Public Health Officials and Government Communications professionals have been working tirelessly to disseminate information to help slow and stop the spread of COVID-19 in their communities. Unfortunately, many residents have become tired of hearing repetitive COVID-19 related messaging. Now is the time to have a strategic communications campaign to help fight the fatigue. Your campaign should have through message testing, creative campaign development, and a well thought out and mapped out media strategy; a strategic communications campaign can help reach your intended audience more effectively. Strategic communications campaigns such as these are costly and, with limited resources, are a significant project to undertake. Here are a few tips to overcome these hurdles.
Use Special Funding to Develop Your COVID-19 Campaign
States can use CARES funding to support health-related social needs exacerbated by COVID-19. This often includes developing strategic communications campaigns designed to stop or slow the spread of COVID-19 in the community. CARES Act funding allows government entities in the state, local, and tribal levels to receive funding that is necessary expenses due to COVID-19, were not accounted for in the recent budget, and were incurred after March 1, 2020. CARES Act funding provides a unique opportunity for communities to develop strategic communications campaigns to reach residents in times of need. [caption id="attachment_894" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
Gaston SAVES Mask Together Campaign - Mother and Daughter[/caption]
Make the Most of Federal Funding related to Communications
To make the most of the CARES Act funding, you may want to consider developing an evergreen communications program that could live on and be used during any local emergency. Haven just launched a campaign that will not only address COVID-19, but will also be used to build community advocacy in any emergency situation. That brings us to the next point:
Outsource to an Agency
By outsourcing your communications campaigns to a strategic communications agency, you can carry on the day to day tasks of getting pertinent COVID-19 related messaging to your community and build a strategic communications plan that will last. That is Haven Creative’s specialty. As mentioned above, Haven Creative had the opportunity to create a Gaston County campaign with the help of CARES Act funding. We created an evergreen communication program, Gaston SAVES. The program's long-term goal is to get critical information and vital emergency resources to residents in need during emergency events. However, the first initiative for Gaston SAVES is Mask Together, an educational campaign to promote mask-wearing.So far the message has been well received and been picked up from local news organizations.
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A post shared by Gaston County PIO (@gastoncountygov) on Sep 9, 2020 at 10:02am PDT
