ThinkNow Communications & Message Testing

Background: Campbell Ewald was tasked with determining if advertising used in past Covered California campaigns was still effective in encouraging uninsured Californians to sign up for health insurance via the state health insurance exchange. To do that, they needed a research partner to provide qualitative research to uncover and understand current perceptions of and barriers and motivations to getting health insurance through Covered CA among existing and new audiences.

Solution: ThinkNow conducted 15 focus groups with segments in both Southern and Northern California targeting Hispanic, African American, and multi-segment audiences. We spoke to both insured and uninsured respondents as well as those that were subsidy-eligible and non-subsidy eligible. Focus groups were conducted in English, Spanish, and Bilingual.

Results: It was determined that messaging used to communicate with remaining uninsured Californians needed to change.  The remaining uninsured Californians need insurance information to be communicated more explicitly. ThinkNow identified creative that was still effective, and others that were not. Campbell Ewald took these findings and used them to plan the 2016-17 Covered California marketing campaign. The campaign was nominated for an Ogilvy Award for Excellence in Market Research by the Advertising Research Foundation, ARF.