The opioid crisis is one of the most pressing human crises in our society. The CDC estimated there were approx. 107,600 overdose deaths for the 12-month period between July 2021 and June 2022. Additionally, there are over 23 million Americans who live in long-term recovery in the United States. When given support—without shame or judgment—we know empirically that people do get better, and that people do recover.
With the goal to help educate the public, reduce stigma and provide critical resources, iHeartMedia partnered with The Voices Project for the 2022 Mobilize Recovery National Bus Tour for National Addiction & Mental Health Recovery Month (September). The bus tour was additionally supported by tech partners Meta, Google, and Twitter, as well as local businesses, non-profit organizations, elected officials, and government agencies to promote and educate about addiction recovery and center the voices of those impacted most by the addiction & overdose crisis in essential locations along the route.
Key objectives of the campaign
- Reach iHeart listeners and Americans with this campaign.
- Inspire communities with messages of hope and positivity about recovery.
- Distribute recovery resources.
- Incite better policies and legislations that support people in recovery.
- Engage music artists and use the power of music to educate and empower listeners to better understand and help people in recovery.
- Weave a community of support by letting people know they are not alone.
- Drive media dollars and attract new advertising clients.
For the past five years, iHeart’s Recovery Month media efforts have supported those in recovery, including their families and caregivers, and have helped inspire interventions to start the recovery journey. During iHeart National Recovery Month, iHeart utilized its various platforms including broadcast radio stations, Black Information Network, iHeatRadio app, iHeartRadio social media channels and our deep artist relationships to create a multi-faceted campaigned focused on bringing stories of addiction and recovery to the forefront to inspire communities with messages of hope, resilience, as well as action and imagining a new future forward.
- As part of this initiative, iHeart partnered with The Voices Project and other organizations including SAMHSA, Meta, Gilead to support and promote “Mobilize Recovery,” a national bus tour that advocates for community-based recovery solutions and ending preventable overdose deaths. The Mobilize Recovery 2022 bus traveled 10,403 miles—passing over 25 states + the District of Columbia—and hosted over 35 organizing events throughout September 2022.
- iHeart’s Black Information Network coordinated with The White House to cover and promote a special bus tour stop to discuss the issue with Second Gentleman Emhoff and ONDCP Director Rahul Gupta and have them sign the Mobilize Recovery bus.
- iHeartMedia used its platforms to promote the bus tour. Mobilize Recovery crossed the country, promoted by iHeartMedia across radio, digital and social channels, and recapping with video activity on iHeart’s Recovery Month website sharing tour stops, updates and a positive halo and activations.
- In recognition of International Recovery Day and as a capstone to National Recovery Month 2021, The Voices Project and iHeart, in collaboration with more than two dozen cross-sector partners, produced Recover Out Loud, an iHeart concert event that was streamed exclusively on the iHeart Facebook page and YouTube channel. The event was hosted by American actor and stand-up comedian Gary Owen and featured headline performances by Macklemore, KT Tunstall, Evvie McKinney, Daphne Willis, The Residency and others. Attendees at iHeart’s Recover Out Loud in Las Vegas included frontline workers in the addiction and mental health field, impacted family members and people in recovery from addiction.
- This year, iHeart, in partnership with The Voices Project’s “Mobilize Recovery, launched its largest media effort to date with radio spots recorded by musicians and influencers including Macklemore, Dylan Scott, Lauv, Cheryl Burke, Jimmie Allen, City Girl Gone Mom and many others that ran across all iHeart radio stations. A cross country bus tour in support of these efforts was heavily promoted across iHeart, including on the iHeart Recovery Month website.
In 2022, iHeart expanded its reach by launching a streamlined online destination to support iHeart’s Recovery Month, becoming a leading media platform to support those in recovery, their families and caregivers, and help inspire interventions to start the recovery journey. The all-new website includes a location finder powered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration that matches users by zip code to substance abuse and/or mental health treatment facilities in the United States; detailed information on the “Mobilize Recovery " bus tour; and access to all iHeartproduced PSAs.
- The PSA campaign ran across 834 iHeartMedia stations, garnering more than 50M impressions, during its nearly two-week lifespan.
- More than 1M people tuned in to the Recover Out Loud Concert with more than 1.7M unique impressions and 11,400 social engagements.
- Over 30 artists and influencers participated in the campaign
- Over 50 partners (corporate and nonprofit) included in the Mobilize Recovery initiative.
- Please see confidential section for advertising stats.
(Please check the confidential information section for additional details)
Since 2018, iHeart has been at the forefront of addressing the nation’s opioid epidemic, as well as the country’s mental health crisis, with the launch of several public awareness initiatives designed to merge public and private audiences with pop culture influencers to reduce stigma around mental health, addiction and opioid use disorder. This year, we reached largest audience yet with the success of the Recover Out Loud Concert and by engaging our personalities and artists to distribute this important message. This is a critical issue and one that we will continue to support for years to come.
Video for iHeartRadio National Recovery Month
