Case Studies
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Raising awareness for public safety
Situation
Methadone-related deaths and emergency room visits had been climbing — up 468 percent between 1999 and 2005, according to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control.
With the number of poisoning deaths linked to methadone rising faster than the number of poisoning deaths from any other narcotic drug, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recognized that there was need to make Americans aware that methadone is a safe and effective treatment for opioid addiction and for pain when taken as directed.
To educate the public on the dangers of methadone misuse, two HHS agencies — the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) and the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) — launched an awareness campaign to inform English- and Spanish-speaking consumers, health care professionals and treatment clinics about the need to take methadone exactly as prescribed.
Objectives
- Deliver the message that methadone is a safe and effective treatment for opioid addiction and pain management when taken as directed.
- Educate consumers, health care professionals and clinics on the danger of taking methadone with other medications or not as prescribed.
- Increase awareness through partnerships with other organizations to share the campaign’s educational materials with their members and constituencies.
- Support the initiative launch at the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence national conference in New York City with media relations.
Tactics
Partnering with another marketing communications firm, Boscobel worked with SAMHSA and FDA to coordinate community and media relations, including:
- Message development to convey the need for the campaign;
- Partner outreach aimed at building support for the campaign Web site among federal agencies and nonprofit organizations providing pain management resources, opioid addiction resources and resources for health care providers; and
- Media outreach targeting print and radio outlets nationwide.
Boscobel first interviewed subject matter experts (SME) at SAMSHA and FDA, and then researched and wrote a client-bylined article for publications and newsletters addressing the misconceptions about the use of methadone and discussing how it can be a valuable drug if used correctly.
To maximize the article’s dissemination, the Boscobel team conducted an intensive outreach effort with targeted federal agencies and nonprofits to build nationwide support for the campaign.
Selected organizations were asked to provide campaign materials to their membership through their newsletters and other communications. They were also asked to add a campaign awareness button, banner or link to their websites to direct visitors to the campaign’s microsite.
In the weeks leading up to the conference, Boscobel coordinated a bilingual radio media tour targeting both English- and Spanish-speaking listeners in key markets. Immediately following the campaign press conference, Boscobel kicked off the two-day radio tour, facilitating interviews with senior officials in SAMHSA and the FDA.
Results
The extensive press effort was met with outstanding success. Out of 51 partner organizations contacted by Boscobel, 45 of them committed to carrying campaign outreach materials on their websites — an astounding 88 percent success rate. In addition, 80 print media outlets picked up Boscobel’s bylined article on the campaign, reaching more than 7.2 million readers.
The radio media tour facilitated by Boscobel generated interviews with 26 stations, eight of them Spanish-speaking. Radio coverage reached a total of 838,501 listeners in 22 states coast-to-coast, plus Puerto Rico.
When all was said and done, Boscobel’s print and broadcast media outreach efforts reached an audience of more than 8 million people.