Challenge
When North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) launched the Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP), they conducted a competitive proposal process to select lead entities to shepherd this revolutionary approach to health and wellness. Impact Health was selected as the lead entity for Western North Carolina and only had a short time to start from scratch and demonstrate success. Impact Health needed to develop a new brand, build a network of service providers and support their network in signing up thousands of participants.
Insight
Empower trusted, passionate messengers with the tools they need to communicate consistently, and they’ll naturally fuel brand growth with confidence.
Our Approach
Impact Health started with no name recognition and a complex new idea to communicate to a sometimes hesitant audience of human services nonprofits and individual Medicaid members. We integrated into the Impact Health team, working side-by-side to create a new brand and marketing pieces and developing tailored toolkits that partners could use for recruitment. As federal cuts began to surface alongside a state budget that lacked critical funding, our team supported Impact Health with crisis communications support and developed tools to communicate their value.
Our Deliverables
Stand Up: We launched Impact Health’s new brand within weeks of being formed, creating a clear narrative and messages to guide both internal staff and external partners in explaining this exciting new pilot program to the region.
Sign Up: Our communications guidelines, customized toolkits, presentations, rack cards and explainer video gave on-the-ground partners what they needed to recruit health providers, human services nonprofits and Medicaid members into the HOP program.
Speak Up: When HOP funding was threatened, our crisis communications planning, media talking points, press releases and social media assets helped the Impact Health team mobilize allies in support of continued resources.
Our Impact
“Formation stepped in from day one as a crucial part of our team. Not only did they create a strong identity for an entirely new and highly nuanced entity, but they also created communications strategies and tools that empowered our partners to conduct successful outreach efforts. And Formation’s solid grounding and ongoing support allowed us all to pivot quickly when our funding was threatened, giving our allies the guidance and messages they needed to speak up powerfully.”
Dr. Laurie Stradley, CEO, Impact Health