Launching Delaware County's First Health Department

Background

Delaware County was the only county in the Philadelphia metropolitan area  – and most populous county in the state – without a designated health department. COVID-19 exposed how critical it is for Delaware County to have the hyperlocal health data and resources that a health department provides. After years of planning and discussion, it was decided that the a new Delaware County Health Department would launch in 2022.

Strategy

To succeed, Delaware County residents needed to understand the benefits a health department would provide, while being educated on what services and resources would be made available. The Health Department would also have to build trust with residents, while overcoming any misgivings communities had about cost and need. (We’ve operated this long without a Health Department, why now?)  Maven was enlisted, in conjunction with Mendoza Group, to raise awareness, showcase how the department would support residents, and deepen the public’s understanding of what the Delaware County Health Department would provide.

Since the residents of Delaware County would make or break this initiative, we knew we needed to bring a community-first approach to the awareness campaign. This meant conducting in-depth interviews and focus groups with community and public health stakeholders to understand the real concerns. With that information as our guide, we compiled compelling health research that spoke to exactly what we heard from the community. Using it to create key messages, we launched an aggressive local media campaign to spread awareness and introduce and position the county’s first Health Director as a trusted, community-focused health experts who was there to serve Delaware County.

Results

Over the course of four months, Maven secured 42 media placements for the Delaware County Health Department including feature coverage by 6abc, cbs3, Fox 29, Daily Times, Delaware Valley Journal Podcast, KYW Newsradio, Main Line Today, NBC10, Philadelphia Business Journal, and WHYY.

Key message inclusion was an important part of the success of the media campaign. Ninety-five percent of the coverage included at least two of our top five messages, and the top key message and the top message that dominated 88% of the media coverage. The launch was lauded by local officials as a resounding success.