California names Duncan Channon lead agency on $40 million opioid education campaign
Agency wins two-year contract to handle creative and media for a statewide campaign about addiction and overdose prevention.
Kass
The campaign will start in two phases. In the first, Duncan Channon will immediately begin media planning and buying for an existing Centers for Disease Control education campaign. It wasn't immediately clear which agency produced that campaign.
In the second, Duncan Channon will start strategizing to develop a new campaign that defines the opioid and fentanyl crisis for Californians, displays the paths that can lead to opioid use and connects to those most at risk—young adults aged 16-39.
In an effort to “meet people where they are,” the agency is giving the campaign a tone of empathy instead of using scare tactics, said Duncan Channon CEO and Partner Andy Berkenfield.
“The last thing we are doing to do is wag a finger at anybody or follow the failed tactics of ‘Just Say No,’ which has never really worked,” Berkenfield said. “The state strongly believes—and we are very much in line with them—that our job is to engage in empathetic conversation and ultimately reduce harm.”
