Our Approach
We defined the primary audience for this campaign as diverse Californians and identified secondary and tertiary audiences in CDPH employees and external partners, including local health departments and community organizations. We then developed a four-step plan that moved from research to strategy, creative development, and ongoing support.
In our research phase, we conducted interviews with public health leaders serving the California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS), focus groups with CDPH leaders and staff, a survey of more than 100 CDPH employees and partners, and a statewide survey of 2,000 diverse Californians. The research surfaced a fundamental challenge: Californians often didn’t understand how public health showed up in their own lives. From that came a central strategic idea: public health is personal health—and CDPH’s identity would be strongest when it made that connection clear.
Building upon this insight, our creative team explored three related themes in mood boards and sample materials, which we tested with CDPH employees. We then developed six logo concepts and tested them with diverse focus groups from across the state. Testing produced a clear winner: the state-map logo resonated across demographic groups and was seen as trustworthy, inclusive, and representative of California’s diversity. From there, we worked with CDPH to develop a comprehensive set of branding guidelines.
Finally, we compiled a strategic communications toolkit to help CDPH create, customize, and deliver messaging in various formats to diverse audiences across the state. We also developed flexible templates, training tools, webinars, and self-service resources to help CDPH teams and partners adopt the new brand consistently and accessibly.
