Our Approach
To build an honest, authentic, and resonant campaign, we began by assembling a group of respected Black healthcare and community advocates to provide ongoing counsel as our 40-member Community Advisory Board (CAB).
Working with the CAB, we conducted a community listening tour with recent parents and pregnant women to understand the goals and experiences with the healthcare system and their hopes for the campaign. Our goals were twofold: 1) to publicly acknowledge that racism is at the root of the healthcare inequities experienced by Black Americans; and 2) to provide Black mothers, fathers, and caregivers with the information and support they need to have healthy pregnancies and advocate for themselves when they aren’t receiving appropriate care.
The community also helped shape how we told that story. Participants wanted the campaign to confront racism and bias without leaving people feeling shamed, angry, or hopeless. That led us to a creative approach we called “positive realism”: tell the truth about inequity while portraying the Black community as strong and beautiful and empowering everyone—families, providers, and the broader community—to help change it.
The education campaign also included healthcare providers, who are often unaware of systemic biases and how they may contribute to healthcare inequities. The campaign messaging focused on building trust by encouraging conversations about racism and bias between Black women and their healthcare providers.
The campaign was consistently guided by community input and participation. Portraits were captured by a nationally renowned Black photographer and featured local models, and we developed messaging to speak directly to the Black community. We focus-group tested our messaging, creative concepts, and marketing materials to ensure they were hitting the mark and made any needed adjustments. Community members even helped pressure-test media placements, adding local knowledge to our audience and geographic data.
Our integrated, culturally resonant campaign, called Black Legacy Now, includes the creation and deployment of various deliverables across paid, owned, and earned channels. Paid media tactics include digital display, paid search, and paid social, as well as billboards, bus shelters, direct mail, and posters. We are also using out-of-home in the areas surrounding health centers as well as geo-fencing to reach target audience members entering or leaving the area. Inside health centers, we are using in-clinic advertising, waiting room posters, and other educational materials. We developed and continue to maintain and update BlackLegacyNowSD.com to serve as an accessible and educational content hub.
