How the Ad Council plans to make Americans comfortable with vaccines



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As it begins to roll out a massive education campaign on the Covid-19 vaccine, the Advertising Council wants Americans to know that it’s okay to have questions about vaccines. And he wants to indicate verified and precise answers to these questions.

The Advertising Council is a non-profit organization that makes and distributes public service announcements, including campaigns such as “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk” and “Smokey Bear”, and has disseminated information in times of crisis, including after September 11. and Hurricane Katrina.

Now, the organization is stepping up what it says is one of the largest public education efforts in U.S. history with Covid Collaborative, a coalition of experts in health, education and economics.

“I think it’s fair to say it’s the biggest problem of our lives. And we really felt that it required the most significant public education effort we’ve ever undertaken,” said Lisa Sherman, President and CEO of Ad Council, in an interview with CNBC. “We began to hope that there was a light at the end of the tunnel with these vaccines available, and the extraordinary and heroic efforts of the scientific community to achieve this. But we were also very aware at the same time that there was high levels of reluctance to immunize, especially in communities of color. ”

Organization launches effort to educate the American public with factual information, working with top vaccine and public health experts to move people from “vaccine hesitation” to “vaccine confidence” , she said.

The campaign’s reach will be wide, with dozens of brands, media companies and social platforms creating content and donating media to spread 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 create public service announcements and messaging points for podcast hosts to learn more about vaccine awareness and education. Disney will run public service announcements on platforms such as ABC, ESPN and Hulu, while Twitter will develop a personalized emoji hashtag to support the campaign and host a live question-and-answer session with a medical expert.

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 frequently updated with data and information. The site has been approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the FDA, and will be available in seven languages, she said.

The site’s landing page reads: “You have questions. That’s good.” He continues, “It’s okay to be careful when something new happens. Wanting to know more is good – it means you want to be informed. And being informed about COVID-19 vaccines is an important step for us. help stop this pandemic. “

Sherman said the group determined from the research that those who were hesitant to take the vaccine might wonder if there was a trade-off between the speed and effectiveness of the vaccines. She said the post is meant to have an empathetic approach and make it clear that it’s okay to have questions and acknowledge any concerns. He also strives to be respectful and not to put people off by showing strength or judgment.

“It’s rooted in this idea that people really have questions, which makes perfect sense. And we want to normalize the issue of reluctance so we want to answer their questions,” Sherman said.

With so many distinct communities to reach, the organization works with many different groups so people can hear from 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 great messaging platform and a coordinated approach, which is why we’re building such a great coalition,” Sherman said. “But we also recognize that this cannot be a one-size-fits-all proposition, that we needed a multi-faceted campaign, several separate efforts designed to reach these different audiences and speak to them more specifically about the reluctance they have.” Creative agency Pereira O’Dell developed the ‘It’s Up To You’ creative platform as a courtesy, while the organization said other agencies are working to adapt and expand the message to different communities.

The campaign targeted efforts to reach black and Hispanic communities, which the Advertising Council said have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic and have high levels of reluctance. The Advertising Council works with individuals and trusted groups in these communities, including religious leaders, physicians, and pharmacists, and groups like the NAACP, UnidosUS, Color of Change and more.

Sherman said the organization endows these groups and individuals with information, research and creative assets. The group even worked on scriptural sermons that ministers can incorporate into Sunday conversations with their congregants.

“These are the tools that we equip all of our partners with, so that they can really do what they do best with these credible and trusted voices,” she said.

Sherman said the organization has raised more than $ 52 million in funding from private sector players, which will cover the “hard costs” of the effort, including production, research and monitoring. But she estimates the campaign will receive more than half a billion dollars in donations, including media, time and talent. The vaccination campaign is expected to last 12 to 18 months.

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