Division C - Audio/Visual Tools of Public Relations
Category 4 - Film or Video Public Service/more than one minute
Healthy Start Educational Videos
RB Oppenheim Associates, Capital Area Healthy Start Coalition, Mike Vasilinda Productions
Award of Distinction
Research/Situation Analysis:
The Capital Area Healthy Start Coalition (CAHSC) has been serving Leon
and Wakulla Counties for more than 15 years. In that time, the program
has offered at-risk pregnant and postpartum women services ranging from
medical and community referrals and emergency housing to breastfeeding
education and mental health counseling. To heighten awareness of these
and other services, and to provide education regarding the health of
pregnant women, CAHSC retained RB Oppenheim Associates (RBOA) for the
development of a social marketing/media campaign. The process began
with focus group research to garner information on how best to educate
and reinforce the importance of good health for women over their life
spans. The results proved there was a lot to accomplish. Less than half
the participants – women between the child-bearing ages of 15 and 44 –
said they knew about the Healthy Start program. The majority of women
ages 22 to 44 indicated they knew very little about services available
at CAHSC. That most of the women, regardless of age, mentioned
television, doctors, nurses and health care professionals as the best
source to inform them about Healthy Start services was evidence that
video production – in the form of public service announcements (PSAs)
and a short educational video – should be the campaign’s primary
medium. A video not only would reinforce the campaign messages women
would see in the PSAs, but serve as a CAHSC marketing and
communications tool for years after the campaign concludes. The focus
group results also helped to create the compelling messages and
identify the best “spokespeople” to share them.
Objectives: To create a long-form public service
video that would (1) educate all women of child-bearing age of the
importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle before, during and after
pregnancy using positive stories and perspectives from Healthy Start
moms, staff, advocates and health care providers; (2) generate interest
among women, that they may seek knowledge and resources through CAHSC;
among health care providers, that they may inform more women about the
availability of Healthy Start; and among people in the community, that
they may volunteer time or financial support; (3) arm Healthy Start
staff with evidence of strides CAHSC is making to combat the
community’s high rate of infant mortality, low birth-weight deliveries
and premature births.
Implementation: During a concept development
meeting for the five-to-six-minute video, from which footage would be
taken to create three 30-second PSAs, CAHSC and RBOA decided the “cast”
would include moms who are willing to share the benefits of their
Healthy Start experience; well-known medical providers who believe in
Healthy Start; and familiar faces from around the coalition and
community who are maternal and child health “experts.” Through
well-choreographed interviews, these individuals would be able to
effectively capture the interest and attention of other women of
child-bearing age by offering examples to which they can relate.
Proceeding with a testimonial style opened up a possibility for
designing two targeted, shorter videos, as opposed to one longer video,
whereby Mike Vasilinda Productions (MVP) believed 90 percent of each
video could include identical footage, with the remaining 10 percent
focusing on either the importance of pre-pregnancy health or the
availability of Healthy Start care to women who have just had a baby.
CAHSC identified a planned Childbirth Education Reunion as a valuable
opportunity to interview some of these women. RBOA conducted 12
interviews at the event, which was held at the Leon County Health
Department in February 2007. MVP hosted two additional production days
in order for local doctors and Healthy Start experts to share their
perspectives on ways Healthy Start helps women in the community. Upon
editing, MVP had approximately three hours of powerful footage to
choose from. Each interview was a huge success, so “on-message” and
full of honest emotion that there was no need for costly voice-overs.
Rather, MVP applied the cost-savings and donated extra time to create
three independent, targeted videos. In order to address each of the
three targeted audiences – pregnant woman waiting for their prenatal
check-up, women who have just had their babies and waiting to complete
the paperwork, and community organizations -- MVP threaded throughout
the interviews graphic transitions that utilize the Healthy Start logo,
colors and facts.
Evaluation: The first time RBOA and Healthy Start
staff watched the completed videos, tears came to their eyes. Said
CAHSC community relations director Christine Dreps, who worked the
interviews and coding raw footage with MVP: “I was astounded when I saw
the final product. I could not believe the PSAs and videos could
actually be that good….that real…that powerful! I am so proud of them
and they are making such a difference.” The videos were also recently
applauded by licensed psychologist and Assoc. Professor of FAMU,
Yolanda K. H. Bogan, Ph.D., “for being an informative and clear
resource for new and expectant families by addressing the wide range of
services CAHS offers … They are a warm and personable invitation to
take advantage of CAHS programs that exist for all mothers and babies…
shows mothers and prospective mothers how to begin that process.” This
proves the videos’ potential to carry a consistent, positive Healthy
Start message to all targeted audiences into the future. The prenatal
video is currently being used by the North Florida Women’s Clinic,
where a woman may watch it in the privacy of her exam room. CAHSC said
10 OB/GYN offices throughout Leon and Wakulla Counties have confirmed
interest in receiving a video and will be sharing it with their
patients by the end of the summer. The civic video has already been
presented to Edward Knowles, Private Wealth Manager at AmSouth; Anne
Hoffnagle, Trust Manager at SunTrust Bank; Healthy Start Board of
Directors; two potential CAHSC Board members (both agreed to join the
board of directors after seeing the video); Sissy Boyd, Congressman
Alan Boyd’s wife; United Way representatives from St. Paul/Minneapolis;
and the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Budget: The cost for the three educational
videos, combined with the three PSAs, totaled $15,000. RBOA and MVP
together donated more than $20,000 in services to the project.