In 2009, nonprofit organization First Chance for Children came to VANGEL with a challenge:

Develop a public service campaign to reach young, low-income mothers about the importance of reading and interacting with their baby.

Research shows that reading, holding, talking, and playing with a baby directly affects the language and cognitive skills that prepare that child for school success.  That’s why First Chance for Children is dedicated to parent interaction as part of an early education system that helps every child arrive at kindergarten ready to succeed.

In order to understand our target audience, VANGEL and First Chance for Children conducted two focus groups. Specifically, we were looking for information that would steer the strategic direction of our public service campaign and ensure our creative execution resonated with the audience.

The focus groups revealed some interesting things about this group of mothers:

• They are very aware of the importance of reading and talking to their babies.
• Their biggest barrier is time. Interestingly, participants’ idea of how much time it would take to make a difference was one hour a day.
• They do not want to be preached at. Participants indicated they would like to be “shown” the message, not “told what to do.”

Based on this research, VANGEL developed a campaign that reminds mothers that just a few minutes can make a difference.  We chose our messengers strategically, as a way to “show” rather than “tell.”  The result is two 30-second television public service announcements, “Just Five Minutes” and “When I Was a Baby,” supplemented with radio ads and bus boards.

VANGEL is proud to work with First Chance for Children. And we’re proud of this just-completed campaign.  Thanks to Columbia-based Boxcar Films for some beautiful footage, and all of our local actors for a job well done.

If you’re looking to reach a particular target audience in an effective and compelling way, give VANGEL a call.