Right now, nearly half of California’s youth are struggling with their mental health and well-being. As part of California’s Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI), the state’s 5-year plan to transform the state’s mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) health system for children and youth, HCAI (California Department of Health Care Access and Information) has received funding to design and build the Certified Wellness Coach (CWC) workforce. Wellness Coaches are a new, state-wide certification intended to bridge the gap between school counselors and mental/behavioral health clinicians, ultimately expanding and diversifying the workforce that serves our most vulnerable populations.
As a part of this initiative, Wondros launched an integrated campaign, including standing up new social media channels and the official website for the CWC certification. The task? To create awareness about the new Certification, create pathways for both recent graduates and seasoned workers to get certified, and to educate Employers and the General Public about the benefits of hiring a CWC.
HCAI engaged Wondros, in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago, to design, develop, and launch a statewide awareness and outreach campaign. Our campaign’s main objectives were to:
We designed and launched an extensive social- and digital-first public awareness campaign aimed at inspiring individuals statewide to pursue certification as Wellness Coaches. A key challenge was getting people certified while simultaneously encouraging prospective employers (school districts, community centers, etc.) to see the role as a beneficial add-on to their teams so they would hire CWCs once the Certification was available. That’s why a key component of our approach was identifying and working with specific community-based organizations and school districts, as well as Cal State and community colleges.
Audience identification. In order to truly bring this campaign to life, we knew we had to develop audience segments and materials to reach recent grads, seasoned professionals, employers, and the general public. In collaboration with NORC, we conducted formative and audience research to better understand these target audiences and their behaviors. This included media scanning, a “pulse” survey to form a baseline understanding of awareness of the WC role and mental health needs, and GIS mapping analysis to identify and locate audiences of focus within California, as well as local community-based organization (CBO) partners in those areas.
Research. To really finetune the campaign’s messaging, we also conducted in-depth research interviews with different stakeholders, including potential WC candidates, potential future employers, MEB SMEs, school district administrators, and other key stakeholders, including youth, families who may benefit from the services provided, and CBOs. Lastly, Wondros also assembled a youth advisory panel made up of high school students to gain further insights into youth needs, perspectives, and potential barriers related to utilizing WC services.
Branding. We then developed the branding for the campaign, inclusive of logo development, color palette, typography, and tone and voice, utilizing HCAI’s current branding to develop a bespoke identity with a recognizable look and feel.
Campaign strategy. From there we created an integrated campaign strategy, inclusive of media plans for paid, owned, earned, and social media; public relations; and extensive community engagement with numerous community partners across the state.
Web development. We knew that we needed a central hub for the Wellness Coach initiative, so we built the cawellnesscoach.org website to provide a dynamic space where aspiring Wellness Coaches, prospective employers, and prospective education programs can access information and resources. All campaign activities were designed to drive to this website.
Social media. Social media was critical for reaching younger, more diverse audiences to help build this workforce, so we created Facebook, Instagram and Twitter channels to fill with weekly, custom social content, including videos, animated gifs, and infographics.
Creative production. We knew that, especially because this is a new position, we needed to tell people the story behind the why. We filmed and produced an educational film designed to introduce and explain this new MEB health profession to the public. To highlight the importance of the new position, the film (which is featured at the top of the campaign's website) showcases HCAI leadership, newly-certified CWCs, and young people (including high schoolers) who would benefit from the new role.
To date, the awareness phase of the campaign has delivered millions of impressions and helped produce thousands of subscribers seeking updates for prospective Wellness Coach applicants. This qualified audience represents the first influx of applicants for a critical new profession.
Our campaign’s main objectives were:
