Keeping a preparedness campaign running through a pandemic

The situation. Following Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands were still recovering while public health agencies worked to prepare residents for future emergencies. The multiyear initiative combined mass media with community outreach and trusted local partners. Then COVID-19 shut down public events, restricted in-person outreach, and disrupted much of the original campaign plan.

What I did. I directed a $3.5 million communications portfolio involving teams across Puerto Rico, the USVI, and Guam. I oversaw strategy, creative production, media planning and buying, vendor relationships, and more than 25 concurrent campaigns. I also developed crisis communications procedures for the USVI health department, later used during its COVID-19 response, and oversaw accessible preparedness materials for children with disabilities. Both campaigns also included short campaigns on suicide prevention after disasters, covered in a separate case study.

The call that mattered. COVID-19 made much of our original outreach strategy impossible. Rather than waiting for conditions to return to normal, I redirected the work into channels residents could still access. We used local radio programming, direct mail to USVI households, banners in community parks, and flyers distributed with school meals. Movie theater placements were also part of the campaign's channel strategy when theaters were operating. I secured a contract extension to produce evergreen preparedness videos that health agencies could continue using beyond the original campaign.