Engagement Campaign for Problem Gambling Services Division

When legal gambling impacted more young people in Connecticut, we created a statewide campaign filled with action steps to stay safe

Challenge

In 2021, sports betting became legal in Connecticut. This gave people 24/7 access to place wagers via websites and apps. Quickly, the impact was felt across the state and across socioeconomic groups. In particular, college-age youth — and especially males — faced a number of risks and significant impacts. The Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DHMAS) and its Problem Gambling Services (PGS) division looked to take action and protect this young demographic. They needed a compelling message and campaign to meet young people where they are and build awareness for safe action steps.

Our challenge was specific yet layered. We needed a compelling message that would feel engaging to young people. It had to meet young people in the spaces and places where they were. And it had to be broad yet cost-efficient to get the most impact for a small budget.

Engagement Campaign for Problem Gambling Services Division

Solution

Our team started with a brief, fast-paced strategy exercise to explore data and understand key influences around gambling for college-age youth. We talked with people in this age group to inform our work. Then we created and pitched concepts and ideas for campaign themes that would resonate. All this work set the stage for a multi-month engagement strategy that we created for the project along with a detailed, tactical timeline. All campaign assets tied together with an existing brand, logo, and campaign package. Yet we folded in completely new ideas, assets, and media. The strategy included ideas for a digital toolkit to make knowledge accessible to all communities, actionable assets to engage college-age youth at events, and a statewide media campaign to drive broad awareness. Our work included:

Campaign strategy across all channels
Media planning for online (Spotify, Google, Meta, etc.), offline (billboards), and local campaigns (events, on-campus digital)
Copy and creative for online and offline campaign elements (billboards, digital ads, etc.)
Promotional products strategy, sourcing and creative
Ideas, copy and creative for a digital toolkit and content downloads to make knowledge and action steps more digestible
Copy and creative for brand materials (fact sheets, pamphlets, presentations, etc.)
Concepts and mockups for campaign landing pages
Timeline and budget management for the entire integrated campaign