The Kids That Rock Campaign: A Local Effort to Be Hip and Raise Immunization Awareness Among Parents of Young Children

Background:  The Gateway Immunization Coalition wanted to increase the vaccinations given in St. Louis providing education on major vaccine-preventable diseases and dispelling myths.  We partnered with Emmis Communications to develop and conduct a media campaign to promote immunizations.

Setting:  Radio, internet, email, and community events.

Population:  Parents of young children and 105.7 The Point listeners.

Project Description:  The marketing objective was to educate parents of the threats of pertussis and influenza and the safety of vaccinations.  105.7 The Point ran an on-line contest looking for St. Louis’s “kids that rock;” where listeners submitted photos of their children that were voted on by The Point’s audience.  Each entrant and voter filled out a short survey regarding vaccines, providing us with live survey data from the community.  A campaign flyer was developed and distributed at 105.7 The Point events, through the coalition’s email list serve, and the Missouri Association of School Nurses annual conference.  The campaign was supported by live personality endorsements and commercials with educational information on vaccine-preventable diseases and contest details.  The child with the most votes at the end of the contest won a family trip to Cancun.

Results/Lessons Learned:  228 parents submitted photos and 19, 780 votes were cast.  275 survey responses were recorded.  83% had vaccinated their children in the last 12 months.  Of those who vaccinated their child, 31% had vaccinated for flu, 16% had vaccinated for DTaP, and 41% had vaccinated for both flu and DTaP.  The coalition’s newly created website was visited by 210 campaign participants.  2331 pages were visited and 11,161 hits were recorded.  An average of 5.9 pages was reviewed per visit. A successful partnership was developed between the coalition and Emmis.  We were able to reach over 500,000 adults in the St. Louis market educating them on the importance of vaccination.