Videos Bring Quit Stories to Life, Earn National Recognition
Quitting tobacco isn’t a straight line. It’s personal. Sometimes messy. For many, it takes time, support, and more than one try.
We believe in telling stories that reflect the full experience—not just the outcome.
With the Colorado QuitLine Stories campaign, we focused on honesty over perfection. When people see themselves in someone else’s journey, it builds understanding, reduces stigma, and makes change feel possible.
We’re honored that this work earned Best of Show at the Web Marketing Association’s 2026 Internet Advertising Competition, but what matters most is the brave people behind the stories and the impact of their stories
The campaign videos, which won Best Government Online Video Campaign and Best in Show – Online Video Campaign, are available as a supercut on Vimeo, offering a taste of the stories and creative approach.
Turning Developmental Guidance into Daily Moments of Learning
The Challenge
Colorado’s Early Learning and Development Guidelines provide a framework for understanding how children grow and learn from birth through age eight. These guidelines are intended for educators, caregivers, and families to support developmental milestones.
The guidelines are comprehensive but complex, making them difficult to translate into everyday practice. Many caregivers and providers were either unaware of the guidelines or unsure how to apply them. The challenge was simplifying and activating the content so it could be easily understood and used across diverse audiences.
Our Approach
SE2 approached this work through a sustained, multi-year strategy designed to translate Colorado’s Early Learning and Development Guidelines into practical, everyday use for both caregivers and providers.
At the core was an always-on paid media effort that built ongoing awareness and encouraged caregivers to engage with the guidelines over time. This was paired with a user-centered website experience that allowed families to easily explore content tailored to their child’s age, making developmental information feel relevant, timely, and actionable.
To extend impact beyond awareness, SE2 developed toolkits in English and Spanish that equipped providers with resources to better educate and engage parents in early childhood learning. These materials helped bridge the gap between what children need to thrive and how caregivers can support that development at home.
Statewide and niche earned media was used to reach parents and caregivers through parenting sites and news articles.
In parallel, additional resources were created specifically for providers to support the delivery of high-quality early childhood experiences, ensuring the guidelines were not only understood but consistently applied in care settings across Colorado.
The Impact
The Early Learning and Development Guidelines helped establish a shared understanding of child development across Colorado’s early childhood system—aligning providers, educators, and families around common milestones and best practices. By translating research into practical, age-based guidance, the Guidelines supported more consistent, developmentally appropriate care and learning experiences across settings.
Earned media and communications efforts significantly expanded awareness of the Guidelines statewide. Coverage included features on Univision Colorado and Educa Radio, reaching both English- and Spanish-speaking audiences. Social media amplification further extended reach, with key coverage generating over 59,000 impressions, SE2 content adding 15,700+ impressions, and partner shares contributing an additional 19,000+ impressions—driving broad visibility without additional media spend.
The Most Important Moment Is the One We Don’t See
In support line work, we spend a lot of time measuring what happens.
We track call volume. Clicks. Conversions. We look at what drove someone to reach out and what happened after they did. Our systems are designed to capture action because action is what we are trying to drive.
But there is a moment that sits just before all of that, and it is largely invisible to us: The moment when someone almost reaches out but stops short.
Someone sees a number or a button. They pause. They consider. Maybe they hover over a link. Maybe they open a page and read for a few seconds.
Then they stop. They close the tab. They put their phone down.
In data, that moment disappears. It registers as inaction. But from a behavior change perspective, it is one of the most important moments there is.
Every call, every text, every engagement is preceded by a decision. Not a large, deliberate decision, but a small internal negotiation: Should I do this? Is this for me? What happens if I do?
That negotiation happens quickly, often in a matter of seconds. And it is heavily influenced by how the experience feels in that moment.
What is happening in that space is not a lack of motivation. In many cases, motivation is already present. That is why the person got as far as they did.
What stops them is friction
Online marketing efforts have spent billions of dollars to eliminate friction. Amazon’s success is largely rooted in its frictionless experience. Ordering a product through Amazon is always easy – you don’t have to search the web, add a payment method, type your address, or calculate shipping costs. It’s reassuringly comfortable, and a click or two is all that’s required.
Support lines also benefit when friction is reduced.
Some of that friction is practical. The pathway may not be clear. The next step may feel like more effort than they are willing to give in that moment. But much of it is psychological.
Reaching out carries weight. It suggests something about who you are and what you are dealing with. Even if the service is positioned as low-pressure, the act itself can feel like a commitment.
If the experience reinforces that feeling, even subtly, hesitation increases. It happens in small ways:
- Language that implies a process instead of a moment. Phrases like “get started” or “begin your journey” suggest a long commitment.
- Forms that appear before any interaction.
- Unclear next steps that leave people guessing what they are committing to.
- Interfaces that resemble intake systems. Buttons that feel final. A lack of clear exits.
None of these is inherently problematic. But in the moment, especially for someone already stressed, they signal weight. They make the action feel larger than it needs to be.
If the experience reduces that sense of commitment, action becomes more likely.
- Clear, specific expectations about what happens next.
- Language that defines the interaction as contained or limited.
- Visible signals of control, like the ability to leave, pause, or not respond.
Even a simple preview can change the decision.
- “This is what the first message looks like.”
- “This is how most conversations start.”
- “You can stop at any time.”
- “You will not be contacted again unless you opt-in.”
- “We won’t ever share your personal information without your consent.”
These cues do not persuade people to act. These steps make the action they’re already considering feel safe enough to try.
Change does not happen in a straight line
People move forward, then pause. They get close, then pull back. They reconsider. They wait for a moment that feels slightly easier, slightly clearer, slightly safer.
That is not resistance. That is how people make what feel like significant decisions. So what does it mean to design for the moment before action?
It starts with reducing the perceived commitment of the first step. If reaching out feels like a major decision, people will treat it as one. If it feels like a small, easily reversible action, they are more likely to try it.
This is where modalities like text and chat play an important role. They signal flexibility. They allow people to engage without feeling locked into a conversation they cannot control. But the experience around it matters just as much.
People need to understand what will happen when they take that step. What the first message will look like. Who will they be talking to? What is expected of them, and what is not.
When those elements are clear, the moment feels more manageable.
Normalizing hesitation
Most messaging focuses on encouraging people to act. But it is normal to question, to pause, to not be fully ready.
When we design experiences that make space for that reality, we reduce the internal conflict people feel in that moment. We move from a binary decision to a more flexible approach. Not call or do not call, but explore, ask, try, step away, and perhaps return.
From a measurement standpoint, this is uncomfortable territory. The “almost” moment is difficult to quantify. It does not show up cleanly in dashboards. It requires us to infer behavior from incomplete signals. But just because it is hard to measure does not mean it is not real or important. In fact, it may be where the key decisions are made.
Expand the focus
We do not have a motivation problem. We have a hesitation problem. And hesitation does not respond to encouragement. It responds to clarity.
So instead of asking how to get more people to take action, ask:
- Where are we unintentionally making this feel bigger than it is?
- Where are we asking for commitment before trust is established?
- Where are we leaving people to fill in the blanks on their own?
Then start removing. Remove assumptions. Remove ambiguity. Remove signals that this is more than a single, contained step.
Our challenge is not just to drive action. It is to make action feel sufficiently safe.
Connecting Communities to Lifesaving Mental Health Resources
The Challenge
BIPOC communities in Colorado were underutilizing the 988 Mental Health line due to stigma surrounding mental health support. Misperceptions and distrust created barriers to seeking help, leaving many without accessible resources during moments of crisis. The challenge was to change attitudes, build trust, and encourage these communities to view 988 as a safe and supportive option.
Our Approach
To address these challenges, SE2 developed a storytelling-focused campaign featuring testimonials from diverse Coloradans who had personally used 988. Stories were created in both English and Spanish to reach broader audiences. Each narrative combined animated segments to illustrate the backstory of individuals’ experiences with mental health challenges and live interviews capturing their reflections and growth today.
The goal was to help community members see themselves in these stories, normalize seeking help, and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health support. In addition, the campaign highlighted various modalities of support beyond phone calls, including text and chat, to ensure people had multiple ways to access help.
We leveraged our SE2 PowerMap® approach to extend the reach of these stories. This included sharing content through presentations, community meetings, and direct engagement with community and grasstops leaders, ensuring that messaging resonated within the communities it was designed to support.
The Impact
Through storytelling grounded in real experiences, this initiative demonstrated the power of culturally relevant communication in reducing stigma and promoting mental health support in historically underserved communities.
- Shifted perceptions: BIPOC communities began viewing 988 as a trusted and approachable resource for mental health support.
- Created positive impressions: Testimonials helped build more favorable attitudes toward the service, reinforcing its accessibility and effectiveness.
- Encouraged action: By showcasing relatable experiences, the campaign motivated individuals to reach out and seek support when needed.
Building Community Immunity with the Power of Community Norms
The Challenge
Vaccines have been so successful at preventing serious diseases like polio and measles that many Americans may forget what a game-changer immunization has been. This breeds complacency or even skepticism (fueled by misinformation about the potential risks of vaccines, as opposed to the risks of the diseases they prevent). Social media algorithms and polarizing media headlines may create an exaggerated perception of skepticism, undermining broad confidence.
Our Approach
For several consecutive years, SE2 worked with the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment to promote vaccines broadly across Colorado. We managed research-based and community-informed campaigns to encourage vaccination. We focused on both mass media and outreach/engagement using our SE2 PowerMap® framework. This approach included:
- Culturally Responsive Messaging: Tailoring communication to resonate with diverse populations and frankly addressing concerns rooted in racist health care legacies.
- Trusted Messengers: Co-creating messages and strategies with community leaders, local organizations, and health care professionals who provide credible information built on trust.
- Science-Based Information: Helping everyone navigate vaccine decisions for themselves and loved ones through clear, transparent messaging.
Sustained Engagement: Supporting annual respiratory season and routine childhood vaccine awareness year after year to build on progress and prevent erosion of trust, even when facing headwinds. - Positive Community Norms: Demonstrating that routine childhood vaccines are embraced by a large majority of families, giving others confidence that they’re in good company when they vaccinate.
SE2’s engagement on this issue included promotion of the first COVID-19 vaccines, a campaign that was launched as quickly as the vaccines become available. It featured health care providers of color addressing their motivations for getting vaccinated.
SE2 has also worked with health, community, and philanthropic organizations to fill the gaps in vaccine promotion caused by drastic cuts in federal funding and confusing messages from federal health leaders.
The Impact
Our most recent vaccination campaigns garnered over 100 million ad impressions, drove over 300,000 visitors to campaign websites, and surpassed industry benchmarks across all platforms.
These efforts contributed one remarkable achievement: The state achieved the nation’s highest RSV vaccination rate among those 60 and older. Following the direct mailer to 72,026 families, 9,868 (or 13.7%) kindergarten-aged children had become up to date on their MMR vaccine.
In just five weeks the “Missing” campaign:
- Generated over 4.9 million impressions and 149,000 clicks
- Drove nearly 2,000 people to act—visiting pages with theft prevention tips or victim resources
- TikTok extended reach to younger audiences, with over 1.3 million views of campaign videos and over 90% view-through rate
The emotional storytelling, combined with clear prevention steps, helped Coloradans connect the dots between how they feel about their cars—and how they act to protect them.
Turning “Missing” Posters into a Movement Against Auto Theft
The Challenge
In Colorado, car theft isn’t just a crime statistic—it’s a disruption to people’s lives, routines, and sense of safety. In 2023 alone, more than 30,000 vehicles were reported stolen statewide, putting Colorado among the highest per-capita auto theft rates in the country. Yet many Coloradans still don’t take simple actions that could prevent it.
CATPA (Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority), an effort of the Colorado Department of Public Safety, needed a campaign that could break through the noise, shift mindsets, and drive everyday behaviors like locking up, hiding valuables, and parking smart.
Our Approach
We leaned into emotion to spark action —and grounded it in data.
Before developing creative, we conducted robust statewide polling to understand how Coloradans perceive the risk of auto theft and what behaviors they were (or weren’t) taking to prevent it. The research revealed distinct audience segments with varying levels of awareness, perceived vulnerability, and motivation to act.
These findings became the foundation of the campaign strategy.
We created audience personas that reflected real-world attitudes and behaviors—then tailored messaging to address each group’s specific barriers and misperceptions. Some needed a wake-up call about risk. Others needed to know prevention was simple and worth doing.
The Impact
The campaign didn’t just make an impression—it changed behavior.
By tapping into emotion and pairing it with clear, doable actions, the “Missing” campaign motivated thousands of Coloradans to take steps to protect their vehicles.
In just five weeks the “Missing” campaign:
- Generated over 4.9 million impressions and 149,000 clicks
- Drove nearly 2,000 people to act—visiting pages with theft prevention tips or victim resources
- TikTok extended reach to younger audiences, with over 1.3 million views of campaign videos and over 90% view-through rate
The emotional storytelling, combined with clear prevention steps, helped Coloradans connect the dots between how they feel about their cars—and how they act to protect them.
Translating Health Jargon Makes Coverage More Accessible
The Challenge
Health insurance is notoriously complex, filled with industry jargon and dense explanations. Many people struggle to understand their options, which can lead to confusion, missed benefits, or even going without necessary coverage.
Collaborating with the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies’ Division of Insurance, we created a series of explainer videos in English and Spanish that simplify numerous state health benefit programs, making them more accessible and user-friendly.
Our Approach
We knew that clarity was key. To ensure our videos resonated, we took a strategic approach to language, stripping away complicated terms and replacing them with everyday words. We focused on real-world scenarios to illustrate key concepts, helping people see how coverage decisions impact their lives.
Visual storytelling played a crucial role, with engaging animations and clear step-by-step breakdowns that guide viewers through essential information.
The Impact
By simplifying language and presenting information in a digestible format, our explainer videos are empowering individuals to make more informed health care choices. Viewers reported feeling more confident in understanding their options and taking the next steps in their coverage decisions.
The team at the Division of Insurance reports that the video series has been wildly popular and very useful in helping educate Coloradans about available health insurance options.
The Division’s Assistant Commissioner for Communications and Outreach says: “Working with SE2 was a fantastic experience. The team knows video making. And not just the technical components of putting it together, but they understand the importance of working with the client to grasp the key messages and develop those into easy-to-understand images and words (both text and audio). The team is willing to take the time to work through drafts, edits and reviews to get things right. And, in the end, matching their understanding of communicating with their technical knowledge produces a beautiful result.”
Turning Trusted Voices into Lifesaving Connections
The Challenge
Mental health services remain underutilized in many communities due to barriers such as stigma, lack of awareness, language access, and mistrust in traditional health systems. Historically, communities of color, rural populations, and other groups have faced unique obstacles in accessing crisis support.
To ensure all Coloradans knew about and trusted the new 988 Mental Health Line, Colorado’s Behavioral Health Administration needed a strategic approach tailored to the needs of diverse communities.
Our Approach
Rather than relying solely on traditional public awareness channels, we worked closely with trusted messengers—community leaders, local organizations, and grassroots advocates—to share information about 988 in ways that resonated with their communities.
This strategy helped address key barriers by:
- Reducing Stigma: Encouraging open conversations about mental health within communities where seeking help might be seen as a sign of weakness.
- Building Trust: Leveraging the credibility of local leaders and organizations to deliver information in culturally relevant ways.
- Improving Accessibility: Providing multilingual materials and outreach efforts to ensure that language was not a barrier to accessing 988.
- Clarifying Misconceptions: Addressing fears about law enforcement involvement and emphasizing the confidential and supportive nature of the service.
Using our SE2 PowerMap™ approach, we engaged 43 partners across the state to raise awareness of 988 through digital media and over 172 local events.
The Impact
By meeting people where they are and using voices they trust, the campaign has successfully expanded access to mental health support, particularly among communities that have historically underutilized these services.
Through our statewide network we had meaningful conversations with over 32,000 Coloradans and reached another 70,000 individuals through online platforms, leading to significant, positive changes in awareness and perceptions about 988.
The strategy was so effective that SE2 has been engaged to continue and expand this work in 2025 and beyond.
Building Youth Connection to Prevent Opioid Misuse
The Challenge
In Colorado, the rise of fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills poses a significant threat to public health, especially among teenagers. Even though most Colorado teens are not misusing prescription pills, misconceptions persist, and the danger of accidental exposure remains high.
Addressing these issues requires a strategy that not only educates but also leverages the positive behaviors and intentions already present among youth.
Our Approach
The Colorado Department of Law’s Opioid Response Unit engaged SE2 to develop and launch the Connect Effect campaign to harness the protective power of peer and lore ipsum delore est adult connections and highlight positive social norms.
The campaign emphasizes that a vast majority of Colorado teens are making healthy choices and are willing to protect their friends from potential dangers. Key components of the approach include:
- Highlighting Positive Statistics: Promoting data that shows 87% of Colorado teens would intervene to stop a friend from taking a pill not prescribed to them, reinforcing that these protective behaviors are the norm.
- Educational Resources: Providing accessible information about the risks of fentanyl, recognizing signs of an overdose, and the life-saving potential of naloxone (known by the brand name Narcan).
- Facilitating Open Dialogue: Offering guidance for parents and other trusted adults on how to engage in meaningful conversations with teens about substance misuse and peer pressure.
- Multilingual Support: Ensuring parent resources are available in both English and Spanish to reach a broad audience.
A statewide paid media campaign used social, digital, and targeted out-of-home placements in schools and community centers. Using our SE2 PowerMap™ process, we engaged our network of community partners to disseminate campaign messages (e.g., inserting Connect Effect content into their newsletters and social media channels), hanging materials throughout their facilities, and speaking about the campaign in presentations and trainings.
The Impact
Since its inception, the Connect Effect campaign has made significant strides in reshaping perceptions and behaviors:
- Increased Awareness and Engagement: Teens and parents report a heightened understanding of the dangers associated with counterfeit pills and the prevalence of fentanyl. Third-party evaluation showed that in just 12 weeks, nearly three out of five Colorado teens were aware of the campaign. Additionally, the campaign strongly resonated with key audiences, achieving a click-through rate six times higher than industry benchmarks.
- Strengthened Community Bonds: The campaign has fostered stronger connections between youth, their peers, and adults, creating a supportive network that encourages healthy decision making. In addition to activating our network of statewide
- partners, six regions adopted and amplified the campaign in communities across the state.
By equipping individuals with knowledge and resources, the campaign has empowered Coloradans to act confidently in preventing potential overdoses and supporting their communities.
Bringing Free Nutritious School Meals to All Students
The Challenge
In 2022, Colorado voters approved the statewide Healthy School Meals for All ballot issue. The measure was designed to ensure that all public-school students have access to no-cost nutritious meals during the school day, regardless of their family’s income.
By making the meals available to all students, not just those whose family incomes qualify them for free or reduced-price breakfast and lunch, the measure reduces stigma while creating community around mealtime at school.
While enacting this measure was a huge step, the challenge remained to expand awareness of this new option and reintroduce today’s healthy school meals to parents who may have memories of the less tasty and nutritious options (mystery meat anyone?).
Our Approach
The Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger chose SE2 to design and implement an educational and engagement campaign to enhance awareness of the new program and encourage broad family participation.
The bilingual, culturally relevant paid media included compelling digital and broadcast TV ads that reached across the state.
We also administered a community engagement program, providing support to 40 local grantees for their outreach initiatives in the communities they knew best.
During the 2023-2024 school year, every eligible school district in Colorado opted into the program. Breakfast and lunch meal participation was up 37% and 30% respectively statewide compared to prior years, and approximately 184,000 breakfasts and 435,000 lunches were served daily August 2023 through February 2024.
Participation in the new program was so strong that a new challenge emerged: ensuring that families still completed the eligibility forms that school districts use to leverage federal funds and qualify families for other benefits.
The grantees pivoted to highlight the importance of these forms and to help families complete them. This aligned with SE2’s related engagement with the Colorado Department of Education to help districts streamline and promote completing the forms.
The Impact
Paid media efforts reached Coloradans online and on broadcast TV and streaming services in English and Spanish. Thanks to the outreach, GoodFoodFuelsGreatMinds.org, which offered information on the program, attracted 206,000 unique visitors for a total of 270,000 web sessions. A quarter of the traffic went to the Spanish-language version of the site.
The grantees hosted over 250 events reaching more than 100,000 families.
One grantee reported: “I had families coming up to me on a daily basis expressing how much relief this provided for their families how those extra five dollars a day (not) spent on meal costs, gave them that much more breathing room for meeting their day-to-day budgets; how that extra little bit of time spent not packing lunch made a world of difference; how being ‘just like everybody else’ and not having to wait for the free and reduced line helped kids feel included.”
Changing Adult Mindsets to Change Youth Outcomes
The Challenge
Social norming campaigns, particularly those aimed at youth, are increasingly recognized as evidence-based preventive interventions proven to positively influence behavior change. These campaigns leverage positive peer influence by highlighting healthy, common attitudes and behaviors within a community to shift perceptions and encourage healthier choices.
Despite their effectiveness, many health professionals and community leaders struggle to fully grasp the concept of social norming and how it can support youth behavior change. In a society that typically fixates on the bad news, it’s counterintuitive to focus on those who are making healthy choices. Yet many, and often the majority, of youth share positive and healthy attitudes and choose safe and health-promoting behaviors. A social norming approach uncovers the true positive that exists within a group of youth and celebrates the true positive norms of the group by sharing that information via multi-media campaigns.
Misunderstandings or confusion about the approach can create barriers to successful implementation, especially in schools and youth-focused programs, where clear communication and strategy are essential for driving impactful results.
ADAPT (A Division for Advancing Prevention and Treatment) is a national training and technical assistance division affiliated with the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s National HIDTA Program. Its focus is to promote healthy behaviors and prevent onset or escalation of substance use in youth. ADAPT supports communities across the nation to implement prevention strategies that will meet unique local needs and are grounded in the best available evidence.
The organization often collaborates with schools, community groups, law enforcement, and healthcare providers to guide them in selecting and implementing effective preventive interventions that promote healthy youth development and prevent substance use and other problems. Since 2023, ADAPT has engaged 10 middle schools across the nation interested in implementing a social norms media campaign on their campus.
ADAPT engaged SE2 to develop resources to help demystify social norming campaigns and encourage public health and school leaders to explore this strategy and apply it effectively to improve youth health outcomes.
Our Approach
We developed an engaging explainer video as a key element to support ADAPT in its outreach efforts to schools and other community partners. This video clearly articulated the concept of social norming and how school staff, parents/caregivers, and others involved could support the campaign effort. When the campaign was complete, SE2 interviewed students and staff to share their experiences and report on the positive outcomes of the campaign.
Video is an effective medium for unpacking complex concepts, as it combines visual elements with concise messaging to create a clear and compelling narrative. This approach caters to the busy schedules of professionals who seek high-level education but have limited time to dedicate to in-depth training sessions or written materials.
The explainer video humanizes and distills the essence of social norming strategies. By using animations, scenarios, and expert insights, the video captures attention and simplifies otherwise hard-to-grasp ideas, making them accessible and understandable. This format not only fosters engagement but also allows professionals to grasp the critical aspects of social norming quickly and easily.
The Impact
The videos serve as a versatile resource that is being shared across various platforms, facilitating broader dissemination of knowledge and encouraging discussions within professional networks. By providing a succinct overview of social norming strategies, it empowers professionals to implement these evidence-based practices in their own programs and initiatives, ultimately contributing to healthier outcomes for youth in their communities. The ADAPT team reports that this is a highly effective resource to set the stage for the training and technical assistance they provide to communities across the country. It was also featured in ADAPT’s annual summit, which is attended by over 1,000 public health, law and drug enforcement, and other community leaders across the country.
Resetting Youth Perceptions to Prevent Substance Use
The Challenge
Many young people mistakenly believe that their peers engage in risky substance use behaviors more frequently than they actually do. This misperception creates pressure to conform to these imagined norms, which can influence their own choices and behaviors. Addressing these incorrect perceptions is essential for developing prevention strategies that resonate with youth. This strategy is called Positive Social Norming.
Positive Social Norming campaigns leverage positive peer influence by showcasing common, healthy attitudes and behaviors within a community. By shifting perceptions, these campaigns encourage healthier choices among youth.
ADAPT (A Division for Advancing Prevention and Treatment), a national division affiliated with the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s National HIDTA Program, is a national leader on Positive Social Norming. Focused on promoting healthy behaviors and preventing substance use escalation among youth, ADAPT supports communities across the nation in implementing evidence-based prevention strategies tailored to local needs.
ADAPT partnered with SE2 to create a social norming campaign aimed at educating middle school students in four states and 10 schools nationwide.
Our Approach
To engage youth and sustain their interest, we developed a series of micro-campaigns that highlighted each school’s unique social norms around healthy behaviors. These micro-campaigns rotated every few weeks to capture students’ attention, prevent message fatigue, and encourage students to think critically about health norms within their peer groups.
SE2 also created a toolkit for each micro-campaign, providing materials such as large posters and floor decals for school hallways, stickers and buttons for teachers and staff, and table tents for cafeterias and lunchrooms.
ADAPT provided technical assistance to each school to help them implement the campaigns.
The Impact
Evaluation of the campaign shows that this approach works. 54 of the 60 measured metrics moved in the desired direction, with 70% of them being statistically significant, including:
- Misperceptions of peer substance use reduced by more than one-third.
- Rates of substance use dropped across all substances.
- Substance use was lowest among students with high exposure to campaign messages.
Simplifying Medicaid So Kids Get the Care They Need
The Challenge
Many families are unaware of the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) benefit available to Medicaid-eligible children, which expands access to vital health services that children need for their well-being. This includes routine well-child checkups, immunizations, vision and hearing screenings, dental care, mental health evaluations, developmental assessments, speech therapy, physical therapy, or corrective devices like eyeglasses and hearing aids.
Navigating the complexities of this benefit can be confusing, making it hard for families to take full advantage of the support available.
The Department of Healthcare Policy and Financing, the state agency that manages Colorado’s Medicaid program, approached SE2 to simplify and demystify this benefit, ensuring more children receive the care they need.
Our Approach
We conducted listening sessions to understand the challenges parents and caregivers face in understanding the EPSDT benefit. We also spoke with health providers and community partners about their difficulties in communicating the benefit to the target population. From these insights, we developed key messages using plain language to explain what the benefit covers and how to access it.
Next, we created a communications plan focused on deep community engagement and outreach. Given the skepticism many target audiences have toward government-sponsored health services, we prioritized collaborating with trusted community messengers to break down these barriers and make the messaging more effective.
We then developed a comprehensive toolkit designed to reach parents, caregivers, and professionals who work with eligible children, such as child welfare workers. The toolkit included explainer videos, posters, flyers, FAQs, desk guides, and other resources to help professionals talk to caregivers about the benefit.
SE2 printed and distributed toolkits to a network of 65 regional child welfare agencies, 67 community-based organizations, and 200 healthcare providers.
We also disseminated toolkit materials to daycare centers, family practices, and pediatric clinics, prioritizing rural and lower-income zip codes not already reached with the toolkit.
The Impact
These materials ran for a total of three months, garnering nearly 14 million views.
The Department of Healthcare Policy and Financing also reported a significant increase in inquires from youth health and child welfare professionals, as well as parents and caregivers.
Driving a Surge in Medication Recycling to Prevent Opioid Misuse
The Challenge
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Medication Takeback Program has emerged as a vital part of a comprehensive strategy to curb the opioid crisis and protect youth from the risks of drug experimentation.
The Medication Takeback Program is just one of the many opioid prevention initiatives across Colorado that we support. They’re each important pieces of the state’s comprehensive strategy this life-and-death issue demands.
Understanding the Opioid Crisis
Opioids, recklessly marketed by unscrupulous pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors, have caused a wave of addiction and overdose deaths.
Often, the path to opioid addiction begins with curiosity and experimentation, including among the youth. In fact, our recent research for the Colorado Attorney General’s youth opioid prevention campaign showed that most kids who experiment with pills started by trying pills they found at home in their family’s medicine cabinets. The consequences can be devastating and long-lasting, making it essential to prevent such experimentation from happening in the first place.
The Power of Medication Takeback
CDPHE engaged SE2 to increase use of Medication Takeback boxes across the state.
We started with statewide polling to gauge awareness of the program. While few knew about it, those informed were eager to take part, especially if a collection site was within a 10-minute drive. We targeted households with teenagers using community data to find the most engaged areas.
Our research showed that messages about preventing teen medication misuse and environmental protection resonated more than previous campaigns focused on pet safety. We implemented a multifaceted media strategy, including billboards, bus ads, and social media, customized with nearby takeback locations. We also collaborated with ten diverse community partners to enhance awareness.
Outcome
This comprehensive, research-driven strategy drove significant engagement and participation in the Medication Takeback Program.
Our 10 community partners reached nearly a quarter-million Coloradans through social reach and event attendance.
More importantly, the client reported significant year-over-year collection increases during the life of the campaign. During the campaign period (Oct. 2023-June 2024) there was an average year-over-year increase in collections of 6.38%.
Helping Keep Infants Safe While They Sleep
The Challenge
The Colorado Department of Early Childhood engaged SE2 to develop a campaign to increase understanding of the safest way for infants under one year to sleep, and encourage families to incorporate safe sleep practices into their babies’ bedtime routine. The guidelines are based on safe sleep best practices established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
While based on scientific research, these safe sleep best practices raise cultural sensitivities. Many families, including but not limited to some from Latino and immigrant communities, choose to co-sleep with infants to soothe the child and help parents get much-needed rest. The practice is often passed along through cultural traditions and important influencers in parents’ lives such as grandmothers.
Additionally, it’s difficult for families with limited income to comfortably heat their homes and purchase infant-specific beds and bedding. That’s a challenge because the safe sleep guidelines recommend against blankets or other soft bedding.
The State of Colorado wanted to develop a campaign that was culturally sensitive and recognized the realities families face, but also reflected best practices for keeping infants safe while sleeping.
Our Approach
SE2 facilitated a discussion group of professionals who work with parents of young children, including doulas, midwives and nurses. We also conducted a statewide survey of 400 Colorado parents of children under two.
We wanted to understand what families think and believe about safe sleep practices and what messages might compel them to adopt safe sleep practices. The discussion group emphasized the
importance of kind, nurturing and compassionate messages to reinforce what providers say is safe for their children. A key: recognizing that parents are doing what they think is best for their family and respecting their values and motivations.
The survey showed that parents generally understand the need for a safe sleeping environment but start to disagree when asked about specific safe sleep practices such as having infants sleep on their back and alone in a crib without toys or blankets.
SE2 developed a culturally sensitive and approachable campaign featuring the most accessible and comforting of all mediums: a bedtime story. We brought it to life in video, digital and printable flyer formats. The campaign took a warm, encouraging approach, steering clear of anything that came close to lecturing or finger-wagging.
SE2 executed a $75,000 paid media campaign to reach parents of young children, including Spanish-speaking, lower-income, rural and immigrant families. Digital platforms included Google Search, Facebook, YouTube and display ads.
We also worked with the Infant Safe Sleep Partnership to distribute digital and printable materials around the state.
The Impact
In just 4.5 months, the campaign accumulated over 25 million impressions, 56,000 clicks and an average .22% click-through rate.
The campaign outperformed industry benchmarks by two and three times the standard metrics, and Facebook and Search were the top drivers of clicks and engagement. The largest demographic to engage with the Facebook ads (English and Spanish) were females, aged 25-34, and more than 90% of interactions came from mobile ads.
The largest audience to engage with the Safe Sleep YouTube ads (English and Spanish) were males ages 18-24 (Spanish) and 25-34 (English). Because of this, the next iteration of the campaign could benefit from ads targeted at the 18-24 population on platforms like TikTok and Snapchat.
Based on the performance data and the newly refreshed creative (produced in August of 2023 to incorporate grandparent and father caretakers), we’re well-positioned to continue the momentum with future media campaigns.
Emmy-Worthy Impact: State of Colorado’s Stories of Connection Campaign Earns Heartland Emmy®
The Challenge
Research shows that connection is an important factor in protecting youth from numerous health challenges, including poor mental health and negative behaviors related to substance use, sexual health, and violence.
According to the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey conducted by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), youth who have a parent, guardian or other trusted adult they can talk with are less likely to use marijuana, vape or experience feelings of depression.
That impact makes it especially rewarding that the Stories of Connection campaign we created in partnership with CDPHE won a Heartland Emmy® Award.
The winning ad, called “Christine”, introduces us to a mother in Fort Collins, Colorado, who opens her heart to her transgender daughter, Sahara. Through Christine’s emotional journey of acceptance and understanding, viewers gain valuable insights into navigating the complexities of parental relationships with changing children. Her heartfelt advice serves as a beacon of support for other parents facing similar experiences.
Our Approach
It’s part of the State of Colorado’s Forward Together initiative, which provides actionable information and resources to help adults better connect with youth and to help teens develop healthy relationships with their peers.
This Heartland Emmy® is a testament to the campaign’s collaborative approach and dedication to amplifying Coloradans’ important stories about fostering connections with young people in their lives.
Our team believes the most powerful stories are those shared by the people who have lived them. So, we partnered with parents, mentors, educators, and other trusted adults who have played pivotal roles in the lives of young people. Through in-depth interviews and open-ended discussions, we discovered the beautiful intricacies of these relationships and the transformative impact they have on the lives of youth in Colorado.
To ensure these stories were brought to life with care and creativity, we teamed up with our exceptional video production partner, Lumenati. Lumenati’s expertise in video storytelling captured the raw emotion and authenticity of each story.
The Impact
The result? A collection of powerful and emotionally resonant TV spots that tugged at the heartstrings of audiences.
The Heartland Emmy® Award wouldn’t have been possible without the passion and dedication of everyone who contributed to this campaign. We are immensely grateful to the Coloradans who bravely shared their stories and trusted us to amplify their voices.
We believe that stories have the power to connect us all, and it’s our privilege to be part of the journey toward a more connected and empathetic world.
We extend our deepest gratitude to CDPHE for entrusting us with this important campaign, and to Lumenati for their exceptional collaboration. Together, we are making a difference in the lives of many young people, and this Heartland Emmy® serves as a symbol of the positive change that can be achieved through the power of storytelling.
Watch the other Forward Together campaign ads here and explore the campaign at ForwardTogetherCO.com.
How Tapping Youth Voices Helps Dispel Stigma and Support Sexual Health
The Challenge
Younger generations have done a great job of reducing shame to help us grow. A great example is the confidence they have when talking about mental health.
As we know, this has led to a major shift in what we consider “being healthy.” Many companies, schools and public health departments have expanded resources to ensure mental health is attainable.
But what about sexual health? That question still has a lot of stigma, especially when it comes to HIV.
So how do we create change? By talking about it and reframing the conversation, too. Teaching abstinence doesn’t get us far, and young individuals have the right to learn how they can enjoy their sexual health and how to prevent or treat HIV or any STI.
We need to ensure sexual health information reaches them.
Partnering with young people to create content and resources is the best way to understand their real worries or questions. This helped us come up with a strategy to support them through the Be You Colorado Campaign.
The Result
The Children’s Hospital Immunodeficiency Program’s Youth Leadership Team provided us with insights and highlighted concerns that guided our work to ensure these messages connected with our audience.
Reaching Spanish–speaking individuals was important to us as we understand there are cultural differences in how we view our sexual health. We successfully reached over 100,000 young people in Colorado and had 4,500 people go to the website to learn more about their sexual health goals with Be You Colorado.
Rise Above Colorado asks what's Denver's plan for fentanyl
Imagine if an airliner dropped from the sky. It would dominate the news. Yet far more people died from fentanyl in Denver just last year than would fit in a typical passenger jet.
In fact, many more people died in Denver last year from fentanyl than from both traffic accidents and homicides combined.
In all, 233 lives were lost last year from fentanyl, according to the Denver Medical Examiner. That’s roughly the same as fentanyl’s 2021 death toll.
We need to treat this overdose epidemic as the public health crisis it has become.
The statistics tell only part of the story.
Each one of these deaths is a unique human tragedy. Each person leaves behind loved ones. Their pain may last for generations.
That’s why the Rise Above Colorado educational campaign uses broken hearts to symbolize each of the lives lost.
The stark and thought-provoking imagery asks: What Is Denver’s Plan?
Rise Above Colorado asked the 17 candidates running for Denver mayor about their plans and 10 have responded so far to four specific questions. Their answers are provided through a convenient candidate comparison tool at WhatIsOurPlan.org.
The website also provides information for parents, educators and everyone else about how to limit fentanyl’s toll. The resources were curated with help from Rise Above Colorado’s partners on the project, the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and 5280 High School. Boys and Girls Clubs of Colorado also is partnering on the campaign.
“Fentanyl has created a public health epidemic that directly or indirectly impacts everyone in the community,” said Kent MacLennan, executive director of Rise Above Colorado. “Our goal is to give practical information that anyone can use to make a positive impact. By asking ‘What Is Our Plan?’, we want to prompt everyone to think about their role.”
The educational campaign, which uses outdoor and digital ads to reach Denver residents, will continue through June.
SE2 is grateful for the opportunity collaborate with trusted community partners on this life-and-death issue. We all have a role to play.
So, what is our plan?
Lead Testing Surges 25% as Parents Respond to Simple One-Minute Ask
The Challenge
Colorado parents have been overwhelmed with things to worry about when it comes to their child’s health over the past few years. New threats and unknowns have raised the stakes high enough that issues like lead exposure can seem like yesterday’s problem.
However, Coloradans are still affected by lead exposure – especially young children and folks exposed regularly through their home or work environments. Lead-contaminated dust can be tracked into homes from industrial or construction sites, and lead can be found in household items like spices, pottery, home remedies, and paint. Lead exposure can lead to significant health problems and is especially harmful for young children who are still growing.
Our Approach
SE2 collaborated with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to protect Coloradans with a campaign that highlights the impacts of exposure to lead and encourages parents to get their children tested.
To best connect with parents, we centered our messaging and materials around reducing real-world barriers to getting tested for lead exposure.
Keeping testing top-of-mind at routine doctors’ appointments and other health checkups is key – for both parents and health care providers. We placed campaign media in healthcare office waiting rooms, geotargeted digital display ads in communities with higher rates of lead exposure and activated community partners to share campaign toolkit materials through their newsletters, social channels, and websites.
We also developed materials to help professionals easily double-check whether their patients should be tested for lead, as well as a broader toolkit with a range of materials designed to spread awareness about exposure and testing.
These advertisements take parents to a page (LeadFreeKidsCO.org) where they can learn more about lead exposure, testing, and other resources to protect their families. See more of the creative materials below.
The Impact
In the quarter following the campaign, CDPHE observed an almost 13% increase in the number of routine childhood lead tests in targeted communities across the state — corresponding to approximately 20,000 more children tested for lead exposure.
Knowing Your Why Can Increase Your Success When Quitting Tobacco
People who quit tobacco know it can be a difficult process. Often, it takes multiple attempts before someone can quit for good.
I have been exposed to secondhand smoke from family members and close friends. I knew early on that I wanted to support those close to me in their quit journeys.
Over the years, I have watched those close to me repeatedly try to quit tobacco with various approaches (e.g., cold turkey, nicotine replacement therapy, support from their local Quitline, etc.). For some, those approaches worked immediately. For others, it was a long, winding road. There are a lot of reasons why it takes multiple attempts.
The Colorado Department of Law’s Opioid Response Unit engaged SE2 to develop and launch the Connect Effect campaign to harness the protective power of peer and lore ipsum delore est adult connections and highlight positive social norms.
The campaign emphasizes that a vast majority of Colorado teens are making healthy choices and are willing to protect their friends from potential dangers. Key components of the approach include:
- Highlighting Positive Statistics: Promoting data that shows 87% of Colorado teens would intervene to stop a friend from taking a pill not prescribed to them, reinforcing that these protective behaviors are the norm.
- Educational Resources: Providing accessible information about the risks of fentanyl, recognizing signs of an overdose, and the life-saving potential of naloxone (known by the brand name Narcan).
- Facilitating Open Dialogue: Offering guidance for parents and other trusted adults on how to engage in meaningful conversations with teens about substance misuse and peer pressure.
- Multilingual Support: Ensuring parent resources are available in both English and Spanish to reach a broad audience.
A statewide paid media campaign used social, digital, and targeted out-of-home placements in schools and community centers. Using our SE2 PowerMap™ process, we engaged our network of community partners to disseminate campaign messages (e.g., inserting Connect Effect content into their newsletters and social media channels), hanging materials throughout their facilities, and speaking about the campaign in presentations and trainings.
Resources To Help You or a Loved One Quit
Quitting tobacco is a process. Whether you are thinking about quitting, are not yet ready to quit or you’re ready to try again, Colorado QuitLine can help you every step of the way. Find out how the Colorado QuitLine (in Spanish at https://dejeloyacolorado.org) can support you on your quit journey.
TobaccoFreeCO.org (in Spanish at www.coloradosintabaco.org) has tools and resources. Learn more about how to quit tobacco for good here.
For those supporting a loved one on their quit journey, know that those quitting tobacco are more likely to succeed when they have support. Find ways you can support your loved ones quit tobacco here.
PSAs Inspire Parents, Coaches to Prevent Abuse and Support the Well-being of Athletes of All Ages
The Challenge
The U.S. Center for SafeSport is raising awareness and providing tools for parents and coaches to identify and prevent emotional, physical, and sexual abuse in sports through powerful public service announcements.
The Center’s public awareness campaign highlights the important role parents and coaches play in helping to ensure young athletes are safe. The campaign highlights educational resources for parents, coaches, and other adults.
SE2 produced the provocative campaign with Image Brew.
The ads say: “Together we can end abuse in sport.” They urge adults to “Learn to ask the right questions” at EndAbuseInSport.org. There visitors will find online training resources to help coaches and parents serve as watchdogs for the safety of athletes while supporting a culture in which athletes are safe, supported, and strengthened through sports. The campaign provides practical tips like promoting open communication, observing how kids interact at practice, and monitoring their social media activity.
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, the U.S. Center for SafeSport is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) responsible for responding to and preventing emotional, physical, and sexual misconduct and abuse in the U. S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement. The Center’s mission is to make athlete well-being the centerpiece of our nation’s sports culture through abuse prevention, education, and accountability. The Center also serves as an educational resource for sports organizations at all levels, from grassroots amateur sports organizations to professional leagues. For more information, please visit USCenterForSafeSport.org.
Bringing Opportunity Closer: A Statewide Push for Skills and Employment
The Challenge
A skilled workforce is a key to a strong economy. Yet, as the research shows, the lack of qualified talent in Colorado is inhibiting business growth.
The pandemic has further exacerbated our state’s workforce challenges for low-wage, low-skill, or early-career workers and highlighted workers’ desire for more stable (and rewarding) careers.
Creating a stronger workforce that is more gainfully employed and prepared to take on the jobs of tomorrow will require significant investment in upskilling, reskilling, and next-skilling our workforce.
The Colorado Recovery Plan, passed in March 2021, is about to make that happen through a once-in-a-generation investment in Colorado’s workforce.
Our Approach
With the assistance of SE2 and our project partners Lumenati and Generator Media, the Colorado Workforce Development Council (CWDC) and state agency partners have launched a new initiative – called Ready to Rise – that builds on the CWDC’s ongoing efforts to develop our workforce to speed our recovery and rebuild a more just and resilient Colorado.
Ready to Rise highlights the unprecedented once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for job seekers, workers and students to complete the skills-building, training and education needed for today’s in-demand careers and prepare themselves to be competitive for the jobs of tomorrow.
To connect Coloradans, especially those most significantly impacted by the pandemic, with these resources as quickly as possible, the campaign was developed at breakneck speed (just under four weeks) and launched on September 1. The campaign will continue to run into the first quarter of 2022.
The advertising will drive Coloradans to a campaign landing page (ReadyToRiseCO.org) where they can explore career paths and get connected to education and training programs and other supplemental resources to help them advance their careers.
The Impact
The Ready to Rise campaign includes an integrated and mass media approach that provides for TV and terrestrial radio placements (generously sponsored by the Colorado Broadcasters Association), streaming radio, digital out of home boards, convenience store and laundromat advertising, digital display, paid search, and gas station advertising. The campaign will reach communities statewide but targets those populations and communities that the pandemic has hardest hit.
The campaign will run in both English and Spanish and will be amplified by CWDC members such as the Colorado Departments of Higher Education, Human Services, Labor and Employment; the Colorado Offices of Adult Education and Economic Development and International Trade; the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative; Serve Colorado; and the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, through a campaign toolkit.
New COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign Educates Coloradans about Vaccine Safety and Effectiveness
The Challenge
SE2 and our long-time partners Inline Media, Lumenati, and Kupersmit Research are honored to support the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE) to educate Coloradans about the COVID-19 vaccines.
A new statewide campaign is empowering Coloradans with the facts so that they can make an informed choice when it’s their turn to get vaccinated.
The far-reaching campaign puts an emphasis on communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
The new COVID-19 vaccine education campaign explains why the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and urges Coloradans to get the facts now so they’re ready when it is their turn.
Trusted messengers – including doctors and nurses of color and rural health workers – volunteered to serve as spokespeople in the TV spots and other materials.
The new Get the COVID-19 Vaccine Facts campaign, which will run through the end of March, uses various media to reach all Coloradans – including TV and digital advertising, community engagement, media outreach, and social media via influencers.
To amplify the campaign in local communities, a toolkit of campaign resources is available for local public health agencies and other community partners. Materials are available English and Spanish. If your organization is interested in promoting the campaign, a toolkit of resources can be accessed here.
It’s an honor to play a small part of the Herculean effort to combat this hopefully once-in-a-century pandemic. We thank all public health and health care workers for their relentless efforts to save lives.
To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccines, visit COCovidVaccine.org (English) and VacunaCovidCO.org (Spanish).
Changing What’s ‘Normal’: A Presentation on Youth Prevention at the Washington State Public Health Association Conference
When young people lead the message, their peers listen. Social norming campaigns that highlight healthy teen choices don’t just correct misperceptions — they help build connection, confidence, and stronger communities.
At this year’s Washington State Public Health Association Annual Conference, SE2 Principal Brandon Zelasko joined Safe Yakima Valley and youth advisor Ryder to explore how youth-led social norming campaigns are helping reshape perceptions around substance use and inspire lasting behavior change.
Through authentic youth voices and positive storytelling, these campaigns make the real norm visible — showing that most young people are already making healthy choices. When that truth is shared by peers, it becomes powerful motivation for others to do the same.
Check out the presentation and reach out if you’d like to learn more about using social norming for health promotion and prevention:
FEAR DOESN’T WORK – FACTS DO: by Brandon Zelasko
When Life Gets Harder, Messaging Must Get More Human
The latest Colorado Health Foundation Pulse Poll tells a stark story.
People are worried. They are uncertain about the future. And they are not convinced that the systems meant to support them are keeping up with the realities of daily life.
While the data are Colorado specific, the patterns are not.
National polling and research, from sources like Ipsos and Pew, show the same underlying dynamics playing out across the United States. Cost pressures are dominating attention. Housing feels increasingly out of reach. At the same time, rapidly changing immigration policies and enforcement actions are introducing new layers of fear and uncertainty, contributing to stress and mental strain across many communities.
Taken together, the data suggest that this is not just a moment of political disagreement or shifting priorities. It is a moment of widespread strain rooted in lived experience. And that has big implications for how organizations frame issues, communicate solutions, and engage the people they serve.
The Economy Is Personal
In the Pulse survey, cost-of-living and affordability concerns quickly rise to the surface. National data reinforce this pattern.
Pew Research has found that economic concerns today are less about macro indicators and more about whether people feel financially secure in their daily lives.
This distinction matters.
When institutions talk about the economy using technical language – inflation rates, labor participation, market trends – they often miss what people are actually experiencing. For most people, the economy is not a set of indicators. It is the stress of rent increases. The anxiety of grocery bills. The feeling that working harder does not necessarily lead to progress or even stability.
Communications that focus on economics can feel disconnected or even dismissive when they do not reflect that emotional reality. People are not looking to be told that conditions are improving on paper. They want acknowledgment of how hard it feels to get by right now, and they want to understand how systems, policies, or programs might ease that pressure in real and tangible ways.
For organizations, this means framing matters as much as facts. Effective communication starts by acknowledging lived experience, then connecting solutions to relief, stability, and a greater sense of control over everyday life.
Everything Starts with Housing
Housing affordability and housing insecurity show up repeatedly in both Colorado and national data. But their significance goes beyond housing alone.
Housing is one of the clearest signals of whether systems are working for people. When housing is unstable, everything else becomes harder. Health suffers when people must move frequently or live in overcrowded conditions. Mental strain increases when people do not know if they will be able to stay in their homes. Education is disrupted when children move from school to school. Productivity declines when workers commute long distances or constantly manage financial stress.
Research from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies and national homelessness data from the National Alliance to End Homelessness show that housing instability is rising and affordability is a growing concern for households across income levels.
For organizations working in health, behavioral health, education, workforce development, immigration, or environmental issues, housing insecurity offers an important reminder. People experience challenges as interconnected. When communications assume stability, time, trust, or bandwidth, they can miss the reality that many people are navigating.
When messages are organized around programs, they often assume people have time, trust, and capacity to navigate complexity. Framing issues around stability instead starts with what people are trying to protect in their daily lives, making communications feel more relevant and human. It also shifts the burden from asking individuals to navigate complexity to showing how systems can reduce pressure and support resilience.
Stress Is Widespread
Behavioral and mental health concerns appear throughout the Pulse data, sometimes directly and often indirectly. People may not always name mental health as their top issue, but stress, anxiety, and exhaustion are woven into how they talk about cost, housing, safety, and the future.
National data from the National Institute of Mental Health show that mental health conditions are common and that many people do not receive care for them. But just as important is how people understand their own distress. For many, it does not feel like a diagnosis. It feels like being overwhelmed, stretched too thin, or constantly bracing for what might come next.
When mental health is framed only through clinical language or crisis response, it can feel distant or irrelevant to people who are struggling but do not see themselves as needing treatment. At the same time, people are increasingly aware that stress is not just personal. It is shaped by external conditions like housing instability, job insecurity, discrimination, and environmental threats.
Communications that name stress as a reasonable response to relatable conditions are more likely to resonate. They reduce stigma and invite engagement by reflecting reality rather than labeling it.
Experiences Color Policy Views
One of the clearest signals across the data is this: While political language often dominates public conversation, the concerns people express are grounded in material conditions and daily life.
People feel pressure. They feel uncertain. They worry about maintaining stability for themselves and their families. These experiences cut across geography, ideology, and identity.
When communications fail to reflect this shared reality, people disengage, not because they do not care, but because they feel unseen. When messages acknowledge interconnected pressures and speak to universal needs like dignity, stability, and hope, they create space for trust.
What This Moment Requires
The Pulse survey and national data together point to the same recommendations:
- Start with what people are feeling before explaining what systems are doing.
- Connect issues that are too often treated separately.
- Recognize that building trust starts with empathy.
At their core, these are not communications tactics. They are responses to a deeper need people are expressing right now: the need for a sense of footing in a world that feels increasingly unstable.
As David Brooks recently wrote in The New York Times,
“…all of life is a series of daring explorations from a secure base. People need a secure base. Part of that base is emotional — unconditional attachments to family and friends. Part of that secure base is material — living in a safe community, with a measure of financial stability. Part of that secure base is spiritual — living within a shared moral order, possessing faith that hard work will be rewarded, faith in a brighter future.”
That idea helps make sense of what the data are showing. When housing feels out of reach, when costs keep rising, when policies shift quickly and unpredictably, that secure base starts to erode. And when it does, people experience issues not as isolated challenges, but as a constant state of pressure.
If we want our work to matter in this moment, our communications must reflect the reality people are navigating every day. Not the world as it looks on paper, but the world as it feels to live in.
That is where trust begins. And in a moment like this, trust is the foundation for everything else.
The Return of Things We Thought Were Gone
“Gays are not welcome here,” said the man through the window of the blacked-out Tesla.
My sheepish response, “Oh, really?” But in my defense, it’s not something you expect to hear while walking your dog with your husband of 21 years in the City Park neighborhood of Denver. After all, Denver is a fairly progressive, major city. And it had been years since the last time I had someone so brazenly verbally harass me in public. Had I expected it, I might have had a more thoughtful response that made him think twice about believing he could be so cavalier with his bigotry.
“Gays are not welcome here.” It kept ringing in my head all night.
If you haven’t been on the receiving end of hate speech, it’s difficult to imagine the violation you feel. It’s scary because you think, if someone can so easily say such awful things to a stranger, what might they be willing to do to you physically as a demonstration of their intolerance for who you are?
I think I have a somewhat interesting perspective on the issue of growing intolerance.
As a white, cisgender man who can “pass”, I can blend in. I see and experience the privilege that white, cisgender men have. But at the same time, I can also understand what it feels like to live as a minority. Certainly not in the same ways and to the same degree that many people experience it. But at least a little.
I have also been around long enough to have gained the perspective that time brings.
Back when my husband and I first met, it wasn’t ok to be gay. We faced nearly daily harassment. However, as time passed, things improved for us. I can now see that 20 years of progress are being lost.
Not just for the LGBTQ+ community, but for immigrants, women, people of color, people with disabilities, religious minorities, and anyone whose existence challenges the rigid boundaries of those who define belonging through fear.
It feels like we’re slipping backward into something darker—something we thought we’d outgrown as a country. And maybe that’s what unsettles me most. Not the words themselves, but the realization that this kind of hate can exist comfortably in daylight again, met too often with silence.
We tell ourselves it’s isolated. We scroll past the stories. We say, “That’s terrible,” and move on with our day. But silence is not neutrality. It’s permission. When we don’t speak up, when we look away, we make space for hate to take root and grow bolder.
This isn’t about politics. It’s about people, our neighbors, our friends, our families, being told they don’t belong. We all have a stake in the kind of community we choose to build.
So, if you’ve found yourself sitting on the fence, wondering whether it’s really that bad, I invite you to look closer. Listen to what’s being said in your neighborhood, your workplace, your statehouse. Pay attention to who’s being targeted and who’s staying quiet.
And if you know me — if you consider me a good neighbor, a friend, a colleague — I ask you to think about what it would feel like to watch someone stand by while I was told I don’t belong. Then extend that thought to the people you don’t know, the ones being targeted, dismissed, or dehumanized in ways that might feel distant from your own life.
Today, it’s, “Gays are not welcome here.” Tomorrow, it will be someone else. As Pastor Martin Niemöller warned:
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
Because being complacent is being complicit. And right now, what’s needed most isn’t outrage. It’s courage. The courage to see clearly, to speak up, and to stand beside those who are being pushed to the margins.
Progress doesn’t sustain itself. People do.
Healthy Choices Are the Norm: Our 2025 National Conference on Tobacco or Health Presentation on Youth Prevention
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Using local survey data that students recognize and trust
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Keeping messages simple, fresh, and youth-friendly
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Empowering youth to design and deliver the messages
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Involving trusted adults to reinforce positive norms
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Measuring results to track real impact
A New Chapter in the Heart of Denver: Our Move to The Sudler
Big news—we’ve officially moved into our new office in The Sudler building, right in the heart of Denver! We’re now just a block from the State Capitol, surrounded by energy, history, and some of the best coffee in Denver.
Why We Chose The Sudler
The Sudler is a beautifully restored mid-century building with big windows, lots of natural light, and cool design details that make it feel both modern and full of character.
It’s the kind of place that sparks creativity—something that’s really important to us.
Being downtown also helps us stay connected.
We’re close to the people and organizations we work with every day, whether that’s in public health, education, or community outreach. It puts us right where we need to be to do our best work: in the mix, face-to-face, and part of what’s happening in our city.
A Moving Experience That Meant Something
We also want to shout out the amazing team that helped us move: The Other Side Movers. This isn’t your typical moving company. They hire people who are rebuilding their lives after time in prison or recovery. And they do an incredible job.
For us, choosing them wasn’t just about getting boxes from point A to point B—it was about supporting a mission we believe in: creating opportunity, building community, and lifting people up.
Come See Us!
We’re proud of our new space and what it represents. It’s more than just an office—it’s a place where ideas can grow, partnerships can thrive, and we can stay grounded in the community we care so much about.
If you’re ever in the neighborhood, come by and say hi. We’d love to show you around.
Being the Change: A Weekend Neighborhood Cleanup
For months, I’d walk through my neighborhood, noticing the litter that collected along the sidewalks and in front of people’s homes. Candy wrappers, plastic bottles and cans, the occasional stray grocery bag—it was always there, and I always found myself wondering, Why doesn’t someone clean this up?
This weekend, I decided that someone could be me. And not just me—my niece, nephew, sister and husband joined in, turning what could have been a chore into something surprisingly fun and meaningful.
Armed with gloves, trash bags, and a sense of purpose, we spent a couple of hours picking up litter. It was simple, but the impact felt big. The streets looked better, of course, but more than that, it was a lesson in action. My niece and nephew got to see firsthand how small efforts add up, how being a good neighbor isn’t just about waving hello but about taking care of the place we all share.
Beyond cleaning up the trash, we were also helping to create a new social norm for our community. When people see others taking pride in a clean neighborhood, it sets an example. It makes it more likely that others will step up too—or at the very least, think twice before littering in the first place. Change starts small, but when enough people see it happening, it becomes the new normal.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by problems bigger than us—climate change, pollution, all the chaos in the world. But this was one thing we could control. And in doing it, we felt just a little more hopeful, a little more empowered.
As we worked, a few neighbors stopped to say thank you. One even mentioned they might bring their own kids out to help next time. That’s the thing about small acts of change—they ripple outward. Maybe next time, there’ll be even more of us.
So if you’ve ever walked past a mess and thought, Someone should do something about that—maybe that someone is you. You might be surprised by how good it feels.
Brandon Zelasko on Growth, Technology, and How to Drive Change
Brandon Zelasko, Principal at SE2, combines a love for data and creativity to drive impactful work that changes lives. In this Q&A, Brandon shares insights into his personal growth at SE2, the future of AI in communications, and the campaigns he’s passionate about. From mentoring others to bridging the urban-rural divide, Brandon’s perspective showcases the powerful role of strategic communications in addressing today’s most pressing issues.
Q: What is the biggest way you’ve felt you’ve grown since your first role at SE2 to now?
A: The biggest way I’ve grown at SE2 is through learning how to better support and mentor others in their career journeys, something I’m still working on but find really rewarding. I’ve also started to step back from being in the weeds of the work, creating more space for others to lead. As a result, I have a wider perspective on how the issues we work on are interconnected, which has helped me apply lessons and strategies from one project to others across the agency.
Q: What new technology are you most excited about as a communications/marketing professional?
A: I’m excited about the potential of AI and how it’s going to shape the work we do at our agency in the coming years. I see AI enhancing the value we provide to clients by allowing us to work more efficiently, analyze data with greater precision, and create more personalized, targeted campaigns. While it won’t replace the human insight and creativity that are at the core of what we do, it will give us new tools to optimize our efforts and deliver even better results for the people we serve.
Q: What sort of work/issues would you love to see SE2 tackle more often?
A: I am excited to work on more workforce and alternative learning pathway campaigns, especially as the world continues to evolve and the traditional ways of learning no longer keep pace. We need professional education that helps people stay competitive so they don’t fall behind, ensuring that families and communities thrive. This shift is also key to creating more opportunities for economic growth in rural areas, helping to bridge the urban-rural divide and empower these communities to thrive in today’s economy. I would also be excited to work on more harm reduction public health campaigns because they meet people where they are, offering practical strategies to minimize the negative health, social, and economic consequences of risky behaviors. These campaigns improve public health by focusing on safety, reducing stigma, and encouraging individuals to take incremental steps toward healthier behaviors—without necessarily pressuring them to stop altogether.
Principal Brandon Zelasko on How to Rebuild Trust: LGBTQ+ Blood Donations
Brandon Zelasko’s latest article in Health Affairs sheds light on a critical issue that has impacted the LGBTQ+ community for nearly four decades: the exclusion of gay men from blood donation. A recent FDA policy change marks a significant milestone, but as Brandon points out, the work is far from over. His personal connection to the cause, coupled with years of advocacy, underscores why rebuilding trust, educating the public, and demonstrating impact are essential next steps.
For anyone interested in the intersection of health equity and LGBTQ+ rights, this is a must-read.
[nectar_btn size=”jumbo” open_new_tab=”true” button_style=”regular” button_color_2=”Accent-Color” icon_family=”default_arrow” text=”Read A New Era Begins for Blood Donation by Gay Men” url=”https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/new-era-begins-blood-donation-gay-men”]
Dive into some of Brandon’s other essential content on blood donation and LGBT issues.
[nectar_btn size=”large” open_new_tab=”true” button_style=”regular” button_color_2=”Accent-Color” icon_family=”none” text=”Gay Men May Be Allowed to Donate Blood FDA Blood Donation Rules” url=”https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/lgbtq/gay-men-may-be-allowed-to-donate-blood-fda-blood-donation-rules/73-dd286518-3ef9-418c-bb9c-8eeab1411029″]
[nectar_btn size=”large” open_new_tab=”true” button_style=”regular” button_color_2=”Accent-Color” icon_family=”none” text=”Coming Clean on Blood Donation and Gays” url=”https://www.denverpost.com/2013/12/27/coming-clean-on-blood-donation-and-gays/”]
How We Can Keep Pace with Change through Reskilling, Upskilling, and Next-Skilling
In the ever-evolving landscape of work, just one thing is guaranteed: change.
With automation, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation reshaping industries, the demand for a skilled and adaptable workforce has never been higher.
As we navigate this shifting terrain, reskilling, upskilling, and next-skilling emerge as crucial pillars in supporting workers to stay competitive, fostering diverse workplaces, and spurring economic development.
So we don’t further marginalize low-wage workers — who have the most to lose as workforce needs evolve — businesses, government agencies, and nonprofits must invest in these opportunities.
A Seismic Shift
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is upon us, marked by technological advancements radically transforming how we work.
According to the World Economic Forum, by 2025, 85 million jobs may be displaced by automation, while 97 million new roles may emerge, underscoring the urgent need for a workforce that can adapt and thrive in this dynamic environment.
It’s safe to assume none of us is immune.
Reskilling, Upskilling, Next-Skilling: What’s the Difference?
Staying competitive and adaptable goes beyond traditional education. There are three key strategies that individuals and organizations can employ to navigate the shifting landscape of work effectively:
- Reskilling involves learning new skills to transition to a different role or industry. It’s about equipping workers with the abilities needed for jobs that are in demand.
- Upskilling focuses on enhancing existing skills to keep pace with technological advancements within one’s current role or industry.
- Next-Skilling anticipates future skills requirements and prepares individuals for upcoming job roles, often leveraging emerging technologies and trends.
Robust reskilling, upskilling, and next-skilling initiatives hold tremendous promise in empowering diverse communities, addressing systemic inequities, and fostering inclusive economic growth. Historically marginalized groups, such as women, people of color, and individuals from lower-income backgrounds, frequently encounter formidable barriers when seeking access to education and employment opportunities. These barriers, ranging from financial constraints to discriminatory hiring practices, perpetuate cycles of inequality and hinder social mobility.
However, by implementing tailored training programs and support mechanisms, we can begin to dismantle these barriers and forge pathways for all individuals to excel in the workforce.
For example, targeted mentorship programs, like Next 100 Colorado, can provide invaluable guidance and support to women and people of color aspiring to enter traditionally white male-dominated fields, empowering them to break through glass ceilings and pursue fulfilling careers.
Additionally, initiatives that offer financial assistance, such as scholarships or subsidized training courses, can help alleviate the financial burdens that often deter individuals from underserved communities from pursuing further education and skill development.
Investing in reskilling, upskilling, and next-skilling initiatives is not just a matter of economic necessity; it is a moral imperative. We can build a more just, equitable, and prosperous society for all by prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion in our workforce development efforts. Through collective action and commitment to empowering marginalized communities, we can unlock the full potential of every individual and create a future where everyone can thrive.
An Economic Development Imperative
A skilled workforce also serves as the bedrock of economic growth, catalyzing innovation, productivity, and competitiveness in today’s rapidly evolving global economy. As industries undergo digital transformation and technological advancements reshape the nature of work, the demand for specialized skills continues to escalate.
When workers possess the expertise and proficiency required to excel in high-demand roles, they not only contribute to the success of their respective organizations but also drive broader economic development.
Investing in reskilling and upskilling programs has far-reaching implications for regional economic development.
Companies seeking to establish operations are drawn to regions with a talented and adaptable workforce capable of meeting evolving industry demands. By prioritizing investments in workforce development initiatives, governments and local authorities can position their communities as attractive destinations for businesses looking to set up shop. This, in turn, generates job opportunities, stimulates economic activity, and fosters a vibrant ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship.
But don’t just take my word for it. Review the research:
- Individual benefits. Individuals who continuously upskill and reskill are better equipped to adapt to evolving job requirements and technological advancements. Research by the World Economic Forum found that individuals who invest in lifelong learning and skills development are more resilient to job displacement and are less likely to experience periods of unemployment.
- Business benefits. A study by the Society for Human Resource Management found that companies with high employee turnover incur significant costs associated with recruitment, onboarding, and training new hires. By investing in upskilling and reskilling programs, businesses can reduce turnover rates and minimize these costs. The Center for American Progress estimates that the cost of replacing an employee can range from 16% to 213% of their annual salary, depending on the level of the position and the industry.
- Community benefits. National Employment Law Project research also shows that higher-wage jobs often have positive spillover effects on other sectors of the economy, creating multiplier effects that amplify economic growth and lead to job creation in industries such as retail and food services, as workers have more purchasing power to support local businesses.
Government and Private Sector Collaboration
Realizing the full potential of reskilling, upskilling, and next-skilling requires a concerted effort from both the public and private sectors. Governments play a vital role in setting policies, allocating funding, and creating frameworks that support lifelong learning and skills development.
Here in Colorado, the drivers of these changes are the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s Office of the Future of Work and the Colorado Workforce Development Council. This includes investing in education systems, incentivizing businesses to provide training opportunities, and fostering partnerships with industry stakeholders.
At the same time, private businesses must take proactive steps to prioritize employee development and invest in the future workforce. At SE2, we do this providing financial support to team members who seek to grow their skills, talents, and expertise.
As an alumnus, I am an energetic proponent of community colleges. Programs like Workforce Resilience Program, Career Advance, and Care Forward Colorado from the Colorado Community College System are making reskilling, upskilling and next-skilling more accessible to workers.
Finally, nonprofit organizations are leading the change. This includes a personal favorite, ActivateWork, which helps employers solve talent gaps by finding promising candidates who aspire to work in tech and preparing them to excel in new careers. It also includes former SE2 clients The Center for Workforce Education and Employment, Mi Casa Resource Center and Worklife Partnership.
A Call to Action for All of Us
As we stand on the cusp of a new era of work, reskilling, upskilling, and next-skilling represent powerful tools for navigating the challenges and seizing the opportunities that lie ahead.
By embracing lifelong learning, fostering diversity, and investing in our workforce, we can build a future where every one has the opportunity to thrive, and our economies are more resilient and inclusive than ever before.
It’s time to harness the transformative potential of skills development and pave the way for a brighter tomorrow.
Preventative Campaign Invests in Connections Now for Future Health Payoffs
The Challenge
The 2018 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey confirmed that unhealthy behaviors were rising among Colorado teens and young adults. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) funded a groundbreaking campaign to work upstream to prevent risky behaviors before they start.
CDPHE and CDHS selected SE2 to lead the statewide campaign’s planning, development, and execution. SE2 conducted formative research – touring the state to talk to over 200 young people – to understand their challenges and concerns. SE2 used the findings of the research to develop the Forward Together campaign.
This upstream prevention campaign helps young people feel more connected – to peers, parents, and other trusted adults — because research shows that youth who are connected to positive relationships are less likely to use substances (e.g., drinking, marijuana, tobacco, opioids), engage in risky health behaviors (e.g., unprotected sex), or experience depression.
Our Approach
Forward Together reaches both youth and parents/trusted adults to achieve the campaign objectives. Campaign messages are disseminated through a robust paid media campaign that uses an integrated media approach – including broadcast and streaming TV and radio, targeted social media placements, digital display and search, outdoor advertising). We also collaborate with partner organizations across the state by offering mini-grants that help partners promote campaign messages and materials in ways that they think will work best for their community.
The campaign is developed in collaboration with our on-staff youth advisors and a network of young people across the state. These young people represent intersectional demographics (e.g., LBGTQ+ Black youth, rural Hispanic young adults). Their input and insights help guide campaign strategy, messaging and outreach materials.
The campaign also addresses substance use and harm reduction strategies to help young people be safe and healthy.
The Impact
A third-party evaluation of the campaign has shown that nearly 80% of Colorado youth and 40% of Colorado parents are aware of the Forward Together campaign.
In the first two years of the campaign, there have been 756,000 sessions and 461,000 users on the youth website. The campaign videos for youth have been viewed over 13 million times and nearly 14,000 young people have engaged with campaign content on TikTok, Snapchat, etc.
A Generational Turning Point: The Juul Settlement's Promise of a Nicotine-Free Future
In the ongoing effort to address the epidemic of youth vaping, the recent settlement six states plus the District of Columbia secured against Juul presents a groundbreaking opportunity to secure the future health and well-being of an entire generation.
Using this $460 million-plus settlement to advance youth prevention isn’t just an investment; it’s a chance to avoid a new generation of nicotine-addicted adults.
Youth vaping is more than just a trend; it’s a public health crisis. Research shows that nicotine, regardless of how it’s derived or delivered, harms developing brains. We also know that teens become addicted to nicotine through vaping and often end up smoking regular cigarettes.
Big Vape, the Netflix four-part documentary series based on the book by the same name, vividly describes how Juul marketed its highly addictive devices to teens, causing an epidemic of underage use.
The legal settlement with Juul offers an unprecedented opportunity. By investing the funds into comprehensive and evidence-based prevention campaigns, we can start rewriting this grim narrative.
Prevention is, without a doubt, the most cost-effective and impactful way to address this issue. Every dollar directed towards campaigns aimed at dissuading young people from vaping has the potential to save countless more in future healthcare expenses. In fact, a body of research shows that there is a positive return on every dollar invested in prevention campaigns – with some analyses showing as much as $18 saved for every $1 spent.
The Juul settlement provides an infusion of resources that can be channeled into comprehensive educational programs and community outreach. These campaigns will provide youth with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions to support their health.
These investments offer a profound return on the broader societal scale. A generation of healthier, addiction-free individuals is better able to live happy, productive lives and contribute to our communities. By curbing youth vaping now, we pave the way for a stronger, more prosperous future. And as research indicates, nicotine addiction can pave the way for other addiction later in life. This underscores the importance of preventing addiction early on, not only as a morally sound choice but also to mitigate societal impacts in the future.
Yet, the significance of these prevention campaigns extends far beyond the immediate health and economic benefits. It is intertwined with the crucial aspect of youth connection.
Adolescents often turn to unhealthy behaviors like vaping when they lack a sense of belonging, purpose, or connection. By directing settlement funds into youth engagement and support programs, we not only address the symptoms but the root causes of a wide range of unhealthy or risky behaviors.
Youth connection initiatives not only create a sense of belonging but also provide opportunities for skill-building, resilience, and personal growth. When our young people are connected to trusted adults and peers, they are happier and healthier. By nurturing their sense of purpose, we create an environment where the choice to vape becomes less enticing and less likely.
Our communities and schools can become hubs of connection, where young people can explore their interests, passions, and futures while avoiding substances that would only get in the way of their dreams. When we connect our youth with mentors, positive role models, and resources, we offer them alternatives that will enrich their lives rather than endanger them.
The Juul settlement dollars offer an unprecedented chance to rewrite the story of our youth, to prevent lifetimes of nicotine addiction.
This is not just a financial investment; it’s a moral one. It’s an investment in the health, well-being, and potential of our nation’s youth. We cannot afford to let this opportunity pass us by. It’s a chance to save a generation, and we must seize it. Their future depe
Lessons Learned at SXSW 2023
Be imperfect, and stop making things so complicated. These are just two of the emerging trends in marketing that we heard about at this year’s South By Southwest.
Read on, or watch the video below, to find out what else we learned.
For the uninitiated, South By Southwest is a yearly event that brings together challengers and game changers in business, tech, art, culture, and politics. As challengers creating change on today’s most pressing issues, it was appropriate that SE2 was there to learn about emerging issues that will affect our world today and tomorrow.
The look ahead
Every year, SXSW is an opportunity to see and experience what’s next in technology, and every year, brands and advocacy organizations find creative ways to tell their stories. Some examples from this year included:
- Lush Cosmetics, the Zen Education Project and the African American Policy Forum created an activation that offered visitors the opportunity to understand and explore the full scope of the crisis facing educators and students across the U.S.
- Visitors could explore a map highlighting the more than 2,500 books banned across the U.S. in just the past 18 months.
- An installation by the Human Rights Foundation put a face on the people that are being exploited by the fashion industry through slavery and indentured labor for fast and cheap fashion.
In addition to the active presentations showing us what’s next, we also heard from leaders in our field who told us more about the trends transforming our industry now. There are three key lessons.
1. Embrace imperfection
Storytelling is a perennial recommendation, but we heard and saw a uniquely different and unusual take on storytelling from many brands and organizations at South By. Communicators are increasingly telling imperfect stories. These stories didn’t yet have a tidy resolution or a hero who saved the day.
One of the panelists actually talked about the psychology that makes these stories effective. Imperfect stories make you an active participant. Because the outcome isn’t foregone in these stories, you still have the opportunity to get involved to become part of it.
While stories that use the common problem-solution-impact recipe have their place in marketing, psychologically speaking, this type of storytelling has one major drawback: Because our brain must manage so many inputs, it’s always taking shortcuts. One common shortcut is assessing whether something needs immediate attention or not. Another is that our brain will jump in and fill gaps when things are unresolved. Imperfect stories pique our brain’s desire to prioritize the urgent. That is a story that’s happening right now versus a less urgent story that already happened sometime in the past. And our brain will create solutions to fill in the gaps in the unresolved story.
Telling more imperfect stories is one way that you can pique interest and invite people to become part of the story and the solution.
2. Keep it simple
Across sessions, leaders spoke about the importance of pushing for simplicity in communications and marketing. Perhaps this is a reaction to a barrage of negative things happening in the world and its seemingly ever-increasing unpredictability, or perhaps it gets back to brain science.
We’re wired to have a brain bias that conflates complexity with quality, so we tend to value complex solutions over simple ones. But brain science also tells us that when we’re confronted with options, we will almost always choose the easier one or the status quo. See the problem there? To create change, communications and marketing leaders talked about embracing three tactics to simplify.
The first: one-page plans. Sally Susman, the executive vice president and chief corporate affairs officer at Pfizer, talked about how Pfizer moved to one-page plans for even the most complex communications challenges. One-page plans, force focused thinking that prioritizes the single most important issue to tackle and the most meaningful strategies to create change.
The second way they’re creating simplicity is through simplified messaging that focuses on what to gain. Lost frame messages trigger a stress response, which hinders problem-solving and adds more complexity to decision-making. Dr. Deborah Birx, who led the federal COVID response, noted that this was a fatal flaw of the government’s initial communications about the COVID vaccine. The motivating messages weren’t about avoiding serious disease and death, but rather what you had to gain – like getting back to normal.
And finally, leaders are removing barriers and not messaging around them, to create more simplicity. Often, we get so caught up in motivating people about issues that we forget about the real-world barriers that ultimately prevent them from taking action. Organizations are stepping back and leveraging experienced design principles and behavioral economics to remove barriers that prevent change.
Several nonprofit leaders talked about simplifying applications, optimizing accessibility, or even redesigning whole programs to remove as many barriers as possible. The result? Their communications are focused on the issues, not the logistics.
3. Act responsibly
The message across sessions was clear: It’s no more business as usual. Organizations of all types and sizes talked about the duty they feel to be more responsible partners to their people, their communities, and the environment.
They’ve moved beyond corporate social responsibility. Instead, ESG or Environmental Social Governance is what leading organizations are using to make a meaningful and measurable impact. ESG uses environmental, social, and governance factors and data to evaluate sustainability practices within a company. ESG helps consumers decide which businesses to support and which not to by giving them an indication of whether a company’s practices and actions align with their own values.
According to a recent study, 70% of consumers want to see a business act on social issues. Investors, too, want businesses to provide societal benefits.
For those working in the nonprofit and government space, consumers’ expectations for more socially responsible businesses is an opportunity for you to elevate your business’ issues and causes and find corporate partners who will support them financially or with their people power. The key is to find businesses that are uniquely aligned with your work.
For example, Lyft’s head of social impact talked about how they make ESG decisions. They’re of course uniquely qualified to provide transportation solutions, so they support and invest in organizations that seek to expand access to voting by providing transportation or fighting policies like those recently passed in Texas that would make drivers criminally and civilly liable for transporting pregnant people to receive abortion care.
This shift in consumer preferences creates an opportunity for nonprofit and government agencies to find synergistic fits with private businesses that advance your organization’s mission and make their business more socially responsible.
So there you have it. Those are our three big takeaways from South By. What opportunities do imperfect storytelling embracing simplicity and increased demand for brand activism have for your organization? Not sure? Reach out, and let’s talk about it.
Workforce Development is Changing To Meet the 'New Normal' and Community Colleges Could be at the Forefront
Originally published in EdNewsDaily
Even before the pandemic, most executives surveyed by McKinsey identified skills shortages at their companies (with more to come), but fewer than half understand how to fill those gaps. Pandemic-bred uncertainty has only heightened the need for a nimbler workforce, including reskilling and up-skilling workers, to meet a future in which 375 million global workers might need to make significant occupational shifts by 2030.
College programs can address those gaps, but recent reporting shows an existential crisis for higher education (and community colleges specifically): Spring undergraduate enrollment fell 5.9% compared to this time last year. Community colleges were particularly hard-hit, with a double-digit enrollment decrease of 11.3% since the previous year.
Can there be a win-win-win for businesses looking for skilled talent, workers who seek more stable and well-paying jobs, and two-year colleges that need to fill their seats? Yes. And it starts with supporting workers and prospective students. Address their barriers and support them in their reskilling or upskilling journey, and the challenges businesses and two-year colleges face will start solving themselves.
Here are four ways we can create a win-win-win scenario for students, businesses, and two-year colleges:
1. More affordable solutions for degree attainment
Students are concerned with costs and crushing student loan debt, and pandemic-related individual economic pressures have exacerbated that. The good news here is that community colleges are a more affordable way to get workers and learners engaged in education. Community college systems have created specialized programs or certifications that help workers obtain the necessary skills without considering significant student loan debt later.
Additionally, the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan stimulus package provides nearly $40 billion to higher education institutions, including community colleges, to help schools offer financial aid to support people who want to get degrees. The stimulus aimed to pump money into schools with endowments of less than $1 million, with half of the funds designated for emergency financial aid grants to cover students’ attendance costs. The key for community colleges will be communicating these scholarship opportunities to get workers back in the physical or virtual classroom.
2. Changing the narrative about higher and continuing education
In retrospect, the higher education system and “influencers” made a mistake when they pushed the narrative that the only way to a well-paying job was a four-year degree.
As we know, that’s not exactly true.
Those with an associate degree, for instance, earn an average salary of just over $46,000 per year — around $7,300 more annually than those whose education stopped after high school (which translates to an extra $293,000 over a typical 40-year career).
It’s a false choice: Get a four-year degree (and take on tons of student loan debt) to get a well-paying career, or don’t get a four-year degree and prepare yourself for an uncertain and low-paying job. This thinking alienated vulnerable students and left no room to talk about the certification, re-skilling, and up-skilling opportunities for traditional and nontraditional students.
The higher education system needs to change the narrative to elevate the value of training, certification, and two-year degrees.
3. Public-private partnerships
There is a vast delta between technical skills jobs (e.g., welding or solar energy) and people with those requisite skills. Private businesses in these industries are already developing solid partnerships with their local community colleges to expand these skills. We need to continue promoting and supporting these collaborations through strategies such as providing additional funding to bolster the programs or offering tax incentives to encourage businesses to take advantage of them.
On the topic of getting unemployed and laid-off workers back into jobs, business schools and community colleges can complement the private sector. Together, public and private entities can get people back to work while building a workforce that’s stronger than the one before COVID-19. A good example is the Colorado Community College System’s Skill Advance program, which offers customized job training grants for employers. Programs like these provide a clear win for employers (which can subsidize some of the costs of retraining staff members for the future of work) and workers (who gain skills that will keep them competitive in the workforce).
4. Holistic student support beyond just a degree
To get workers into training programs, community colleges need to entice students with more than education. They need to show how they support the “whole student” via financial support, crisis support (such as food and child care assistance), help for emotional distress (pandemic-related or otherwise), and more.
For this reason, institutions are investing in coaching and capacity-building on topics such as trauma-informed care. This coaching can be administered by education social impact organizations such as InsideTrack, which saw a 218% rise in students needing crisis support services between mid-2019 and summer 2020.
Community colleges are already a significant part of the solution in the future of work. But as the world changes at ever-faster rates and technologies such as artificial intelligence chip away at the number of available jobs, community colleges’ role in workforce development will become even more critical.
Post-pandemic, the people who lost their unskilled (or even skilled) jobs have learned the importance of re-skilling and up-skilling. Still, their challenge is access to educational solutions that work for their busy lives.
Unlocking Paws-abilities Through Influencer Outreach
The Challenge
Membership and trade association professionals are struggling to manage members’ escalating expectations.
Members increasingly demand additional benefits beyond training, certification and discounts. And, they want their association to support them in raising their profile in the communities they serve.
So, what is an association to do?
This was the challenge that the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), the only organization that accredits veterinary practices in the United States and Canada, faced in early 2019.
Recognizing that this trend in member expectations created a future liability, AAHA proactively sought out ways to deliver added value to members while raising its members’ profiles – all on a shoestring budget.
The Approach
To satisfy its membership and its Board of Directors (which wanted to see the organization try new and innovate ways to reach out to the broader pet owner community), AAHA approached SE2 for ideas on how it could efficiently and effectively create additional member benefits while getting the word out about the value of AAHA-accredited practices and they high-quality care its veterinary practices provide.
Recognizing the popularity of pet content on social media, and the power of word-of-mouth has at driving referrals to service providers, SE2 recommended a national influencer outreach strategy – a first for AAHA’s marketing and communications team.
As one of the only agencies in the country that exclusively employs influencer outreach for causes and issues, we tapped our national network of influencers to participate in a campaign we titled Paws-abilities.
This concept reinforced AAHA’s key messages and provided influencers with a new and novel way to create content featuring their pet and the AAHA brand. Additionally, while close to 80 percent of veterinary practices aren’t accredited by AAHA, the organization’s own research showed that pet owners assume that their favorite/preferred practice is accredited. Because of this, the Paws-abilities concept also challenged pet owners to find out if their current care provider has AAHA accreditation.
The Results
The campaign engaged close to three dozen high-profile pet influencers across North America. These influencers produced photos, blogs and even videos featuring AAHA key messaging. Some even took up our offer to visit their local AAHA-accredited clinic for a tour, which they then talked about in their posts. Many of the influencer posts received additional paid promotion to extend the reach of the campaign.
The influencers produced over 60 pieces of original AAHA-themed content. Each piece of content generated an average of 28,000 impressions and a significant number of likes, comments and shares per post.
In total, the campaign generated nearly 70,000 engagements from pet owners – many of whom expressed surprise and shock that they had never considered whether their preferred practice is accredited – achieving our campaign objective of highlighting the importance of quality pet care provided by AAHA-accredited practices.
Over 1,000 pet owners went a step further and visited the campaign landing page to find an accredited practice in their community. While there, they also spent nearly one and a half minutes on the landing page learning more about pet care and AAHA’s benefits to pets and their owners.
Lastly, the influencer campaign generated dozens of new pieces of content that the organization is repurposing for other marketing activities – such as including these influencer stories in annual reports, resharing this content on its owned social media channels, and including these stories in its newsletter. All of which help AAHA eek additional value of this campaign.
And, AAHA’s board and members raved about the campaign – fulfilling the objective of delivering added member benefits and promoting local practices. Because of the campaign’s success, AAHA is exploring the paws-ability of investing in additional influencer outreach campaigns in the future and making influencer marketing a dedicated component of its marketing mix.
Turning Screens, Stages, and Stories into Youth Vaping Prevention Power
Challenge:
Teens in our state are vaping nicotine at twice the national average – the highest of all 37 states surveyed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While only 7 percent of high school students currently smoke cigarettes, one in four Colorado adolescents vapes nicotine – sometimes known as JUULing.
Then-Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado energetically engaged in the issue, eager to shed the state’s dubious distinction and protect the health of kids.
It was a disturbingly familiar story – an industry addicts youth through marketing tricks to hook the next generation of customers. It was time to amplify the voices of youth who refuse to be manipulated by these “vape tricks.”
Approach:
SE2 conceived of an event that would do more than fill an auditorium for a single day. It would give teens a visible platform to speak out — and generate immediate statewide attention around youth vaping.
Imagine 250 freshmen packed into the auditorium at Denver South High School, energized by performances from the drum line, cheerleaders, and dance team. More than 50 handmade posters dotted the crowd — #NoMoreVapeTricks, No Pods for My Squad, Don’t Cloud My Future. Former Gov. Hickenlooper joined student leaders at the podium, speaking not only to the teens in the room but to a throng of reporters and cameras capturing the moment.
The rally created strong earned media coverage and positioned youth as credible, authentic messengers in the prevention conversation.
At the same time, SE2 advanced a complementary multimedia prevention strategy designed to reach young people and the adults in their lives wherever they were — in schools, online, and in their communities.
Video storytelling played a central role. Separate from the event, SE2 developed compelling video content that elevated youth perspectives, addressed common myths about vaping, and modeled refusal and resilience. These videos were deployed across social media platforms and digital channels to sustain awareness and reinforce prevention norms beyond a single moment in time.
School-based advertising extended the message directly into student environments, placing prevention messaging in hallways and shared spaces where it could influence daily decision-making. Meanwhile, a customizable toolkit equipped local partners with ready-to-use materials — social posts, graphics, messaging guidance, and outreach assets — enabling consistent messaging across communities statewide.
Together, the live event and the broader multimedia campaign created layered reinforcement. The rally generated visibility and urgency. The videos, social media, school placements, and partner toolkit sustained reach and deepened engagement. By combining youth-led visibility with strategic media execution, SE2 helped ensure vape prevention messaging was not confined to one stage or one day — but echoed across platforms and throughout Colorado communities.
The Impact
Youth vaping in Colorado has declined sharply since its peak in the late 2010s. After reaching a statewide high of roughly 27 % of high school students reporting current vaping in 2019 — when Colorado led the nation in youth e-cigarette use — that rate dropped to about 16 % by 2021 and further to around 9 % by 2023–24.
While multiple factors contributed to this decline — including policy changes, pandemic disruptions, and broader public health action — targeted prevention work has played a role in shaping perceptions and norms. Efforts like statewide multimedia campaigns, youth-led events, and adult education helped reinforce the risks of vaping, correct misperceptions, and amplify protective messages in schools and communities. These activities, especially when paired with data-driven messaging and trusted voices, aligned with decreasing prevalence and contributed to a sustained downward trend in youth vaping.
