The Minnesota Department of Health served us up a double dose of a challenge: raise awareness and prompt action among Minnesotans to receive the latest COVID-19 and flu vaccines, without really using the MNN DOH brand and without raising political hackles. To do all that, we needed to establish widespread connections across the state and fast, as the timeframe of ‘peak’ cold and flu season was upon us.
Finding the right audience and understanding their mindset was critical for this. We identified a sizable audience (64% of Minnesotans) of lapsed vaccine users who were pro-vaccine but undecided or under-motivated. We put our focus there, rather than trying to persuade those who are against vaccination. Special consideration was given to older adults, children, and historically underserved communities where disparities often exist in vaccination rates.
After carefully studying our audience groups, as well as the latest vaccination marketing best practices from the CDC, and other authorities across the globe, we discovered a simple insight in this seemingly monumental challenge: the things holding these groups back weren’t big trust or safety concerns, but rather relatively minor obstacles. They simply needed either a basic question answered or a simple reminder, or three.
Keeping the platform simple and positive made for a universally attractive, easily translatable message. Then our media placements went both broad and highly targeted, including language- and culture-specific radio, digital, and pedestrian-level out-of-home.
Radio picked up the positive, affirmative tone.