As it begins to launch a massive education campaign about the Covid-19 vaccine, the Advertising Council wants Americans to know that it’s okay to have questions about vaccines. And you want to point out verified and accurate answers to those questions.
The Ad Council is a nonprofit organization that makes and distributes public service announcements, including campaigns like “Friends don’t allow friends to drive drunk” and “Smokey Bear”, and distributed information in times of crisis, including the period after 11 September and Hurricane Katrina.
Now the organization is reinforcing what it says is one of the largest public education efforts in the history of the United States with Covid Collaborative, a coalition of experts in health, education and economics.
“I think it is fair to say that this is the biggest problem in our lives. And we really felt that the most significant public education effort we have ever undertaken was necessary,” said Lisa Sherman, President and CEO of the Advertising Council, in an interview with CNBC. “We started to be hopeful that there was a light at the end of the tunnel with these vaccines available and with the extraordinary and heroic efforts of the scientific community to make this happen. But at the same time, we were very aware that there are high levels of vaccine hesitation , especially in communities of color. ”
The organization is initiating an effort to educate the American public with factual information, working with leading vaccine and public health experts to move people from “vaccine hesitation” to “confidence in the vaccine,” she said.
The campaign’s reach will be wide, with dozens of brands, media companies and social platforms creating content and donating media to extend the “It’s Up To You” message. These partners include Disney, Fox, Google and YouTube, Facebook, Spotify, Twitter and many more.
Spotify, for example, will make audio PSAs and message points for podcast hosts to read about vaccine awareness and education. Disney will run public service announcements on platforms like ABC, ESPN and Hulu, while Twitter will develop a personalized hashtag emoji to support the campaign and host a live Q&A with a medical specialist.
The campaign will guide people to a website, GetVaccineAnswers.org, where they can get answers to questions about vaccines. Sherman said the site will be updated frequently with data and information. The site has been reviewed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA, and will be available in seven languages, she said.
The site’s landing page says, “You have questions. That’s a good thing.” He continues: “It’s normal to be cautious when something new comes up. Wanting to know more is a good thing – it means you want to be informed. And being informed about COVID-19 vaccines is an important step in helping us to stop this pandemic.”
Sherman said the group determined based on research that those who are hesitant to get the vaccine may have doubts as to whether there has been a trade-off between the speed and effectiveness of the vaccines. She said the purpose of the message is to take an empathetic approach and make it clear that it is okay to have questions and acknowledge any concerns. It also strives to be respectful and not alienate people by being energetic or critical.
“It’s rooted in the idea that people really have doubts, which makes perfect sense. And we want to normalize the question of hesitation, so we want to answer your questions,” said Sherman.
With so many different communities to reach, the organization is working with many different groups so that people can listen to the people and groups they trust the most. The Advertising Council said it is working with more than 300 major brands, media companies, organizations, religious leaders, medical experts and other groups to reach different audiences.
“What we understood was that we needed a large messaging platform and a coordinated approach, which is why we are building such a large coalition,” said Sherman. “But we also recognize that this cannot be a single proposal, that we needed a multifaceted campaign, several different efforts designed to reach these different audiences and speak to them more specifically about the hesitation they have.” Creative agency Pereira O’Dell developed the creative platform “It’s Up To You” pro bono, while the organization said other agencies are working to adapt and expand the message to different communities.
The campaign directed efforts to reach the black and Hispanic communities, which, according to the Advertising Council, were particularly affected by the pandemic and have high levels of hesitation. The Advertising Council is working with individuals and groups that are trusted in these communities, including religious leaders, doctors and pharmacists and groups like NAACP, UnidosUS, Color of Change and more.
Sherman said the organization is equipping these groups and individuals with information, research and creative resources. The group even worked on scriptural sermons that ministers can incorporate into Sunday conversations with their congregants.
“These are the tools with which we are equipping all of our partners, so that they can really do what they do best with these trusted and trusted voices,” she said.
Sherman said the organization raised more than $ 52 million in funding from private sector participants, which will cover the “tangible costs” of the effort, including production, research and tracking. But she estimates the campaign will receive more than half a billion dollars in donated funds, including media, time and talent. The vaccination campaign should last from 12 to 18 months.