I want to share a client close-up with you that has the winning elements that most successful promotions do. I have been fortunate to work with the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services’ oral health initiative about seven years now. It is primarily an education campaign. We coordinated a baseline needs assessment when we started and continue to track our progress. It has been interesting to learn about the connection with poor oral health and other health problems, including heart disease. Suffice it to say, I am a much more conscientious flosser now! The funds allocated from the State’s budget for local oral health programs are from Prop 56 Tobacco Tax funds–they really are going where they were promised!
As you can imagine, we focus a great deal on children to establish good habits in their youth to last a lifetime. This past year we adopted an oral health literacy campaign that originated with the American Academy of Pediatricians. Their Brush, Book, Bed campaign encourages families to ensure their children are brushing their teeth every night, spending some time reading books, and keeping to a healthy bed time. We can all follow this routine for better health overall.
In addition to our school education visits, we created bookmarks featuring the campaign in English, Spanish, Khmer, and Tagaolog, distributed books about Potter the Otter going to the dentist, and enlisted the help of numerous partners dedicated to better oral health and healthy children to carry the banner of Brush, Book, Bed. This year, in celebration of National Children’s Dental Health Month in February, we were excited to make available a sing-along song and video we produced with the Long Beach Youth Chorus, and the help of the Harbor Dental Society. Maybe you’ve seen the digital billboard announcing the sing along on the 405 freeway and Lakewood. Click on the image below to sing along to the fun video with the lyrics.
If you work with youth of any age, or are a parent/guardian, you can download the materials from the website:
https://www.longbeach.gov/health/services/directory/oral-health-lb/ Click on the Brush, Book, Bed tab on the site to see all the materials and information available. There’s a bookmark, a habit calendar, and helpful information about maintaining healthy smiles. Please share it all!
Lessons from This Campaign You Can Put Into Action
1. A national celebration is a great time to launch a campaign related to your cause or industry. What is it for you that would be like National Children’s Dental Health Month to anchor your next campaign? Keep the annual event fresh and newsworthy with new avenues that advance the cause.
2. Collaboration makes it easier! Brush, Book, Bed was already a campaign, we just gave it some oomph for our own community. All of our stakeholders helping to promote it amplifies the messaging. We had a children’s chorus right here in town willing to bring the lyrics to life, and the Harbor Dental Society was eager to help us make the song available to patients in waiting rooms throughout the Southland.
3. Jingles get remembered! I have to tell you, while I was putting the video together I drove my husband a little bit bonkers as I repeatedly sang the song. We hope children will take to it as well as the Advisory Committee has. It will be a new question on the next needs assessment, for sure.
Tonight before you get into bed with a good book, do what the song suggests: “Brush your teeth and floss, show your mouth who’s boss …!” Then dream about fun tactics you can put to use to increase your reach and impact.
Leslie A.M. Smith founded McCormick L.A. 30 years ago to provide marketing and public relations services to small businesses and nonprofits. She is the author of Laws of Promotion, a 50-page marketing guidebook for people with little or no marketing experience, available on Amazon in English and Spanish.
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