Encouraging behavior change without pointing the finger at people is a tough balance. It’s the tightrope the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) walks every day. Childhood immunizations, West Nile virus, Avian flu, chronic diseases and cancers are just some of the important topics DOH strives to inform the public about. Since 2002 DHC has teamed with DOH to arm Washingtonians with knowledge to make healthy decisions. We’ve helped DOH balance just enough research with catchy creative to get people’s attention. When the public said they wanted humor we personified a flu virus as a trash-talkin’ tough guy out to spread his virus, and we’ve been known to spoof 1950s police dramas too.
 
We’ve purchased media in every county of this state, launched DOH in the social media world, and have created and adapted campaign collateral for parents, health care providers, care takers, elected officials, local health jurisdictions, employers and more.
 
It’s not uncommon for DHC to more than double DOH’s campaign budget through media buy matches we negotiate and that’s a big deal when your resources are tight! Not only that, but our collateral has been used by other states who loved the campaigns so much they had to have them for themselves. Changing behavior doesn’t happen overnight, but we know our campaigns contribute positively to the health-related choices people make every day.