Behavior Change Communications • Public Health Marketing • Toolkit Development
As COVID-19 vaccines became available, UF Health faced a new communications challenge. While many people were eager to be vaccinated, others had questions about safety, effectiveness and the speed of vaccine development. At the same time, information was evolving rapidly, creating confusion and making it difficult for communicators to deliver consistent guidance across a large and diverse audience.
I led the creative development of a comprehensive vaccine communications toolkit designed to help communicators educate audiences, answer common questions and support vaccination efforts across
the health system
the health system
The Situation
The arrival of COVID-19 vaccines represented a major milestone in the pandemic response, but it also marked a shift in how we needed to communicate. Earlier campaigns focused primarily on prevention and safety measures. Now, we needed to help people understand a new and unfamiliar vaccine while navigating a rapidly changing information environment.
Questions and concerns varied significantly across audiences. Some people wanted detailed scientific information. Others wanted reassurance from trusted healthcare experts. Many simply wanted straightforward answers delivered in a clear and approachable way.
Our communications team needed a flexible system that could support all of these conversations while maintaining consistency across channels, departments and audiences.
The Challenge
The challenge wasn't simply creating awareness. People were already hearing about vaccines
everywhere they turned.
everywhere they turned.
The real challenge was creating communications that could build understanding and confidence
without feeling overly promotional, political or dismissive of legitimate concerns.
without feeling overly promotional, political or dismissive of legitimate concerns.
• Address vaccine hesitancy without alienating skeptical audiences
• Communicate evolving scientific information clearly and accurately
• Support multiple audience segments with different concerns and motivations
• Provide communicators with ready-to-use materials for rapid deployment
• Maintain consistency across digital, print and community outreach channels
• Communicate evolving scientific information clearly and accurately
• Support multiple audience segments with different concerns and motivations
• Provide communicators with ready-to-use materials for rapid deployment
• Maintain consistency across digital, print and community outreach channels
The solution needed to balance public health expertise with empathy, recognizing that vaccine decisions were often influenced by trust, personal experiences and community relationships as much as scientific facts.
Strategic Approach
Rather than approaching the campaign as a traditional awareness effort, I viewed it as a behavior-change challenge rooted in trust.
The strategy focused on three key principles:
1. Listen Before Persuading
Through conversations with stakeholders and review of audience feedback, it became clear that facts alone
would not change behavior. Many people were seeking reassurance from trusted sources and wanted
information delivered in a way that felt personal, empathetic and easy to understand.
would not change behavior. Many people were seeking reassurance from trusted sources and wanted
information delivered in a way that felt personal, empathetic and easy to understand.
2. Meet Audiences Where They Are
Different groups had different questions, barriers and motivations. The toolkit was designed to
support targeted communication approaches while maintaining a consistent campaign identity.
support targeted communication approaches while maintaining a consistent campaign identity.
3. Create a Scalable System
Communicators needed flexible assets that could be quickly adapted for clinics, hospitals,
community outreach events, social media, websites, email campaigns and internal communications.
community outreach events, social media, websites, email campaigns and internal communications.
Execution
The resulting toolkit included a broad range of communication assets designed to support vaccine education and confidence-building efforts across the UF Health system.
Deliverables included:
• Campaign identity system
• Social media graphics
• Educational infographics
• Print collateral
• Digital advertising assets
• Internal communications materials
• Community outreach resources
• Customizable templates for communicators
• Social media graphics
• Educational infographics
• Print collateral
• Digital advertising assets
• Internal communications materials
• Community outreach resources
• Customizable templates for communicators
In addition to developing the visual system, I worked closely with stakeholders and communicators to ensure materials could be updated efficiently as information evolved throughout the campaign.
Impact
The campaign provided communicators across UF Health with a centralized system for vaccine-related communications during a period of rapid change and high public interest.
The toolkit helped establish consistency across channels, reduced the need for one-off asset creation and enabled teams to communicate more efficiently while maintaining alignment with organizational goals.
Results
• Adopted across multiple UF Health communication channels
• Supported vaccine education and outreach efforts throughout the health system
• Created a scalable toolkit for rapid deployment
• Helped standardize vaccine-related communications during a rapidly changing public health environment
• Received multiple industry awards, including recognition from the American Advertising Federation and
the American Marketing Association.
• Supported vaccine education and outreach efforts throughout the health system
• Created a scalable toolkit for rapid deployment
• Helped standardize vaccine-related communications during a rapidly changing public health environment
• Received multiple industry awards, including recognition from the American Advertising Federation and
the American Marketing Association.
Why This Project Matters
This project reinforced an important lesson about health communications: information alone does not change behavior.
People need information they can understand, sources they trust and communications that recognize the questions and concerns they bring with them.
By combining clear design, thoughtful messaging and a scalable communication system, this campaign helped support one of the most important public health initiatives in recent history while demonstrating the role strategic communications can play in building understanding and trust.