Table of Contents 6 2012 OVATION Awards Winning Entries

With a goal of increasing compliance even further in 2011, a targeted educational and awareness campaign was
proposed that addressed the primary reasons staff do not get vaccinated—lack of time, lack of convenience, fear of
the vaccine, or a belief that everyday personal hygiene or protective gear will prevent them from getting sick. The
campaign included highly visible reminders such as posters, as well as a central repository of educational material
that could be easily accessed by all employees on the corporate intranet. Face‐to‐face education took place at staff
meetings, and senior team champions encouraged compliance in a variety of staff forums.
Additionally, the campaign’s branding was extended to select external communications including the website, blog
and social media channels. While the hospital does not provide flu shots to community members, we did opt to
capitalize on existing campaign and information materials to promote the importance of the vaccine. This
supported our efforts to build TSH’s reputation, and to position our hospital as a leader in providing proactive
health information to our community.
Key messages:
1. Vaccinations are your first line of defense against the flu.
2. Healthcare workers have an obligation to protect themselves and their patients from the flu.
3. The flu vaccine is safe and effective.
4. TSH is making every effort to provide the flu shots to staff, physicians, volunteers and students in a way that is
timely and convenient.
Implementation and Challenges:
A highly visible campaign that carried succinct key messages designed to appeal to our target audiences was
considered the best strategic approach, combined with an educational component that addressed fears and
common excuses for not getting vaccinated. While several new tactics were created, such as ID badge stickers,
outdoor signage, posters and digital screen messages, the campaign relied heavily on existing corporate
communication vehicles including newsletters and the intranet. The importance of face‐to‐face communication and
educational opportunities was learned in an earlier successful campaign to boost hand hygiene rates, and some of
those tactics were employed in this project. Key messages for managers and directors at staff meetings, along with
handouts and support materials, helped spread the word to our target audiences—while also providing a
mechanism for gathering real‐time feedback. It was this ability to take the pulse of the organization that helped us
recognize a need to address fears and excuses head‐on in the second year of our campaign.
One of our greatest challenges with this campaign revolved around budget. We simply did not have the financial
resources to launch an elaborate campaign requiring expensive collateral materials or outside creative consulting.
As a result, we tried to leverage existing vehicles and to create innovative, cost‐effective ways of reaching our
intended audiences. To finance the campaign, Corporate Communications committed to a total budget of $5,000 to
cover all required materials.
The entire campaign was branded with a simple graphic identity that lends itself well to a variety of print and
electronic applications. The use of the “flu bug” was an at‐a‐glance reminder for staff (and the general public) about
the importance of getting vaccinated. To save on creative costs, the graphic identity was developed in‐house using