2014 State Enrollment Contest Winners
Press Release November 17, 2014
New York, Oklahoma and Delaware Link the Most Women to Critical Health and Safety Information
Text4baby announces winners of the 2014 State Enrollment Contest
at nation’s largest public health meeting
WASHINGTON (November 17, 2014) – New York, Oklahoma and Delaware are the winners of the 4th Annual Text4baby State Enrollment Contest, a competition to encourage promotion of Text4baby, the nation’s largest and only free mobile health service. This national contest is an excellent opportunity for states to exhibit friendly competition in the race to connect more pregnant women and new moms to Text4baby’s critical health and safety information. This year, the contest highlighted a different promotional theme each month to help partners implement successful strategies for engaging women locally. The winning states implemented outreach campaigns that included advertising, media, social media and connecting Text4baby to other health resources and partners.
Winners were determined based on new participants who enrolled in the service during the contest period as a percentage of eligible moms. States/territories were separated into three categories – large, medium and small - based on their estimated number of new pregnancies and new infants. Throughout the contest, Text4baby partners regularly monitored their progress by accessing subscriber enrollment data by zip code through the Text4baby website.
The winners of the Contest were announced and honored during the Martha May Eliot Luncheon at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA. The winning state representatives received a certificate and congratulatory comments from Janine Lewis, Board Chair for the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition, and Executive Director of EverThrive Illinois.
The winning states are:
Large State Category: New York
More than 50 partners in New York joined together to promote Text4baby through a variety of efforts including a state wide marketing campaign and targeted outreach through health plans and community efforts. The New York State Department of Health customized Text4baby for New York participants, providing the added benefit of offering local resources in their text messages. The State Department also launched a broad-reaching marketing campaign which included subway and bus advertisements, targeted Facebook ads and other web promotion. These efforts helped the state reach 7,004 moms, 16% higher than the 25 week period prior to the contest. Read the full case study here.
Medium State Category: Oklahoma
Oklahoma’s path to victory included incorporating Text4baby into existing health processes and increasing media and other outreach efforts across the state. Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA), the state’s Medicaid agency, began promoting Text4baby as an available benefit for eligible members. The success of this initiative has led OHCA to discuss additional ways to connect women to Text4baby through other agency resources. OHCA and the Oklahoma State Health Department (OSDH) also spearheaded media and outreach strategies which included television public service announcements; a Text4baby advertisement in a local bridal magazine; a Text4baby bus bench advertisement in Oklahoma City; and inclusion of Text4baby on pharmacy bags. These efforts helped connect 7,586 new moms to Text4baby in Oklahoma, making Oklahoma's enrollment 321% higher during the contest compared to the 25 week period before the contest began. Read the full case study here.
Small State Category: Delaware
Delaware led the small states throughout the contest as a result of targeted promotional strategies and strong outreach efforts through health plans. The University of Delaware, Center for Disabilities Studies also reached out to fathers and launched a challenge to encourage dads to register for the service. Child, Inc. incorporated Text4baby materials and education into their statewide parenting classes, and Birth to Three promoted Text4baby at all of their events in the state. Additionally, Delaware Physicians Care (DPC), started participating in Connect4health, a free text-messaging program to help families’ adopt healthy behaviors and receive preventive care. Text4baby is one of the resources offered, and it helped educate more mothers about the service in connection with other mobile health resources. During the contest period, a total of 839 new users enrolled in the Text4baby service in Delaware, which is 52% higher during the contest compared to the same 25 week time period before the contest began. Read the full case study here.
The 2014 Text4baby State Enrollment Contest was supported by:
· American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
· American Public Health Association (APHA)
· Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP)
· Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)
· Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN)
· National WIC Association (NWA)
· Southern Governors’ Association (SGA)
· The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
· Ventanillas de Salud