Major Brands and Organisations Join the Ad Council’s Covid-19 Vaccine Effort
The Ad Council has announced that the organisation has raised $37 million of its $50 million goal for a national communications effort to increase confidence in vaccination against Covid-19. Developed in partnership with Covid Collaborative, the initiative will reach key audiences across the country through research-driven creative campaigns, strategic media placements, community outreach and trusted messenger engagement, representing one of the largest public education efforts in history.
Leading contributors to date include Bank of America, Facebook, General Motors, Google and YouTube, the Humana Foundation, NBCUniversal/Comcast, Salesforce, Verizon, Walgreens and Walmart. Significant contributions have also been provided by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the American Heart Association, the American Medical Association, Ford Motor Company, JPMorgan Chase, the New York Life Foundation, Stanley Black & Decker, Synchrony and Target.
“Our nation’s recovery depends on widespread adoption of vaccination against Covid-19, which will require the Ad Council’s most ambitious public education effort ever,” said Lisa Sherman, president and CEO of the Ad Council. “We are so grateful to our generous funders for making it possible to reach millions of Americans and inspire confidence in these lifesaving vaccines.”
“Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ad Council has moved incredibly quickly, rallying the marketing and media community to create and share urgent public health messages with the American people,” said Linda Yaccarino, board chair of the Ad Council and chairman, global advertising and partnerships of NBCUniversal. “As our country enters the next, crucial phase of this crisis, I know our industry will once again answer the Ad Council’s call, share in this responsibility, and offer their partnership and support.”
Creative agencies Pereira O’Dell, JOY Collective, Alma and BeenThereDoneThat are working pro bono to develop creative assets. In light of systemic inequities that contribute to mistrust of vaccines among communities of colour, special attention will be given to developing content tailored to reach and resonate with the Black and Hispanic communities. Dentsu Health, dentsu Americas’ integrated health practice, worked pro bono to develop consumer insights and the national media strategy, informing creative development and providing a comprehensive placement framework for the forthcoming creative assets.
A critical part of the strategy includes developing coalitions and partnerships with leading non-profit, public health, civil rights, faith-based and community organisations. These efforts are being pursued together with Covid Collaborative’s network, including the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Black Coalition Against Covid-19, NAACP, National Congress of American Indians, National Urban League, Morehouse School of Medicine and UnidosUS. Additional partners include the National Black Nurses Association, the National Hispanic Medical Association, the National Association of Hispanic Nurses and the National Medical Association.
The Ad Council is also working with Business Roundtable, the CDC Foundation, the de Beaumont Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in partnership with Meteorite, to provide the business community with research-backed messaging, resources and programming to reach their employees and customers.
Additionally, the Ad Council and Covid Collaborative are sharing insights and resources to invite a wide range of communicators and trusted messengers to develop their own research-based vaccine education content. Earlier today, over 500 attendees virtually attended the Ad Council’s Partner Strategy Summit, representing leading media companies and platforms, public health organisations, advertising agencies, community-based organisations and corporate partners.
“Americans and their leading institutions always rally together in times of crisis,” said John Bridgeland, co-founder and CEO of Covid Collaborative. “It is a difficult time in the life of the nation, and we are so grateful for the many corporations, associations and institutions that are supporting this critical campaign to engage Americans in their own recovery."
The campaign will be created in close partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, which is vetting all content for accuracy. Additionally, Covid Collaborative is lending insights from its scientific experts to the effort.
Since the pandemic was declared in March 2020, the Ad Council has mobilised the industry to launch an unprecedented, multi-pronged communications effort to combat Covid-19. Most recently, on 29th December, the Ad Council and Covid Collaborative released informational videos to address healthcare providers’ questions about Covid-19 vaccination, featuring Dr. Anthony Fauci and other representatives from 18 leading healthcare organisations. To date, the Ad Council’s Covid-19 efforts have resulted in 38.9 billion impressions, $424.7 million in donated media value, and 31.8 million visits to Coronavirus.gov.
