The Affordable Care Act is, without a
doubt, one of the most controversial
government programs enacted in recent memory.Despite a rocky (and some say disastrous) rollout, the program met its initial goal of enrolling 7 million Americans in the program by the deadline of March 31.Because each state’s government had the choice of whether to participate in several components of the plan—including marketing and promotion—there were marked differences as to how much residents heard about the
program and its sign-up deadline.
A few states, such as Kentucky and
Arkansas , were vocal about the program and spent state resources to promote it.Many opposing the law, such as Florida,went as far as prohibiting health care workers from encouraging sign-ups on state property.
Despite the controversy surrounding the ACA and its implementation (plus some
technical snafus that arose due largely
to a surge in volume on the last
enrollment day), some practical public
relations strategies and tactics during
the last two weeks of enrollment helped
boost the final numbers past the goal of
7 million enrollees.
1. Audience targeting. This strategy
makes sense because the ACA really only
affects about 20 percent of the
population. Specific audiences included
low-income Americans, young people, and
the uninsured. Targeting was necessary
to devote resources to marketing
channels that would most likely reach
those audiences.
2. Traditional PR. The Obama
administration cranked up its powerful
PR apparatus in the final weeks before
the deadline to use every opportunity to
talk about the ACA. From news releases
to the weekly radio address, the entire
administration talked about little else in
an attempt to flood the 24-hour news
cycle with information.
(3) Constitent outreach. Community
activists who deal with target audience were equipped with the knowledge they needed to help guide people through the enrollment process, and the Obama
administration hosted conference calls
to keep people informed of the latest
details.
4. Surrogacy. Many celebrities lent their
names to the campaign, including Oprah
Winfrey, Ashley Judd, and John Legend.
They participated in media interviews,
bylined op-eds in major newspapers, and
created YouTube videos.
5. Principal involvement. Obama has
made promoting the health care law a
priority, stepping outside his comfort
zone—even doing interviews in very
unconventional media such as the online
comedy show "Between Two Ferns ,"
hosted by Zach Galifianakis. This goes
back to the strategy of audience
targeting.
[RELATED: Find out how to craft
the perfect pitch at our April PR
& Media Relations event in NYC.
]
It will be a while before history decides
whether the ACA is a panacea or a
failure. For now, chalk one up for health
care reform—and the power of PR.
A version of this story first appeared
on the author's blog, Public Relations
Princess.
doubt, one of the most controversial
government programs enacted in recent memory.Despite a rocky (and some say disastrous) rollout, the program met its initial goal of enrolling 7 million Americans in the program by the deadline of March 31.Because each state’s government had the choice of whether to participate in several components of the plan—including marketing and promotion—there were marked differences as to how much residents heard about the
program and its sign-up deadline.
A few states, such as Kentucky and
Arkansas , were vocal about the program and spent state resources to promote it.Many opposing the law, such as Florida,went as far as prohibiting health care workers from encouraging sign-ups on state property.
Despite the controversy surrounding the ACA and its implementation (plus some
technical snafus that arose due largely
to a surge in volume on the last
enrollment day), some practical public
relations strategies and tactics during
the last two weeks of enrollment helped
boost the final numbers past the goal of
7 million enrollees.
1. Audience targeting. This strategy
makes sense because the ACA really only
affects about 20 percent of the
population. Specific audiences included
low-income Americans, young people, and
the uninsured. Targeting was necessary
to devote resources to marketing
channels that would most likely reach
those audiences.
2. Traditional PR. The Obama
administration cranked up its powerful
PR apparatus in the final weeks before
the deadline to use every opportunity to
talk about the ACA. From news releases
to the weekly radio address, the entire
administration talked about little else in
an attempt to flood the 24-hour news
cycle with information.
(3) Constitent outreach. Community
activists who deal with target audience were equipped with the knowledge they needed to help guide people through the enrollment process, and the Obama
administration hosted conference calls
to keep people informed of the latest
details.
4. Surrogacy. Many celebrities lent their
names to the campaign, including Oprah
Winfrey, Ashley Judd, and John Legend.
They participated in media interviews,
bylined op-eds in major newspapers, and
created YouTube videos.
5. Principal involvement. Obama has
made promoting the health care law a
priority, stepping outside his comfort
zone—even doing interviews in very
unconventional media such as the online
comedy show "Between Two Ferns ,"
hosted by Zach Galifianakis. This goes
back to the strategy of audience
targeting.
[RELATED: Find out how to craft
the perfect pitch at our April PR
& Media Relations event in NYC.
]
It will be a while before history decides
whether the ACA is a panacea or a
failure. For now, chalk one up for health
care reform—and the power of PR.
A version of this story first appeared
on the author's blog, Public Relations
Princess.
posted from Bloggeroid
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