Thanking and Elevating Caregivers Amid a Pandemic
Cedars-Sinai
When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, Cedars-Sinai created a comprehensive, multimedia communications effort to connect our caregivers on the front lines with the people we serve. Through a coordinated, strategic campaign, Cedars-Sinai Marketing & Communications launched an interactive Healthcare Heroes campaign that harnessed a groundswell of public support for healthcare workers. At a time when community members were stuck at home, isolated, powerless and feeling a deep appreciation for health workers, we provided them with a venue to amplify their expressions of gratitude. This effort, in turn, ensured that Cedars-Sinai’s workforce felt inspired and supported by the community during a scary and uncertain time. Our caregivers were braving the unknown at personal risk. While there were many campaigns in the market heralding these sacrifices, we wanted to keep our message simply about appreciation – Appreciation for their commitment; their courage and expertise, and for community members doing their part to keep themselves safe. Authenticity was another goal. We were not going for content to feed the media, or stories that conveyed war-zone-like desperation. We wanted our people talking about what was real: what was imperfect, what was stressful, what was confusing and what it meant to them to be part of it.
What was the most impactful part of your award-winning entry?
Most impactful was our staff, speaking directly to camera, telling real accounts of what they were experiencing. Clinical caregivers –nurses, doctors, residents – and other frontline staff – chaplains, hospitality workers, patient relations. Those varied perspectives made it both real and relatable.
What is one thing you learned from this experience?
Stay true to your message. There was so much content and requests for it, externally and internally. We harnessed every request/tactic and applied it to a single story. It yielded a powerful campaign with a variety of interesting multichannel tentacles.
What challenge did you overcome?
Lack of integration. In the wake of crisis communication, our teams were running amok not coordinating efforts. We were sourcing the same assets for different audiences. When we started discussing content as a group we fueled the same overarching theme.
Contact
Nicole Pham, nicole.pham2@cshs.org