Office of Communications and Public Affairs wins an MX Award for Integrated Marketing from the American Marketing Association’s Baltimore chapter in the Best Nonprofit Campaign of the Year category.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore’s (UMB) Office of Communications and Public Affairs (OCPA) has been honored with a 2022 MX Award for Integrated Marketing Campaigns from the Baltimore chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA).
OCPA won in the Best Nonprofit Campaign of the Year category for its “Get the Vaccine Baltimore” external marketing campaign and was recognized May 19 during a ceremony at the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park and Museum. The MX Awards celebrate local organizations and agencies that demonstrate outstanding creativity, implementation, and results in their marketing campaigns.
“We are thrilled to honor our region’s best and brightest minds in marketing,” said Lauren Yoffe, president of AMA Baltimore. “Now more than ever, we’re seeing creative innovation push our industry forward.”
The UMB campaign encouraged people from underserved communities in Baltimore to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, with “Everyone’s Health Depends On It” as the campaign’s tagline. Key stakeholders from the community helped to deliver this relatable message on the importance of getting vaccinated to prevent COVID-19 infection and fight the historic pandemic.
“We were very proud to be part of the University’s response to COVID-19, making sure populations that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic had access to receive the vaccine,” said senior associate vice president Laura Kozak, MA, who leads OCPA. “The MX Award is a testament to our office’s creativity, organizational skills, and work ethic.”
The multi-channel external marketing plan used strategic, data-driven placements for UMB’s message to ensure that it reached populations outside the digital divide. Cross-market, geotargeted advertising outlets included broadcast TV, cable TV, over-the-air streaming platforms as well as radio, billboards, bus shelter ads, mall kiosk posters, newspaper print ads, direct mail, Google digital marketing, and paid social media. English and Spanish-language collateral were used across the campaign to reach Baltimore’s underserved communities.
UMB’s external marketing and outreach leveraged the University’s position as a trusted anchor institution and aimed to overcome vaccine hesitancy, health equity issues, and vaccine access within our community. The URL GetTheVaccineBaltimore.org was obtained to create easy access to the UMB website landing page, which included COVID-19 information, registration at the University’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic, frequently asked questions, a Spanish-language registration portal, testimonials, and links to other Maryland vaccine registration sites to offer maximum access.
The COVID-19 pandemic situated UMB as a leader in local, state, and national community health outreach as well as a global leader in vaccine development, policy, and deployment. UMB moved quickly to offer public service education and outreach, expertise, and clinical trial research during the pandemic. This support was integral to key stakeholders, including peer institutions and state, national, and global policymakers. Its expertise and leadership during the pandemic enabled UMB to continue its mission to improve the human condition and serve the public good.
The following OCPA staff members were critical to the campaign’s organization, implementation, and success: Kristi McGuire, assistant director of marketing and communications, digital media marketing manager, and campaign strategist; Joanne Morrison, MS, senior director, marketing and public relations; Michelle Baffuto, senior graphic designer; Dan Walker, web content strategist and web developer, interactive media; and Matthew D’Agostino, photographer.
Read more at the links below:
AMA Baltimore Announces Winners of 2022 MX Awards
(In photo: a collage of UMB's GettheVaccineBaltimore campaign materials)