HIGHLIGHTS
- In the midst of a rapidly spreading Zika virus, how do you reach vulnerable populations quickly?
- Abt helped create a crisis communications campaign comprised of nearly 370 creative pieces.
- We reached over 37 million people in the U.S. and Puerto Rico and won a a MarCom Platinum Award.
The Challenge
After the initial 2016 Zika virus outbreak in Brazil and other countries, the public’s concern waned, and but the Zika virus still posed a threat to women who were pregnant or planning to become pregnant throughout the Americas. In the midst of a rapidly spreading Zika virus, how do you reach vulnerable populations quickly to share critical prevention and safety information when complacency has set in?
The Approach
Abt’s team of health communicators, graphic designers and public health professionals worked with CDC to create a crisis communications campaign comprised of nearly 370 creative pieces in two months. We used digital and social media, including animated banner ads, Facebook and Instagram ads and Google AdWords to target specific audiences. Additional media channels provided broader audience reach, including in-flight magazines, newspapers and radio ads, and billboards.
The Results
The digital and social networking components of this campaign allowed for rapid dissemination of prevention messages and hyper-targeting of audiences reaching over 37 million people in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. In November 2017, Abt earned a MarCom Platinum Award for its Zika Prevention Communications Campaign in the category of traditional and social media among the most outstanding in the areas of quality, creativity, and resourcefulness.