FEATURED PROJECT
End Stigma CT
Daydream Communications and Camelo Communication partnered to produce a bilingual stigma reduction campaign for New Haven County health departments in Connecticut. The goal was to raise awareness of how stigma stands in the way of getting help for an opioid addiction.
Graphic Design | Video | OOH | Digital Marketing | Social Media | Public Relations
The Work
To address the well-documented misconception that addiction is a moral failing rather than a medical condition, Daydream Communications, in partnership with Camelo Communication, created End Stigma CT, a bilingual multimedia campaign to reduce stigma in New Haven County, CT. This research-based anti-stigma campaign aimed to educate the community about the harmful impact of stigma while avoiding making people feel blamed or guilty for their attitudes. This was a delicate balance that required sophisticated strategic communication to foster empathy and educate those unknowingly perpetuating stigma.
The Process
Every element of the End Stigma CT campaign was grounded in research. We began with stakeholder interviews and focus groups featuring people with lived experience, family members, healthcare providers, and community members to identify common sources of stigma and understand how it impacted people's lives. Those insights shaped two distinct creative concepts, which we then took back to target audience members for message testing. The winning concept, "It Started With...", earned an 83% like/love rating. All messaging was also reviewed by a nationally recognized addiction treatment expert to ensure accuracy and alignment with evidence-based communication strategies.
Campaign components included:
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Bilingual campaign website: EndStigmaCT.com and NoMasEstigma.com
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Audience toolkits: six bilingual fact sheets tailored to healthcare workers, law enforcement, media professionals, faith leaders, and more
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Personal video stories: authentic profiles featuring real people sharing their lived experience with opioid addiction and recovery
The Media Mix
Our media mix balanced high impression, broad awareness-building through digital marketing and out-of-home, with targeted engagement through social and ethnic media, ensuring comprehensive coverage of all key stakeholder groups while maintaining cost efficiency. Media channels included:
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Out-of-home: billboards, transit ads, gas station signage, and geofencing
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Digital TV/OTT: connected TV and streaming platforms
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Paid social: Facebook and Instagram targeting key audience segments
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Digital display: Google Display Network with behavioral targeting
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Local radio: English and Spanish-language stations
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Earned media
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The Results
The End Stigma CT campaign delivered 80.4 million paid media impressions, exceeding projections by 120%. Combined with 18.6 million earned media impressions, the campaign generated nearly 100 million total community touchpoints.
Feedback from Community
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More than half of the respondents had seen the End the Stigma campaign previously and 84% described their reaction as “Very Positive/Positive.”
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For those respondents who had seen the campaign previously, “people in need of treatment for opioid use are often reluctant to seek help because of stigma” saw the largest increase in level of agreement when asked how they felt BEFORE and AFTER they saw the campaign.
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Among those who had seen the campaign, most respondents strongly agreed/agreed that the campaign demonstrated that anyone can be at risk of opioid use disorder.
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81% of those who had seen the campaign responded that they had learned something from this campaign
