Brownstein is helping build a COVID vaccine campaign in its own backyard. The Philadelphia agency is partnering with the city and grassroots nonprofit “Philly Fighting COVID” to raise awareness and signups for the COVID vaccine.
Driving the campaign is “the idea that Philly can’t wait,” said Anne Ryan, VP and Director of Brand Strategy at Brownstein. Ryan says the effort will show how the vaccine will help return life back to normal and include references to the things Philadelphians love about the city.
"We hope to leverage our deep-rooted understanding of our home city to deliver powerful public service messages to the community,” Marc Brownstein, president and CEO of Brownstein, said in a post on the company's Facebook page. “Philly Fighting COVID represents the unrelenting, hands-on community values of Philadelphia, and our partnership represents one of the most significant endeavors in our agency’s history. Together we will work to help end the pandemic, because Philly doesn’t mess around.”
The efforts are meant to help Philadelphia reach herd immunity by encouraging the city’s population of 1.5 million to get vaccinated as shots become available. The project will reach out to communities through traditional media channels including TV and radio advertising, as well as through social media and community outreach.
That last part is particularly important in reaching Black and Latino communities, as well as raising awareness in disadvantaged communities. Nicole Gainer, PR group account director at Brownstein, says that part of the campaign is aimed at generating word-of-mouth by reaching out not just to regional mass media, but to hyperlocal publications, places of worship and even barber shops to help reach people that might spread the word. The idea is to create connections with people the audience respects the most, and to make people feel like they’re “missing out” on city life by not getting vaccinated, says Gainer.
Brownstein says the campaign will inform Philadelphians of the safety of the vaccine, encourage vaccination appointments, and provide information on where, when and how to be vaccinated.
