Digital Awareness Campaign

“The statistics led to the messaging, the messaging led to the tone, and the tone led to every visual and copy decision.”

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Background

This piece was created as Part 4 of a multi-part final project. The assignment called for the development of a digital awareness campaign centered on a public health issue of my choosing. I selected breastfeeding as a health equity issue since breastfeeding is usually framed as being the mother’s choice when in reality the research consistently points to systemic failure. The campaign, branded as “Boobs 4 Babies,” was designed to shift that narrative from blaming moms to holding institutions accountable. The framework was grounded in evidence-based health communication principles, with a social media-first distribution strategy that targeted new and expectant mothers in the critical early postpartum period.

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Scope

This was a comprehensive campaign development project requiring original research across 11+ peer-reviewed sources, strategic communication planning, brand identity development, and visual design execution all within a single cohesive presentation.

Specific campaign elements included:

• a campaign overview and problem statement,
• a SWOT analysis with audience profile, theme and messaging architecture (objectives, tone, taglines, etc.),
• channel strategy across social media, healthcare settings, and policy advocacy,
• a 9-month campaign timeline with phased messaging,
• a content highlight reel including the #BarrierBreakdown Series,
• mockups of actual campaign assets (WordPress blog, Instagram, Twitter),
• and a metrics and impact measurement framework

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Process

Before any messaging decisions were made, I conducted extensive research so that I could ground the campaign in data. I found that only 25% of U.S. infants are exclusively breastfed for six months and that in-hospital formula introduction increases early cessation risk three-fold. That finding shaped everything that followed, including the decision to frame breastfeeding explicitly as a public health equity issue instead of a personal parenting choice.

From there, I developed the SWOT analysis to identify threats like aggressive formula industry marketing and the risk of misinterpreted messaging which helped me design with more intention, especially around tone. The tone descriptors I included, (inclusive, empathetic, empowering, no journey is the same) were not aesthetic preferences; they were strategic frameworks.

Then, I built the entire brand identity for Boobs 4 Babies which included a logo, color palette, and cross-platform presence, as well as real campaign touchpoints: a WordPress website that served as a breastfeeding resource hub, an Instagram profile, and a Twitter account. The #BarrierBreakdown Series was developed as an example piece of content to spotlight a piece from the nine-month timeline. Finally, I mapped the campaign to fall across key dates like World Breastfeeding Week in August, as well as a BIPOC lactation spotlight in October in order to align messaging with culturally relevant moments.

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Lessons Learned

What went well:

The integration of research and design: the campaign didn’t feel like an academic project using a pre-created template. The statistics led me to the messaging, the messaging led me to the tone, and the tone led me to every visual and copy decision. The SWOT analysis was really valuable because it made me take an honest look at where the campaign could be misread or undercut, especially on the topic of maternal guilt and shame (which was really important to me to approach properly).

The main challenge:

Scope management was difficult. A campaign of this size felt very overwhelming at times because it was all encompassing of brand identity, platform strategy, content formats, a detailed timeline, and a metrics framework. This project required organization, focus, and depth to get each piece just right.

Outcomes:

This project demonstrated applied competency in health communication strategy, campaign architecture, and evidence-based messaging design. All of which are directly relevant to advocacy-oriented communication work in public health, nonprofit, and legal sectors.

The topic itself was not arbitrary; it reflects my genuine interest in communication as a tool for equity and systemic accountability.