Prevention and awareness campaign highlights resources for those experiencing a substance use disorder
Opioid Crisis and Overdose Prevention Campaign for Milwaukee County
In 2020 and 2021, in the midst of COVID-19, another pandemic was occurring: the opioid crisis. The abrupt change in routines and the increased stress and isolation due to COVID-19 created a perfect storm for addiction. In addition to the rise in anxiety and depression symptoms reported in 2020, which were up 27 percent compared to 2019, emergency room visits due to drug overdoses increased 36 percent nationally. And, in Milwaukee County overdose deaths rose from 418 in 2019 to 544 in 2020 - a nearly 30% increase.
In response, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley made it a priority to inform the community that there are available resources through Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Services (BHS) for those with substance use disorder (SUD), regardless of their ability to pay.
The County Executive and BHS partnered with Kane Communications Group to create an integrated media campaign to let Milwaukee County residents know help is available. All they need to do to get started is call the 24-hour crisis line at 414-257-7222.
“Death from overdose increased by nearly 30 percent during the pandemic. We wanted to ensure people who were struggling had access to available resources. Kane developed an engaging campaign with an emotional and hopeful message, and a clear call-to-action, to help us reach people who would benefit from our services.”
SOLUTION
The goal of the campaign was to ensure that residents in Milwaukee County and their loved ones experiencing opiate addiction are aware help is available. It was crucial to increase the visibility of the 24-hour crisis line so that the community understood how to access SUD resources quickly and easily.
To do this, Kane developed a campaign theme focused on inspiring hope and help. This messaging was used to develop an outdoor billboard, transit ads, paid social media ads and radio spots that were strategically placed throughout Milwaukee County to reach residents in need.
In addition to paid media tactics, Kane also coordinated a Facebook live conversation between County Executive David Crowley and BHS Administrator Michael Lappen. Media were invited to tune in to the conversation, and it was shared on both the County Executive and Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Facebook pages.
RESULTS
Kane’s work with the Milwaukee County Executive and BHS on this campaign showed clear engagement with the public, increasing awareness of the Milwaukee County 24-hour crisis line and SUD resources.
From the campaign’s start in May 2021 through August 2021, Kane’s efforts resulted in an 84.9 percent increase in overall planned impressions. This added value for the full campaign amounted to $11,187.50.
The Facebook live conversation between the County Executive and BHS Administrator Michael Lappen was viewed more than 250 times, and resulted in earned media coverage on FOX6 and TMJ4.
The outdoor billboard, which was located on I-94 and 14th Street, received an estimated 5,008,311 impressions.
Messaging ran on six bus shelters, 10 bus kings and 110 interior bus cards across the city of Milwaukee, resulting in an estimated 2,971,780 impressions.
The radio spot featuring the County Executive ran for three weeks, aired on WGKB-FM, WJMR-FM, WKKV-FM, Hot 105.7 FM and WXSS-FM, and resulted in 670,000 total impressions.
Adults (ages 18+) heard the radio spot on average 2.8 times during the course of the campaign.
There were two social media ads created for use on the DHHS Facebook page, which ran simultaneously. The campaign ended with an impressive 3.1% click through rate (CTR) and resulted in 76,148 impressions.