Launch of the vaccination advertising campaign: created for free by E.Jakilaitis with his team, the experts seem too slow and too narrow a strategy Business

For some time, the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Lithuania, criticized for the passive dissemination of information on vaccination advertising, has shown the first fruits of the vaccination advertising campaign.

On Wednesday, six videos titled “Shoulder for Freedom” were posted on the ministry’s YouTube account, an allusion to the vaccination procedure when the vaccine is injected into the shoulder. In the 30-second video, medical professionals advocate for the benefits of the vaccine.

According to Aistė Šuksta, Advisor to the Ministry of Health for Public Relations, the Shoulder for Freedom campaign will be expanded to take into account target groups and audiences, with messages created specifically for them, based on the recommendations of psychologists and other experts. .

The videos were created free of charge for the Ministry of Health by the Owl Squad of the Lithuanian Rifle Union, which is also staffed by public figures. According to A.Šuksta, anonymous television channels, radio stations and large retail chains also committed to distribute these clips for free. The social ad has already begun to be shown on LRT television, and as of Friday it will be broadcast on five channels of the LNK group.

15 minutes When asked if the ministry intends to allocate funds for the information campaign, the adviser said nearly 800,000. euros.

“If there is a need, and it is likely that there is, additional public procurement will be planned. The funds will be allocated from the State Fund for Health Promotion. Commitments are available until the end of the year, but can also be reviewed for evaluation. the intensity of the situation. It is not ruled out that additional services are contracted through public procurement, “said A. Šuksta.

The aforementioned State Health Promotion Fund aims to inform the population about diseases through various communication channels. In the pre-pandemic year, their funds were used to spread information about other diseases. However, after the start of the pandemic, this fund was not financed additionally, in addition, according to A. Šuksta, this year there will be even slightly less funds for the information campaign. Starting next year, the fund will not exist at all.

E.Jakilaitis: we do everything with personal resources

Edmundas Jakilaitis, a journalist for the Union of Riflemen’s Owl Squad 15 minutes confirmed that the Shoulder for Freedom campaign is his initiative, which is being developed for free. This team brings together various communication and media professionals, which is why these products have been developed using their skills.

“During the first wave of the pandemic, our platoon created all public content for free, I mean the Stay At Home clips, the display and functionality of the Korona Stop page. The public procurement system is quite inert and we brought together people who are owners of communication agencies, managers, media specialists, etc. We joined forces and created clips of “Stay at home” in a few days, “recalls E. Jakilaitis.

He said that the current problem with public procurement is the same as during the first quarantine, so with the blessing of SAM it was decided to develop new products that would encourage people to participate more actively in vaccination processes. He said the platoon also contributed to the preparation of the questionnaire for sociological surveys.

“What is now on the air is one of the products aimed at the target audience of the older age group, which, according to sociological surveys, values ​​the opinion of specialists more highly. Therefore, videos and speeches by public health professionals. The other target groups will have a different communication campaign, but it has not started yet, although it is planned. We do everything with personal resources, but under the same principles ”, said the renowned journalist.

P. Tamulionis: A massive and effective advertising campaign would require at least 0.5 million. euros

Paulius Tamulionis, Communication Consultant, Idea Prima, Member of the Board of the Communication Industry Association 15 minutes He said there were no SAM consultations, referrals or meetings in his sector.

In his opinion, this could have been caused by the intergovernmental government, when neither party took up the matter. Now we can suffer such neglect: P. Tamulionis predicts that, from today’s perspective, the global advertising campaign will start at least in the fall.

The company he represents was responsible for one of the last large national information campaigns on the introduction of the euro. Based on this experience, the communication expert emphasizes that comprehensive campaigns must be, above all, complex.

According to him, a few years ago, a special bus traveled through cities and towns, displayed information about the euro and residents were consulted by specially trained consultants. Although it is not possible to implement many of these measures now, P. Tamulionis says that a broad campaign is necessary.

“It just came to our attention then. I miss the complexity. You have to ask how to reach the people in the districts and find the arguments. They have to be different: some are affected by some arguments, others by others. People are different, some they need to be told in detail, others need emotion. That requires a variety of tools for that content and a variety of channels to use to communicate, “he said.

According to P. Tamulionis, at least 0.5 million LTL should be allocated for a complex national information campaign. The strategy should be planned no later than half a year in advance, not a year in a hurry. This is also due to complex and time-consuming public procurement.

The interlocutor stressed that constipated skeptics will not be able to open up, so resources should be directed to those audiences that still have doubts. Nor should we forget the non-native citizens of the country, who usually receive news in their own language and live in a kind of bubble. Proactive communication of the importance of vaccination in Russian and Polish could lead to better results.

In evaluating the videos that appeared, he said that doctors as an authority are not a bad choice, but should be only one of the few lines of communication.

“There should be four to five that would change each other, which would ultimately affect people’s beliefs. Everything has to be done in a complex way. Some may not like it, but there are many influencerių and other people who may not be doctors but in their opinion people believe. There are also ordinary people, say local authorities such as municipal elders, who communicate directly with the people, ”said the consultant from Idea prima.

When an information gap arises, it will be filled by disinformation diffusers.

Professor at the Faculty of Communication of Vilnius University dr. Austė Valinčiūtė, who has participated in Defense and National Security Committee meetings in recent weeks on misinformation about vaccines, 15 minutes He said that the choice of doctors for communication is understandable because their recommendations are an important factor in the success of vaccination.

“Different sociodemographic groups have different attitudes towards experts. The messages currently circulating are likely to be effective for those who trust physicians. However, there is a large part of society for whom the word expert has little meaning, be it doctor or not. “

He recalled a recent poll by opinion polling company NielsenIQ, which showed that high levels of skepticism about vaccines are also present in a fairly young segment, people ages 25 to 35. There are several students who are undecided about vaccination.

“I’m not sure if doctors or certain experts are the most appropriate and at the same time the most compelling source of messages about vaccines for these people. Hopefully these sources will diversify in the context of the campaign,” He said.

In response to the fact that the current communication material is intended for only one priority group: people of retirement age, A. Valčičiūtė stated that the attitude towards vaccines for all demographic groups must be shaped with a long-term perspective.

“If only one target group is currently vaccinated, it is not necessary to assume that the communication is not relevant to the other target group. People who are not currently vaccinated are thinking about it, looking for information about vaccines, so it is essential to stay on track. contact with other groups as well. Otherwise, there will be an information gap, which will be filled with pleasure by the disseminators of disinformation, “said the doctor of communication sciences.