As the COVID-19 variant Omicron surged during the holiday season of 2021 caregivers across Ohio, and the nation, were pushed past their capacity and breaking points. With the majority of hospitalizations involving unvaccinated patients a clear call to action was needed.

Cleveland Clinic, the #2 hospital in the world, partnered with 5 other local hospitals to run a print ad in local newspapers that would encourage the citizens of Ohio to get vaccinated — in less than a week.

Currently, there aren’t many issues more polarizing than COVID-19. So, with countless amounts of mixed messaging on the topic, and repeated showcases of fatigued caregivers flooding media, we decided to take different approach in our local newspapers: a full-page print ad, anchored by one simple word: Help.

Our local message spread through national news publications like wildfire. In total, our ad generated over 1.25 billion impressions in over 150 placements across nationally renowned media sites such as: CNN, The Washington Post, The New York Times, USA Today, Good Morning America, and the list goes on. Oh, and Family Guy himself Seth McFarland shared it out with his 13.7 million followers.

Opportunities to impact society in a truly positive way are rare. Our team jumped at the chance to do so and are so grateful we did. All in all, this campaign reminded us of a few major lessons in marketing:

1. Print is NOT dead

2. If your message is as truthful as it is sincere, people will care about your cause

3. One word can accomplish a whole lot more than you’d think