and sustained successful partnerships with rural health associations, business organizations, and sports and community groups across the country that increased preventive actions taken by rural audiences