March of Dimes

The Case

March of Dimes (MOD) is the nation’s third-largest nonprofit health agency and premier advocate for the health of mothers and babies.

By 2000, birth defects and infant mortality in Louisiana, Mississippi and Kentucky were some of the highest in the nation and showed no signs of decreasing. The MOD Louisiana chapter looked to Deveney Communication for assistance. The 2000 results led MOD to expand our work to Mississippi in 2001 and Kentucky in 2002.

MOD needed an aggressive public health information push to increase consumption of folic acid among mothers, thereby driving down the rate of birth defects in these three states.

The Strategy

We identified two primary target audiences: media and women of childbearing age and a secondary target audience of government. We analyzed, segmented and prioritized the audiences geographically.

Working within the budget of a nonprofit, we needed to present a creative, but cost-effective way to gain awareness of the folic acid message. Also, with the end of the campaign quickly approaching, an aggressive information push was needed to increase the awareness of the importance of folic acid consumption among those of childbearing years. The campaign focused on three MOD public service announcements, “The Stork” (in 2000), “The Stork Returns” (in 2001) and “The Stork Workout” (in 2002), as this element was identified as one of the most effective means to meet our objectives and overall goal.

The Results

Our efforts increased awareness of folic acid among target audiences. Gallup survey results confirmed that the message was reaching our target audiences. More women throughout Louisiana, Kentucky and Mississippi had heard of folic acid than before.

Media coverage was secured in the all target geographic areas. Additional media relations efforts garnered an extra $156,853.28 of targeted media coverage. The entire campaign produced a 58 to 1 return on investment.