Opioid outreach effort recognized as top public service announcement
The New York State Association of Counties and the NYS Association of County Coroners & Medical Examiners created a public service announcement about the opioid crisis.
An public service campaign has been recognized with a marketing and communication award. The New York State Association of Counties and the New York State County Coroners and Medical Examiners Association teamed for the effort.
They were recognized on Wednesday at the 2018 Capital Region MARCOM Awards competition in Schenectady. This annual event recognizes excellence in marketing and communications through outstanding work in several categories.
The See the Signs, Save a Life campaign received a MARCOM Award in the video category. Four other video campaigns were finalists in this category.
After years of seeing opioid abuse devastate families and their communities, NYSAC and the NYSCCME came together in the spring of 2018 with a common goal: educating the public about the signs of opioid abuse, and getting help to those who need it before it’s too late. The associations sought to do this through a powerful video public service advertisement that didn’t shy away from the reality of the situation: opioid addiction leads to death. (View the video and related resources at www.nysac.org/opioids.)
The public service campaign, created in partnership with Trellis Marketing, ran on television stations throughout New York State, on social media channels, and was shared on local government and association websites. The campaign was also shared with residents directly by local leaders.
NYSAC and its member counties have been battling the opioid epidemic for years, through several agencies, including county social services, health departments, law enforcement, jails, 9-1-1 dispatch, district attorneys, public defenders, probation, coroners, and medical examiners.
NYSAC and NYSCCME are both currently led by Orleans County officials. Chuck Nesbitt, the county’s chief administrative officer, is president of NYSAC. Scott Schmidt, the county’s chief coroner, has been president of NYSCCME the past nine years.
“On behalf of the Association of Counties, I want to express our sincere appreciation to the MARCOM Award committee,” Nesbitt said. “This video public service announcement was designed to better inform our residents of the signs that could lead to saving a life. We’re grateful for this recognition and hope the effort to educate the public continues.”
“The far-reaching effects of a drug overdose death are devastating,” Schmidt said. “NYSCCME felt that by showing the after-effects of using these lethal substances with an ‘in-your-face’ approach, we might be able to save at least one life. We are very proud of the resulting campaign and our partnership with NYSAC and Trellis. Thank you to the MARCOM awards for this recognition. We hope that this video is seen far and wide.”
