PUBLIC EDUCATION AND OUTREACH CAMPAIGNS

DON’T BORROW TROUBLE PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN– The Williams Agency managed the critical aspects of this statewide campaign that was used as a model to develop the National “Don’t Borrow Trouble” public awareness campaign sponsored by Freddie Mac. The Massachusetts Community Bankers Council “Don’t Borrow Trouble” campaign is a public awareness campaign to inform and educate home-owners about the dangers of predatory lending. The campaign had completed a successful pilot in Boston and the Council wanted to expand it state-wide and learn lessons and strategies on how it could be implemented nationally by Freddie Mac.

Our services included: communications planning, database research, marketing list development, strategic planning, marketing and logistical support for two event launches. We developed this state-wide campaign to promote the program locally by working with local municipalities, housing organizations and community agencies and produced a final report highlighting lessons learned for Freddie Mac. We developed an “outreach tool-kit” for administering local campaigns with: a FAQ sheet, print ads in English and Spanish, press release template, regional media plans, and memoranda of agreements for regional sponsors. We also distributed over 150,000 brochures in English and Spanish and 100 posters/billboards, and counseled client and partner agencies on developing effective community events to launch the campaign locally. We also provided logistical support in launching the campaign with the Mayor’s offices of Springfield and Worcester as well.

COMM-PASS STATE-WIDE TRAINING PROGRAM – The Williams Agency was selected by the State of Massachusetts Procurement division to promote Comm-pass, the online based procurement system. The state collaborated with the State Office of Women and Minority Owned Business certification department and the School of Management from the University of Massachusetts SBA Minority Business Development Center and we coordinated six state-wide training workshops.

The workshops were held in cities such as Worcester, Boston, Springfield and Cambridge in collaboration with local business support agencies and local government departments. In coordinating these workshops, we provided planning services, created the recruitment packages for local partners, prepared press release notices for local cities, and analyzed evaluation data of the training workshops. More than 400 businesses across the state participated in these workshops.View case study here.

FIND YOUR REAL VOICE — KEEP IT FRESH! — The Williams Agency served as a subcontractor on this MDPH public awareness media campaign designed to inform women about the dangers of smoking. We provided strategic planning and branding, public relations, media buying, and event planning services for this initiative. This six-month, grassroots campaign embraced a fresh approach to effect positive change by fostering empowerment and self-esteem; by encouraging women and girls to stop or avoid smoking in order to be healthy and confident.

The campaign partnered with Boston’s top radio station and successfully used a state-wide music contest to target girls’ ages 13-19 to counter the Philip Morris "Find Your Voice" campaign and raise public awareness about Big Tobacco's attempt to target young girls. The media campaign is the first in the state of Massachusetts — and one of the first in the US— specifically focused on preventing and reducing tobacco use among young minority females, particularly African Americans and Latinas.

For sample coverage in New Bedford Standard Times, click here

TEEN PREGNANCY PREVENTION MEDIA CAMPAIGN — The Massachusetts Department of Public Health hired The Williams Agency to conduct a comprehensive Teen Pregnancy Prevention Radio Campaign. Health care costs associated with teen pregnancy posed an enormous burden on state health programs. A campaign such as this was the first undertaking to try to direct youth to "think about" the consequences of teen pregnancy and help them make the "right choices." The campaign targeted teens from diverse backgrounds. Click here to view PDF of award winning radio ad.

BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER AWARENESS CAMPAIGN — The objective of this campaign was to direct women who are considered at risk for breast and cervical cancer to obtain mammograms and cancer screenings at state-sponsored screening centers. The target audience included women over forty, and a special emphasis was made to reach African American, Asian, Latino, and Portuguese populations. Click here to view PDF of sample radio ad from campaign.

BRANDING CAMPAIGNS

EXPRESS YOURSELF — Our agency was chosen by the City of Cambridge to develop the city's first Commuting Choices media campaign to influence public opinion favorably about using alternatives to single occupancy vehicles (SOVs). The Massachusetts Highway Department funded this project with Federal funds targeted to promoting innovative transportation solutions to reduce congestion.This Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT) award-winning branding campaign incorporated the development of the campaign message, logo, tag line, and communication materials, including a Transportation Demand Management (TDM) brochure targeted to employers. In developing this year-long campaign, we conducted focus groups to help us create an effective message for print advertisements and collateral materials. View case study.

EZRIDE SHUTTLE BRANDING CAMPAIGN — This campaign was funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Highway Department and the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. The Charles River TMA enlisted The Williams Agency to create a brand for a critically needed shuttle service offering rides between two public transportation modes in two cities. The branding campaign's objective was to raise awareness about alternatives to driving, promote the shuttle service's convenience, and increase the shuttle's transit ridership. The campaign's usage and awareness results exceeded expectations by 500%.View case study.

STRATEGIC PLANNING

CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL BOSTON — The Williams Agency was part of a consulting team that conducted an internal communications assessment for Children’s Hospital Boston. The project focused on effectiveness of the communication between senior management and hospital staff. This large-scale project involved conducting focus groups and interviews with staff across the hospital, analyzing the large amounts of data collected, assessing communications materials participating in writing a research report and making recommendations to the hospital’s senior management team about changes in their communications strategies, practices and vehicles.

LONDON CARNIVAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM —As Deputy Project Manager, Ms. Williams led a consultant team in developing a four-year comprehensive strategic plan for the Carnival industry in London. The London Carnival Development Program is the Mayor of London’s cultural economic development initiative for London’s largest event attracting more than 1 million participants and generating £93M for the City of London.

Focus areas of the strategic plan included six priorities: strategic management and leadership, funding and finance, event operations and management, sustainable economic development, marketing and promotion, and community outreach development and education. In addition to leading the effort to prepare the plan, Ms. Williams also developed recommendations for implementation of the goals and objectives of the plan.

back to top