SITUATION
In early 1999, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation hired GMMB to help address a serious crisis in America—the large and growing number of uninsured children. More than 11 million children were still uninsured in 2000, three years after Congress created the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Of those kids, 7 million were eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP coverage. Most of their parents worked, and did not believe that working parents with modest incomes were eligible to enroll their children in Medicaid or SCHIP.

APPROACH
The Foundation asked GMMB to develop an integrated communications plan to amplify the work of Covering Kids coalitions across the country, and to reach parents of eligible children and help get them enrolled in health care coverage programs. Recognizing the crucial need for targeted communications, the Foundation invested $26 million over three years to complement its initial programmatic investment of $47 million. In 2002, the Foundation launched Covering Kids & Families, a $55 million initiative that built on the work and experience of Covering Kids, and retained GMMB to continue its communications work.

GMMB developed an integrated communications effort—combining research-based messages, advertising, earned media, corporate and organizational outreach, and technical assistance—to amplify the ongoing efforts of grantees and their coalitions, and to encourage families to get their children enrolled in available health care coverage programs. Campaign activities take place throughout the year, but culminate annually in the Covering Kids & Families Back-to-School Campaign. Since healthy children are better prepared to learn, the back-to-school period is the ideal time to reach parents and encourage them to enroll their children in available health care coverage programs.

In addition, GMMB placed opinion leader advertisements in publications at the national level in an effort to keep the issue of children’s health coverage on the national agenda. We engaged state and national leaders by authoring op-eds and “Dear Colleague” letters, which were signed by leaders of both parties and sent to all members of Congress and state governors. We also involved cabinet secretaries and top-level elected officials in our national, state and local media events.

RESULTS
Data released by the Urban Institute’s National Survey of America’s Families (NSAF) shows that since 1999, just prior to the launch of the Covering Kids Back-to-School Campaign:

• Nearly 5 million additional children have been enrolled in Medicaid and SCHIP.
• The number of uninsured children has declined by 1.8 million.
• Awareness of SCHIP among eligible families increased from 47 percent in 1999 to 71 percent in 2002.

The Urban Institute’s researchers concluded: "Outreach efforts in recent years have paid off. More low-income families are familiar with Medicaid or SCHIP and fewer are confused about eligibility requirements." This progress is the result of the work of many national and local organizations and corporations that have joined together to reach eligible families.

Throughout the campaign, GMMB measured a range of activities to gauge our reach and participation. Results include:

• Calls to hotlines increased an average of more than 191 percent nationally and in target markets where Covering Kids aired paid advertisements.
• More than 479 million media impressions were earned through more than 68,000 TV, newspaper, magazine and radio stories.
• More than 65 national and regional companies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia played an active role in the campaign, reaching a cumulative audience of approximately 690 million people.
• More than 180 national organizations have joined the Covering Kids and Covering Kids & Families teams, reaching a cumulative audience of more than 55 million people.
• More than 6,500 events and activities took place in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

AWARDS

• The 2002 Covering Kids & Families Back-to-School Campaign was named “Best Public Education Campaign” and “Best Cause-Related Campaign” in 2003 for its outreach to the Latino community by the Latino Marketing Awards.
• Covering Kids was the grand winner of the David Ogilvy Award in 2002, the top honor of the Advertising Research Foundation and the most prestigious award offered for market research.
• Covering Kids was named the 2002 “National Public Affairs Campaign of the Year” and “National Public Affairs Team of the Year,” and won honorable mention as the “Earned Media Team of the Year” by the American Association of Political Consultants’ Pollie Awards.
• McGraw-Hill featured the Covering Kids Communications Campaign in the 2002 edition of one of its best-selling marketing textbooks.
• The Covering Kids PSA, “Hard Choices,” was selected for a 2002 Platinum PR Award for excellence in a PR News competition.
• The Council on Foundations recognized Covering Kids with a bronze medal in the 2002 Wilmer Rich Shields Awards Program.
• In 2002, Covering Kids won a Crystal Obelisk for Social Responsibility from the Foundation of Women Executives in Public Relations.
• The advertising created for the Covering Kids Communications Campaign won the prestigious Telly Award in 2001, which honors outstanding television advertising.