Faces of fentanyl

Emmy Award Winning Campaign for Riverside County.

5.6 POUNDS

IS ENOUGH FENTANYL

TO KILL EVERYONE

IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY

TWICE

Faces of Fentanyl

We had the wonderful opportunity to do campaign research for RivCo's Emmy Award-winning “Faces of Fentanyl” campaign. The client wanted us to ascertain what type of campaign messaging and aesthetic would be widely received by the general public as well as those in need of addiction assistance. This was easier said than done. Finding a boilerplate solution to this ask is nearly impossible when you consider demographic factors such as race, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.

Strategy • Messaging • Research • Media Buys

Our Story

We were proud to advise on such a sensitive and important PSA campaign. The degree of impact that fentanyl has on communities has made it a personal subject for far too many families.

We wanted to ensure that this campaign had the best fighting chance to be heard, shared, and embraced. The easiest way was focusing and honing the strategy guidelines while researching the demographic targets and markets for highest visibility.

Strategy

Developing a strategy is crucial for its effectiveness. A strategic approach allows you to target specific audiences and tailor the message to resonate with them. It helps define clear objectives and guide the creative direction. A large part of our strategy considered the best channels for distribution, such as TV, radio, or social media. The goal being to maximize impact, reach the intended audience, and contribute to awareness about the dangers of fentanyl.

Messaging

A campaign is only as good as its message. Using a word cloud method to identify positive and negative keywords was helpful to develop effective key messaging for this PSA.

The next step was pinning down the proper colors and typography to set the right tone to accompany the message to evoke the desired response and digestion of the campaign.

Diagram illustrating the dangerous nature of Fentanyl, showing related terms such as death, overdose, kill, risk, and various descriptions of its effects and consequences.
Diagram illustrating the benefits of Fentanyl, with categories such as 'Family', 'Safe', 'Help', and related concepts like 'Thrive', 'Relief', 'Believe', 'Uplift', 'Support', and 'Reform' in a visual mind map format.

Research

We poured over content from existing campaigns, medical journals, sociological surveys, law enforcement studies, addiction assistance programs, and multiple independent research documents to make our case for best practices and recommended execution.

Menu with options for a burger, sandwich, chips, soda, and dipping sauce.
Text-based graphic with motivational phrases about resilience, finding strength, and overcoming challenges, including words like "hustle," "overcome," "fearless," and "solving problems."
Color chart showing the six basic colors: yellow, blue, purple, green, brown, and red, with their names beneath each circle, and six secondary colors at the bottom: yellow, navy, purple, green, brown, and red, with their names beneath each circle.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The road to good content starts with examination of the competitive landscape. All campaigns are not created equal and what worked 10-20 years ago may no longer work. In some cases it may actually be harmful or comical. With a sensitive topic such as fentanyl, there is little room for error. We scrubbed nearly every existing anti-fentanyl campaign created to discern the good from the bad from the ugly.

Visual Examples

A group of five people standing together outdoors, facing away from the camera, with a large yellow text overlay that reads 'SONG FOR CHARLIE'. Below the text, there is smaller text that says 'REAL TALK ABOUT FAKE PILLS'. A circular pattern is overlaid on part of the image, and a yellow banner at the bottom states, 'A fentapill is a fake prescription pill made of fentanyl.'
A warning poster about fentanyl, highlighting its high danger and potential to cause overdose or death, with bold text emphasizing its lethality.
Infographic showing HSI's three-pronged approach to combating opioids: international partnerships, law enforcement collaboration, and undercover online operations, depicted in a circular diagram with puzzle pieces.
Billboard advertisement with bold text promoting fentanyl awareness, featuring a smiling girl's face, and mentioning one pill is all it takes to be deadly, with a date of June 1, 2021, and a message honoring Cassandra.

Messaging Examples

Text reading 'One Pill Can Kill' with a red slash, on a gray background.
A safety poster with the headline "GO SLOW" in large blue letters. Below it, green text says "Fentanyl is here. Have a plan." The poster includes three safety tips: 1) Carry Naxalone with an icon of a nasal spray, 2) Go Slow with a clock icon, and 3) Never Use Alone with two people icons.
Three pamphlets titled 'Know Overdose' with images of individuals advocating for overdose prevention in San Francisco. Each pamphlet emphasizes the importance of recognizing overdose signs and saving lives.
Partial view of a sign with the words "STOP OVERDO" in bold letters on a pink background.

Video Examples

A man with dark hair and a beard wearing a light blue shirt, standing next to a large graphic of '50%' and the word 'HEROIN' with a stylized heroin leaf logo in light blue on a gray background.
A woman with blonde hair and large earrings speaking in a TV interview, with text indicating she is the parent of an overdose victim.
Bold yellow text reading 'Pill Roulette' over a red background with radiating blue lines.
A woman with long wavy red hair in a blue top, looking directly at the camera against a gray background.

Paid Ads + Media buys

The next step in the process was the most crucial: getting the word out. We worked together with the Riverside team to assess the target audience and put a strategy together to reach them. We determined timeline, channels, pacing, and metrics to target in key parts of the County.

Our channels of placement included:
Social media (TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram)
Magazine articles
Web banners
OOH and billboards
CTV/OTT
Twitch
Spotify

The ads were translated into Spanish based on metrics and local data and were displayed in both English and Spanish.

A collage of social media images and posters about fentanyl and opioid dangers, with a smartphone displaying an Instagram post, all set against a yellow background. The images include statistics about fentanyl being stronger than morphine, the opioid-related death rate involving fentanyl, and messages about the absence of a vaccine for this epidemic.
A billboard with a yellow background and black text stating, "You are not the exception." The billboard also features the Faces of Fentanyl logo and website, and a quote saying, "How dangerous is fentanyl? You could be next."

Metrics and Analytics

This campaign saw soaring success in reception and impressions.

Throughout the duration of the campaign, we tracked metrics and measured audience response through click-thru rates and view-thrus rates (CTR and VTR respectively). As we noticed trends, we made adjustments to increase viewership and ensure the budget was being maximized.

Emmy Award Winning

In June 2023, the campaign was nominated for an Emmy award for best Plublic Service Announcement and won!

Five people dressed in formal attire standing on a red carpet holding Emmy awards, with a backdrop displaying the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences logo.

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