Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth recently rolled out a new campaign called "Humans are Incredible," which encourages the public to take ownership of their systemic health during a time when many feel they have lost control.
The campaign focuses on people's ability to persevere through the COVID-19 pandemic through the coordination of the body, mind and spirit. It directs them to a website where they can learn more about actionable ways to take care of themselves and their loved ones as the pandemic continues.
Here, Vickie White, AdventHealth's senior vice president and chief brand and marketing officer, details how the campaign came to be and what it hopes to accomplish.
Question: How did your team develop the idea for the campaign?
Vickie White: We've all been fighting the same illness for months now. And as we studied consumer sentiment and current healthcare behaviors, we could feel that people were losing faith in themselves and each other. We saw unprecedented levels of stress and anxiety and people putting off healthcare in alarming numbers. "Humans are Incredible" was designed as a love letter to a community that is hurting and a reminder of the physical and emotional strength in all of us.
The incredible nature of our own bodies should remind us every day how important it is to take care of ourselves. But with all we're going through that takes place outside our own individual bodies — the collective physical and emotional turmoil, hurt and hardship — we can also be reminded of our incredible power as humans to persevere together. What a profoundly beautiful and empowering truth it is to find that caring for ourselves gives us the strength to care for each other.
Q: What went into the campaign's execution?
VW: We partnered with our advertising agency, 22squared, to pull an integrated campaign together with tangible next steps for people to take their health back. From our internal brand and communications teams to medical experts, influencers, brand partners like NASCAR and Disney, individual market leads and our executive leadership team, we tapped into all the resources we had available to bring this campaign to life.
We pulled together a brief in June of this year to kick off planning. Throughout the creative concepting process, we were able to partner with Park Pictures out of New York City and Los Angeles-based Emmy-Award winning director Chris Wilcha to bring our television spot to life. We cast real families in our facilities instead of actors to bring the warmth and genuine feel we knew the TV spot needed.
Instead of creating traditional radio spots, we partnered with DJs in our major local markets to talk about the campaign, create virtual events, post to their social followings and create opportunities for real conversations.
We also carved a large social/digital footprint to meet our audience where they spend time. From awareness and engagement partners like Facebook, Instagram, Pandora and Pinterest, to more direct-response partners like Amobee and Conversant, our goal was to offer users at any stage in their journey a customized solution to meet their needs.
Q: What was the philosophy behind the campaign's execution — why did your team develop the website and focus on social media?
VW: We're in one of the toughest moments of the century. We need each other. We need to keep each other strong. And caring for ourselves gives us the strength to care for each other. We hope this initiative gives communities the tools they need to do just that.
We wanted to surround people with our message in the places where they're spending more time these days — places like TV, streaming video and radio platforms, and social media. Our creative mix includes inspiring film, incredible facts and simple ways to take that first step to caring for yourself again. The website houses a quiz to help you identify what makes you uniquely incredible, along with easy paths to care for your whole self. And our #friendcheckfriday movement leverages local radio personalities and influencers to remind people to check in with a friend or loved one weekly.
Q: What is your team's desired outcome for this campaign?
VW: We want this campaign to be an uplifting and empowering message that everyone can see themselves in. We want to help people believe in the power of their health again and empower them to care for themselves in body, mind and spirit. And ultimately, we want to support AdventHealth's brand promise to help people feel whole.