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Problem and Strategic Goals: The Department of Industrial Accidents, DIA, is responsible for Workers’ Compensation protection and enforcement in Massachusetts. In an effort to control the high costs of care for uninsured workers, which the state assumes, the DIA identified a number of groups whose employers are more likely to fail to carry insurance. These include seasonal and part-time workers, those whose primary language is not English, domestic workers (at more than 16 hours per week) and some office workers. The groups also include people who commute into Massachusetts from border cities. In 2004, the Commissioner’s office sought to develop a media campaign (1) to reach part-time and full-time workers to alert them to their rights and (2) to educate employers on the need to comply with the law.
Research and Marketing Objectives: RVA staff members met with the DIA to learn of the agency’s concerns. The team researched Workers’ Comp information, looked at experiences in other states, and sought a way to separate the issue of who is covered from the cost of coverage, which has been a controversial topic in the past. Workers’ Comp insurance is a benefit for workers and employers. Uncovered, injured workers’ care can run into millions of dollars, with fines and other liabilities. Many of the target workers speak Spanish or Portuguese, work part-time and are not represented by organized labor. The campaign had to correct the misperception that certain employment groups did not have to be covered by the law, as well as provide a way for employees to find out if they are covered (the DIA has an investigatory arm that responds to requests or complaints). It also had to alert employers to their obligations under the law. It also had to reach the target audiences in or through media they find credible.
The Campaign: RVA developed a bilingual campaign featuring the targeted employment groups with placement in print, radio and TV and on transit. The campaign was supplemented in additional languages on the DIA’s web site (with donated translations by a Boston work center). To enhance the paid media, RVA suggested a credible, well-known spokesperson. Bob Vila, who is bilingual and well-known in New England for his roles on “This Old House” and other home repair shows, agreed to donate his services as the campaign spokesman for radio and TV media. All of the spots used tag lines to reach workers and employers: Workers’ Comp, It’s the law (employers) and Does your job come with Workers’ Comp? (workers). The ads used a hotline with an easy-to-recall number - 1-877-MASSAFE - to encourage workers to find out if they are covered by the law and/or if their employer is complying with the law. One of the target groups is featured in each of the ads. An action begins – such as lawn mowing or climbing a ladder – and as something is about to happen, the screen freezes (on TV) or a sound indicates that there is the potential for injury. Bob Vila’s voiceover continues with the tag lines. A painter and landscaper appeal to the part-time, seasonal and Spanish-speaking audiences. A third spot shows a nanny/domestic helper running at the sound of a child’s voice and about to fall, and the fourth spot shows an office worker lifting a box inappropriately. The black and white ads include one color element that highlights the potential danger in the employment vignette.
Budget Allocation: The 2004 ad buy of $88,000 (with $12,000 for labor and production) included talk radio and music stations around the state, with targeted placement in Spanish language media. Ads were placed on the MBTA’s Orange and Red Lines and in Red Line stations around the system. Press releases featured the campaign and encouraged coverage in regional media, including The Boston Herald, Metro and professional publications interested in the topic, such as Lawyer’s Weekly. An opinion editorial on the topic was sent to community newspapers around the Commonwealth.
In April 2005, RVA launched the second phase of a $100,000 media campaign, buying space in newspapers (Spanish); 14 regional transportation systems, including the MBTA; and on 12 radio stations across Massachusetts. Print ads on the transit systems included interior and exterior bus signs as well as interior subway car cards. These placements were targeted for early spring to reach the target audiences as landscaping and contractor employers begin hiring and working in New England. Much of the target employee audience will ride buses and see the interior signs or see the signs on bus exteriors as they drive to work.
Results and Verification: The DIA used three methods for assessing the effectiveness of the campaign: (1) monitoring any increase in calls to the project line; (2) assessing new Workers’ Comp insurance accounts; and (3) tracking injuries, covered and uninsured. None of this data has been shared to date with RVA; however, the DIA was pleased with the results available to them and contracted with RVA to extend the same campaign in Spring 2005. To reduce the use of paper and mailing envelopes and take advantage of technology, RVA transmitted MP3 files of the ad to radio stations electronically.
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