There is no shortage of important social causes to support and if you are a frequent reader, you know that’s been a recent topic of discussion among our team and our Boss Talk community. (If you’ve missed the conversation, check out Melissa’s Cause Nation blog here and Boss Talk podcasts here and here!)
One of the North team’s biggest passions is working for a good cause. That’s why we love what we do. Many of our clients are nonprofits, and our work with them consists largely of advocacy and awareness campaigns to help elevate awareness about their brand and educate communities and lawmakers about their mission.
North recently partnered with The Courage Center, a community organization helping youth and families on their recovery journey, execute a multimedia campaign to increase awareness about rising rates of opioid overdoses and decrease stigma around substance misuse, in hopes of encouraging more individuals to seek help. The Courage Center is located in a part of South Carolina that has some of the highest “hotspots” of suspected overdoses in the state.
During the #CourageOverStigma campaign, TCC collaborated with various media outlets to secure discounted and donated advertising, including digital and billboard. Through targeted social media marketing efforts, including the launch of a series of video interviews produced by The Pierson Collective, with community members and individuals living in recovery, TCC provided greater visibility for the campaign by increasing community awareness.
Additionally, TCC launched a few partnerships with faith organizations in the Lexington area to reduce access to unused medication and prevent accidental overdose through distribution of Deterra Drug Deactivation System Pouches. These easy-to-use pouches contain organic activated carbon that, when mixed with water, deactivates unused, expired or unwanted medications at home.
In total, with additional features in news stories, letters to the editor from faith based partners and board members, and e-newsletter publications, this campaign had an estimated 1 million impressions in an effort to reduce the stigma of substance use disorder and encourage community members to seek recovery support and services.
How did we do it? We knew and harnessed the power of the collective stories of individuals in recovery and we pulled together the right mix of community partners to implement the plan. Getting creative with restricted funds and still producing an awareness campaign that meets your goals, reaches your targeted audience and is something you are proud of is possible for any and every organization. Not every awareness campaign will look like this – nor should they – but with the right strategy and creative people at the table, you will be amazed at the things you can accomplish.
Do you have a cause you want to promote? We are happy to help! Email us at [email protected] to learn more about how North can tell your story.
