Entry Category
Single Entry – Social Media Marketing in a social marketing program
Name of Intervention/ Program
DPH Maternal Health
Background and Situation Analysis
MORE worked with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Family Health & Nutrition and MassHealth (Massachusetts’ Medicaid program) to develop a paid media campaign aimed at increasing awareness of MassHealth eligibility, enrollment, and services among pregnant and postpartum individuals. Despite Massachusetts’ reputation for having one of the nation’s leading healthcare systems, significant disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes persist among marginalized communities. By raising awareness of the MassHealth maternal health plan and providing accessible information about eligibility and applications, the Bureau of Family Health & Nutrition and MassHealth can help bridge this gap.
Priority Audiences(s)
• Pregnant and postpartum people (12 months after pregnancy) with a focus on BIPOC and immigrants or people with undocumented status. • Languages: English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole.
Behavioral Objectives
While the goal of the campaign was to promote the MassHealth Maternal Health Plan as a product, the true product was the plan’s consumer benefits, which allowed people to take the best care of their baby. Subsequently, our communication objectives were: • Knowledge: We want our audience to know that the MassHealth Plan provides expanded eligibility and no or low-cost benefits to help them and their baby. • Attitude: We want our audience to feel reassured that the MassHealth Plan’s benefits will bring added protection for them and their baby. • Behavior: We want our audience to apply for the MassHealth Plan online, in-person, or over the phone to find out if they are eligible.
Description of Strategy/Intervention
MORE was tasked with developing and launching a paid media campaign to promote the MassHealth plan. MassHealth highlighted the plan’s continuous eligibility, covering the birthing parent and child from pregnancy through 12 months postpartum, regardless of immigration status. The plan also featured an expanded income limit (200% FPL). Coverage included doula services, behavioral health care, prenatal care, labor and delivery, and postpartum care. Additionally, MassHealth provided multiple application options, including in-person support at Enrollment Centers, as well as phone and online application methods. Given the benefits of the plan and our deeper understanding of our audience’s demographics and psychographics, MORE was able to develop a focus for the campaign message. Our audience faces many challenges—physiological changes, complex information, financial concerns, and worries about the health care system. But above all, they are looking for ways to protect their baby’s health and well-being, often putting aside their doubts to do so. We needed to communicate that enrolling in the MassHealth plan is one of the best, most accessible, and inclusive ways to care for their baby. Once we decided on this focus, MORE developed a series of campaign concepts that the client project team refined. Ultimately, the “Big & Little” concept was selected. It is an emotionally driven framework that captures the contrast—and connection—between all the big things and little things that come with having a baby. From a growing belly to a tiny newborn, the changes are monumental. The concept uses this emotional lens to highlight the wide-ranging benefits of the MassHealth plan, which are designed to support every stage and every scale of the journey. By focusing on both tangible and emotional benefits, the campaign communicates that the coverage is big enough to handle it all. We then applied that concept across all English-language assets based on our paid media plan and then translated and vetted the Spanish and Haitian Creole versions. Our team then prepared for launch.
Implementation
The paid media campaign launched 9/29/2024 and ran through 12/28/2024 with a paid media budget of $67,660. The paid media plan included Google, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, social amplification display ads, as well as 30-sheet posters (smaller community-based billboards) in priority communities, and MassDOT billboards throughout the state (free digital billboards).
Evaluation Methods and Results
MORE was able to track paid digital media metrics and OOH impressions. We were also able to collect mass.gov/PregnancyCoverage website traffic. We learned that users who clicked on our google ads spent an average of over 3 minutes on the site, and that Spanish and Haitian Creole users were most likely to click on doula-related benefits ads. Overall, the ads received 9,199 clicks and 59,920 video views. Community billboards served over 4.6 million impressions. Of most importance, MassHealth was able to provide us with member data: • Total 13,194 distinct members reported pregnancy between Sept-Dec 2023 • Total 15,452 distinct members reported pregnancy between Sept-Dec 2024, which was the relative period of the paid media campaign. While it may not be the only reason, the increase in membership of 2,258 from last year may be attributed to this paid media campaign.
Entry Letter: Q