WIC Promotions in Local Communities: Place-Based Advertising
Every day, millions of eligible families miss out on crucial nutrition support simply because they don't know about the WIC program or how to access it. Despite serving over 6.6 million participants nationwide, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) reaches only about half of those who qualify. The solution to this awareness gap might not lie in another social media campaign or email blast, but rather in the physical spaces where eligible families already spend their time.
Place-based out-of-home (OOH) media offers a powerful, often underutilized strategy for reaching WIC-eligible families with the information they need, when and where they need it most. This approach goes beyond traditional billboards to create meaningful touchpoints in the everyday environments of your target audience.
Understanding the WIC Audience
Before diving into media strategy, it's essential to understand who we're trying to reach. WIC serves pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and children up to age five whose household income falls at or below 185% of the federal poverty level. This population is remarkably diverse, spanning urban, suburban, and rural communities across all 50 states.
WIC-eligible families face unique challenges that impact how they consume information. Many work multiple jobs, rely on public transportation, and have limited time to search for government program information online. Language barriers affect significant portions of the eligible population, with Spanish being the primary language for many potential enrollees. Additionally, digital divides persist, with some families having limited or inconsistent internet access.
Understanding these daily realities is crucial because it shapes where and how we can effectively communicate WIC's benefits.
What Makes Place-Based OOH Different?
Place-based out-of-home media represents a significant evolution from traditional billboard advertising. Rather than competing for attention along highways where viewers pass by at 60 miles per hour, place-based OOH positions messages in specific locations where people naturally pause, wait, and engage with their surroundings.
These locations include:
Healthcare Environments: Waiting rooms at pediatrician offices, community health centers, hospitals with maternity wards, and dental clinics provide captive audiences already thinking about health and family wellbeing.
Retail Settings: Grocery stores, pharmacies, and discount retailers where WIC-eligible families shop regularly offer perfect opportunities to connect benefits information with purchasing decisions.
Transit Locations/ Urban Panels: Bus shelters, train stations, and inside public transit vehicles reach families during daily commutes, often with extended dwell times.
Community Spaces: Libraries, community centers, laundromats, food banks, and social service agencies serve as trusted neighborhood hubs where information sharing happens naturally.
Educational Settings: Community colleges, adult education centers, and early childhood programs connect with parents actively investing in their family's future.
The power of place-based media lies in its contextual relevance. A WIC message in a pediatrician's waiting room reaches parents at precisely the moment they're focused on their child's health and development.
Why Place-Based OOH Works for WIC Promotions
Place-based OOH media offers several distinct advantages for WIC outreach that digital-only campaigns simply can't match.
Extended Exposure and High Frequency: Unlike a three-second glimpse of a highway billboard, place-based displays benefit from longer viewing times. Someone waiting for a bus might study a shelter advertisement for 10-15 minutes. A parent in a clinic waiting room has 20-30 minutes to absorb information. This extended exposure allows for more detailed messaging about eligibility, benefits, and enrollment processes.
Geographic Precision: WIC agencies can target specific neighborhoods, zip codes, or communities with high concentrations of eligible families. This precision ensures marketing dollars reach those most likely to need and qualify for services.
Reaching the Digitally Disconnected: While digital marketing dominates modern campaigns, significant portions of the WIC-eligible population have inconsistent internet access or limited digital literacy. Place-based OOH ensures these families still receive crucial program information.
Building Community Trust: Physical presence in trusted community locations lends credibility to WIC messaging. An advertisement in a respected community health center carries implicit endorsement, reducing skepticism about government programs.
Complementing Existing Behaviors: Place-based OOH doesn't require families to change their routines or actively seek information. Instead, it integrates seamlessly into their existing daily patterns.
Cost-Effectiveness: Compared to television advertising or extensive digital campaigns, place-based OOH often delivers superior cost-per-impression rates, especially for sustained, long-term awareness building.
Strategic Placement: Where to Reach WIC Families
Not all locations offer equal value for WIC promotions. Strategic placement requires understanding where your target audience naturally congregates and identifying environments conducive to message absorption.
Healthcare Settings: The Highest-Value Touchpoints
Healthcare environments offer unparalleled opportunities for WIC promotion. Families visiting pediatricians, family practice doctors, or community health centers are already engaged in health-focused decision-making. They're receptive to information about nutrition programs and child wellness.
Placement strategies for healthcare settings include waiting room posters, exam room materials, digital screens in reception areas, and even materials in restrooms where parents often spend time alone with young children. Partner with healthcare providers who can reinforce OOH messages during clinical encounters, creating a powerful combination of visual reminder and professional recommendation.
Many community health centers already offer WIC services on-site, making co-location of promotional materials especially logical. For those that don't, clear signage pointing families to nearby WIC clinics or providing enrollment contact information becomes essential.
Retail Environments: Connecting Benefits to Action
Grocery stores and pharmacies where families already shop represent ideal locations for WIC promotion. These environments allow for messaging that directly connects WIC benefits to the products families can obtain.
Consider placing displays near baby food aisles, dairy sections, or produce departments—areas where WIC-approved items are sold. This contextual placement helps families visualize the tangible benefits of enrollment: "These nutritious foods could be free for your family."
Pharmacies offer another strategic retail touchpoint, particularly those with MinuteClinic or similar basic health services. Parents picking up prescriptions or seeking over-the-counter remedies for children are prime candidates for WIC information.
Partner with retailers who already accept WIC benefits to create in-store displays, shopping cart advertisements, or checkout lane materials. These partnerships benefit retailers by potentially increasing their WIC customer base while serving public health goals.
Transit and Public Spaces: Meeting Families in Motion
Public transportation serves as a vital mobility option for many WIC-eligible families. Transit advertising offers the unique advantage of repeated exposure—families using the same bus route daily will see your message dozens or hundreds of times.
Bus shelter advertisements protect waiting passengers from weather while providing extended viewing opportunities. Interior bus and train cards reach riders during their entire journey. Station platform displays catch attention during wait times that can extend 15-20 minutes.
Beyond transit, community spaces like public libraries and community centers serve diverse populations and maintain reputations as trusted information sources. Libraries in particular offer quiet environments where families can read detailed program information, and staff can provide enrollment assistance.
Laundromats might seem unconventional, but they offer surprisingly effective placement opportunities. Families, often mothers, spend 1-2 hours in these locations with limited entertainment options, making them highly receptive to posted information. Many laundromats serve neighborhoods with high concentrations of WIC-eligible families.
The Power of Healthcare
While all placement locations matter, healthcare settings deserve special emphasis. Medical providers serve as trusted authorities, and their implicit endorsement (through allowing promotional materials in their spaces) significantly impacts program perception.
Develop partnerships with local pediatricians, OB-GYN practices, and family medicine clinics. Provide them with attractive, professionally designed materials that enhance rather than clutter their spaces. Consider materials that serve dual purposes—growth charts that include WIC information, or child development milestone posters with enrollment details.
Many healthcare providers genuinely want to connect eligible patients with WIC but lack easy reference materials. Your OOH materials solve this problem while building program awareness.
Creating Effective WIC OOH Creative
The most strategic placement in the world won't overcome poor creative execution. WIC promotional materials must communicate clearly, inclusively, and compellingly within seconds.
Messaging That Resonates
Lead with benefits, not bureaucracy. Instead of "WIC provides supplemental nutrition assistance," try "Healthy food for your growing family—at no cost." Emphasize what families gain: nutritious food, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and healthcare referrals.
Address eligibility clearly but positively. Rather than focusing on income limitations, emphasize how many families qualify: "If you're pregnant, breastfeeding, or have children under 5, you might qualify for WIC." Use inclusive language that reduces stigma.
Make the next step crystal clear. Every piece of creative should prominently display:
A phone number to call
A website to visit
A QR code for smartphone users
The nearest WIC clinic location (for highly targeted placements)
Consider including text-to-enroll options: "Text WIC to 12345 to see if you qualify." This reduces friction and meets families where they are technologically.
Visual Design Principles
Use imagery that reflects your community's diversity. Families need to see themselves represented in promotional materials. This means including various ethnicities, family structures, and age ranges in your visuals.
Keep designs clean and uncluttered. Place-based OOH often competes with busy environments—medical offices full of health posters, grocery stores packed with product promotions. Your materials need visual hierarchy that guides the eye to the most important information first.
Use color strategically. Bright, warm colors attract attention but ensure sufficient contrast for readability. Many WIC agencies use their brand colors, which aids recognition across multiple touchpoints.
Typography matters more than many realize. Use large, highly readable fonts. Avoid script or decorative typefaces that slow reading. Remember that some viewers may have vision challenges or be reading from several feet away.
Multilingual Considerations
Language inclusion isn't optional—it's essential for effective WIC outreach. Spanish-language materials should receive equal design attention, not feel like afterthoughts. Depending on your community, consider additional languages like Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic, or Somali.
For space-constrained formats, consider bilingual designs where both languages appear together. For larger formats like posters, create separate language versions to ensure neither language is compromised.
Don't forget about literacy levels. Some families may have limited reading ability in any language. Use simple words, short sentences, and supportive imagery that helps convey meaning visually.
Cultural Competence
Cultural competence extends beyond translation. Different communities may have varying levels of familiarity with government assistance programs, different family structures, and different health beliefs that impact receptivity to WIC messaging.
Work with community advisory groups representing your target populations. Test materials with actual WIC-eligible families before launching campaigns. Their feedback often reveals assumptions or messaging gaps that program administrators miss.
Consider cultural celebrations and events when timing campaigns. Back-to-school periods, cultural holidays, or community events can provide natural hooks for WIC promotion.
Integrating OOH with Multi-Channel Campaigns
Place-based OOH works most effectively as part of an integrated, multi-channel approach. Each channel reinforces others, creating multiple pathways for families to learn about and enroll in WIC.
Digital Integration
Every piece of OOH creative should include digital connection points. QR codes bridge physical and digital experiences, allowing interested families to immediately access more information, check eligibility, or start applications.
Coordinate OOH campaigns with targeted digital advertising in the same geographic areas. When families see consistent messaging across multiple channels, recognition and trust build faster. Use geographic targeting in Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads to reach populations in neighborhoods where OOH placements appear.
Create landing pages specifically for OOH campaigns. When someone scans a QR code from a bus shelter ad, they should arrive at a mobile-optimized page that continues the conversation started by the physical ad. Track these visits to measure OOH effectiveness.
Social Media Amplification
Encourage community sharing by creating visually appealing, shareable content that mirrors OOH creative. When someone sees a WIC ad at their bus stop and then sees similar content in their social media feed, the reinforcement strengthens message retention.
Partner with local influencers, particularly parent bloggers or community advocates who already have trust within target populations. These partnerships extend reach beyond paid media while lending authenticity to your message.
Create hashtags specific to your campaign and include them on OOH materials. This allows tracking of organic conversation and community engagement around your WIC promotion efforts.
Creating Message Consistency
Maintain consistent visual branding and messaging across all channels—OOH, digital, print, broadcast. Families should immediately recognize WIC materials regardless of where they encounter them.
Develop a campaign theme or tagline that works across all media. "Nourishing Healthy Families" or "Your Child's Healthy Start" can anchor campaigns while allowing flexibility for channel-specific execution.
Create a comprehensive toolkit for partners that includes approved logos, messaging guidelines, and materials in various formats. This ensures that even when other organizations promote WIC, they do so with consistent, approved materials.
Measuring Success and Demonstrating ROI
Demonstrating the effectiveness of place-based OOH campaigns requires establishing clear metrics and measurement systems from the outset. While OOH measurement presents challenges compared to digital channels, multiple approaches can reveal campaign impact.
Key Performance Indicators
Enrollment Numbers: Track WIC applications and enrollments by geographic area and timing. Increases in neighborhoods with heavy OOH placement, particularly following campaign launches, suggest effectiveness.
Source Attribution: Ask all new applicants "How did you hear about WIC?" Include specific options like "Saw poster at clinic," "Bus shelter ad," or "Grocery store display." This simple question provides direct attribution data.
Digital Engagement: Monitor website traffic, particularly from QR code scans. Unique URLs or QR codes for different placement types (healthcare vs. retail vs. transit) reveal which locations drive most digital engagement.
Call Volume: Track phone inquiries to WIC information lines. Spikes following OOH campaign launches indicate message effectiveness. Train call center staff to ask how callers heard about WIC.
Geographic Analysis: Compare enrollment rates between neighborhoods with significant OOH presence and similar neighborhoods without. This comparison, while not perfect, suggests campaign impact.
Text Message Response: If using text-to-enroll or text-for-info options, these highly trackable interactions provide clear campaign attribution.
Pre/Post Campaign Research
Consider conducting awareness surveys before and after major OOH campaigns. Simple phone or online surveys asking target populations about WIC awareness, program knowledge, and enrollment intentions provide valuable baseline and impact data.
Community intercept surveys at key OOH locations can reveal message recall and comprehension. "Have you seen information about WIC recently? Where? What did it say?" These brief interactions provide qualitative insights into campaign penetration.
Partner Feedback
Healthcare providers and community partners can offer valuable anecdotal evidence of campaign impact. Regular check-ins asking "Have patients mentioned seeing WIC information? Have more people asked about the program?" helps assess awareness building.
Some healthcare partners may be willing to track WIC referrals they make, providing another metric for campaign effectiveness.
Cost Analysis
Calculate cost-per-enrollment by dividing total campaign costs by new enrollments attributed to the campaign. Compare this to historical enrollment costs or costs from other outreach methods.
Consider lifetime value of enrollments. WIC participants typically remain in the program for several years, making even seemingly expensive acquisitions worthwhile when amortized over the family's participation period.
Longitudinal Tracking
OOH campaigns work best over sustained periods rather than short bursts. Track metrics over months and years to identify trends. Many families see WIC information multiple times before acting, meaning campaign impacts may be delayed.
Create control groups if possible. If your jurisdiction has multiple service areas, stagger OOH campaign rollouts to allow comparison between areas with and without active campaigns.
Real-World Success Stories
Understanding theory matters, but seeing practical applications brings strategies to life. Here are three examples of successful place-based OOH campaigns for WIC promotion.
Urban Transit Campaign: Reaching Families in Motion
A large Midwestern WIC agency faced declining enrollment despite high eligibility rates. Research revealed that many eligible families simply didn't know about the program or thought they didn't qualify. The agency partnered with the city's public transit authority to place advertisements inside buses and at major transit hubs.
The creative featured diverse local families with simple messaging: "1 in 2 families qualify for WIC. Do you?" alongside a prominent phone number and QR code. Spanish-language versions appeared on bus routes serving predominantly Latino neighborhoods.
Results were dramatic. The transit campaign ran for six months, and during that period, the agency saw a 34% increase in new applications compared to the previous six months. Most significantly, 41% of new applicants mentioned seeing transit advertising when asked how they heard about WIC.
The campaign's success came from strategic route selection—focusing on buses serving neighborhoods with high concentrations of eligible families—and sustained presence. Families riding the same bus routes daily encountered the message repeatedly, building familiarity and trust.
Grocery Store Partnership: Benefits at Point of Purchase
A rural state WIC program struggled to reach eligible families in small towns and agricultural communities. Traditional advertising felt too impersonal, and digital campaigns had limited reach in areas with poor internet connectivity.
The solution involved partnering with regional grocery chains to place WIC promotional materials directly in stores. The agency created attractive displays for baby food and dairy aisles, checkout lane flyers, and shopping cart placards. Creative emphasized the connection between WIC and the products families were already purchasing: "The healthy food in your cart could be free."
Crucially, materials included information about WIC-authorized vendors, reassuring families that their local grocery stores already participated in the program. Store managers received small incentives for displaying materials prominently and training cashiers to answer basic WIC questions.
Over one year, the grocery store campaign contributed to a 28% increase in rural enrollments. Exit surveys at participating stores found that 67% of shoppers recalled seeing WIC information, with 23% saying it prompted them to look into eligibility.
The program's success stemmed from meeting families at the exact moment they were making food purchasing decisions, making WIC's benefits tangible and immediate. The partnership approach also built community buy-in, with local stores becoming advocates for the program.
Healthcare Setting Integration: Clinical Partnerships
A Western state with large immigrant populations faced language barriers and cultural hesitation around government programs. Standard outreach materials weren't breaking through, and many eligible families remained unserved.
The WIC agency developed a comprehensive healthcare partnership strategy, focusing on community health centers serving diverse populations. Rather than simply placing posters, they worked with clinics to integrate WIC promotion into patient care.
Materials appeared in exam rooms, waiting areas, and checkout desks, all available in English, Spanish, Mandarin, and Vietnamese. Critically, the agency trained clinic staff on WIC eligibility and benefits, turning healthcare workers into informal WIC ambassadors.
The partnership included referral protocols where healthcare providers could directly connect eligible patients with WIC enrollment specialists, sometimes facilitating same-day enrollment for families already at the clinic.
This integrated approach proved highly effective. Participating clinics saw 89% of their eligible patients enroll in WIC, compared to 47% enrollment rates at non-participating clinics in similar communities. The healthcare provider endorsement proved crucial for families who trusted their doctors but remained skeptical of government programs.
The key lesson: OOH materials work best when supported by human connection and institutional partnerships that provide warm handoffs from awareness to enrollment.
Overcoming Common Challenges
While place-based OOH offers tremendous potential for WIC promotion, practitioners inevitably encounter obstacles. Understanding these challenges and having solutions ready ensures campaign success.
Limited Budgets
WIC agencies often operate with constrained marketing budgets, making extensive OOH campaigns seem out of reach. Several strategies can maximize impact with limited funds:
Prioritize High-Value Locations: Rather than trying to achieve broad geographic coverage, focus resources on locations with highest concentrations of eligible families and longest dwell times. Ten placements in high-performing locations outperform 50 placements scattered randomly.
Negotiate Partnerships: Many community locations—health clinics, libraries, community centers—will display materials for free, especially when framed as community service. Healthcare providers serving many WIC-eligible patients have vested interests in connecting patients with nutrition support.
Leverage Pro Bono Services: Advertising agencies often take pro bono public health work. Local design schools may have students eager for real-world portfolio projects. These partnerships can deliver professional-quality creative at minimal cost.
Focus on Longevity: Instead of rotating creative frequently, design materials that remain relevant for extended periods. A well-designed, durable poster can work for years, dramatically reducing cost-per-impression.
Coordinate with Other Programs: Partner with SNAP, Medicaid, or childcare assistance programs to share costs on materials promoting multiple benefits. Many families eligible for one program qualify for others.
Reaching Rural Populations
Rural WIC promotion presents unique challenges. Lower population density means fewer high-traffic locations, and families may travel significant distances for services, making place-based strategies less obvious.
Successful rural OOH strategies include:
Focus on Essential Services: In rural areas, identify the places everyone must visit: grocery stores, farm supply stores, laundromats, post offices, and gas stations. Penetration in these universal touchpoints ensures broad reach.
Healthcare as Hub: Rural healthcare facilities serve wide geographic areas. Placement here reaches families who've already made significant effort to access services.
Community Events: County fairs, farmers markets, and community gatherings concentrate rural populations in ways daily life doesn't. Temporary OOH placements at these events can be highly effective.
School Partnerships: Even in areas where WIC serves children under five, schools hosting older siblings can share information with families who may have younger children at home.
Mobile Outreach: Some WIC programs operate mobile clinics in rural areas. OOH materials can promote both WIC benefits and mobile clinic schedules.
Language and Literacy Barriers
Effective communication with diverse populations requires more than translation. Several strategies ensure accessibility:
Professional Translation: Never rely on machine translation for critical program information. Work with professional translators familiar with both language and culture.
Visual Communication: Use images, icons, and diagrams that convey meaning without text. A picture of healthy foods communicates "nutrition program" across language barriers.
Simplified Text: Even in English, use plain language at 6th-grade reading level or below. Short sentences, common words, and active voice increase comprehension.
Community Involvement: Have materials reviewed by members of target communities. They'll identify confusing phrases or cultural assumptions that outsiders miss.
Multiple Formats: Offer QR codes linking to information in multiple languages, allowing families to choose their preferred language digitally even when physical space limits multilingual materials.
Maintaining Current Information
WIC programs periodically update policies, benefits, or contact information, creating risks of outdated OOH materials misleading families.
Solutions include:
Design for Longevity: Focus creative on timeless benefits and concepts rather than specific policies likely to change. "WIC provides healthy food for your growing family" remains true even as specific food packages evolve.
Modular Design: Create designs with interchangeable components. Evergreen branding and imagery stay constant while information panels can be easily updated.
Digital Integration: Direct families to websites or phone numbers where information remains current, making physical materials primarily awareness-drivers rather than comprehensive information sources.
Regular Audits: Establish schedules for reviewing all OOH placements, replacing outdated materials promptly. Build replacement costs into annual budgets.
Partner Communication: Maintain contact with locations hosting materials. When policies change, they can help remove or update materials.
Addressing Stigma
Some families hesitate to participate in WIC due to perceived stigma around benefit programs. OOH campaigns can help normalize participation:
Emphasize Prevalence: Messaging like "1 in 2 families qualify" or "Serving over 6 million families nationwide" demonstrates how common WIC participation is.
Focus on Child Benefits: Frame WIC as an investment in children's health and development rather than "assistance" or "welfare."
Use Aspirational Imagery: Show families thriving, engaged in positive activities, presenting WIC as supporting success rather than addressing failure.
Professional Design: High-quality materials signal that WIC is a valued program worth investing in, countering stereotypes about benefit programs.
Community Normalization: Ubiquitous presence in trusted community spaces helps make WIC feel like standard community resource rather than stigmatized service.
Attribution Challenges
Unlike digital marketing where every click tracks, OOH attribution requires creativity:
Unique Contact Methods: Use unique phone numbers or URLs for different campaigns or placement types, revealing which generate most response.
QR Code Analytics: QR codes provide trackable digital connections from physical media. Different codes for different locations reveal performance.
Ask Every Time: Make "How did you hear about us?" mandatory on every application or inquiry. Over time, patterns emerge even if individual responses are imprecise.
Geographic Correlation: Analyze enrollment increases in areas with heavy OOH presence versus comparable areas without.
Coupon Codes: If culturally appropriate, create "bring this flyer" promotions with unique codes revealing which materials families saw.
Partner Reporting: Ask partners hosting materials to track conversations or questions prompted by displays.
The Future of Place-Based OOH for WIC
The place-based OOH landscape continues evolving, creating new opportunities for innovative WIC promotion.
Digital OOH and Dynamic Content
Digital screens in place-based locations enable dynamic content that static posters can't match. These screens can:
Rotate Messages: Different messages target different times of day. Morning transit screens might emphasize prenatal nutrition while afternoon messages focus on infant feeding.
Respond to Context: Screens in pediatric clinics could show age-appropriate messages based on typical appointment times. Infant well-checks happen in the morning? Show infant feeding information then.
Incorporate Motion: Animation and video capture attention in ways static images cannot. A brief animated story about a family's WIC experience can be more compelling than static text.
Update Instantly: When program information changes, digital screens update remotely, eliminating concerns about outdated materials.
Measure Attention: Some digital screens include sensors measuring how many people view content and for how long, providing unprecedented measurement data.
While digital screens require higher upfront investment, costs continue declining, making them increasingly accessible for public health campaigns.
Enhanced Targeting with Location Data
Anonymized mobile location data reveals where target populations spend time, informing smarter placement decisions. Rather than guessing which grocery stores eligible families frequent, data confirms actual shopping patterns.
Privacy-compliant data analysis can identify high-opportunity locations program administrators might never have considered, ensuring placements reach actual audiences rather than assumed ones.
Mobile Integration
Near-field communication (NFC) tags and advanced QR codes enable richer interactions. A family tapping their phone to a bus shelter ad might receive not just website links but immediate text message enrollment assistance or appointment scheduling.
Location-based mobile alerts can trigger when families enter areas with WIC materials, providing timely reminders: "You're near a WIC clinic. Would you like directions?"
Sustainability Considerations
As environmental consciousness grows, sustainable OOH practices become important for public agencies. This includes:
Durable Materials: Long-lasting materials reduce replacement frequency and environmental impact.
Recyclable Substrates: Choosing recyclable materials for posters and displays aligns public health messages with environmental values.
Digital Over Print: When appropriate, digital screens reduce paper waste associated with frequent material updates.
Local Production: Working with local vendors reduces transportation emissions while supporting community businesses.
Many families concerned about environmental issues view sustainability efforts favorably, potentially making eco-friendly campaign practices a positive message in themselves.
Getting Started: Your WIC OOH Campaign Roadmap
Ready to launch a place-based OOH campaign for WIC promotion? Here's your step-by-step roadmap:
Phase 1: Research and Planning (Weeks 1-4)
Analyze Your Population: Review enrollment data identifying underserved geographic areas, demographic groups, and barriers to enrollment. Where are eligible families who aren't participating?
Map Daily Patterns: Understand where your target population spends time. What healthcare facilities do they use? Where do they shop? How do they commute?
Assess Current Efforts: Evaluate existing outreach. What's working? What gaps exist? How might OOH complement current strategies?
Set Clear Goals: Define what success looks like. Is your goal increasing overall enrollment by 20%? Reaching specific underserved populations? Improving program awareness?
Establish Budget: Determine available resources for creative development, media placement, and measurement.
Phase 2: Strategic Development (Weeks 5-8)
Identify Priority Locations: Based on your research, list specific venues for material placement. Prioritize locations combining high target population concentration with receptive environments.
Develop Partnerships: Begin conversations with healthcare facilities, transit authorities, retailers, and community organizations. Explain mutual benefits and establish placement agreements.
Create Measurement Plan: Determine how you'll track campaign effectiveness. Implement systems for attribution questions, QR code tracking, and geographic analysis.
Develop Creative Brief: Document key messages, visual direction, required languages, technical specifications for different placement types, and brand guidelines.
Phase 3: Creative Development (Weeks 9-14)
Design Materials: Work with designers to create compelling, culturally appropriate materials. Develop different formats for different placement types (posters, transit cards, shelf talkers, etc.).
Community Review: Test materials with members of target communities. Gather feedback on clarity, appeal, and cultural appropriateness.
Refine and Finalize: Incorporate feedback and produce final materials in all required formats and languages.
Prepare Digital Components: Create QR code landing pages, unique tracking URLs, and text message response systems.
Phase 4: Placement and Launch (Weeks 15-18)
Distribute Materials: Work with partners to install materials in agreed-upon locations. Provide installation guidance ensuring proper placement and visibility.
Train Partners: Ensure healthcare providers, retailer staff, and others hosting materials can answer basic questions about WIC.
Launch Supporting Channels: Coordinate digital advertising, social media, and other channels to reinforce OOH messages.
Document Placement: Photograph installations for your records and create inventory of exactly where materials appear.
Phase 5: Monitoring and Optimization (Ongoing)
Track Metrics: Monitor enrollment numbers, call volume, website traffic, and other KPIs weekly.
Gather Feedback: Regularly check with partners about material performance and any questions families ask.
Site Visits: Periodically visit placement locations to ensure materials remain properly displayed and in good condition.
Adjust as Needed: If certain locations underperform, reallocate resources to higher-performing sites. If certain messages resonate more, adjust future creative accordingly.
Report Results: Document campaign performance for stakeholders, highlighting successes and lessons learned.
Phase 6: Sustain and Scale (Months 6+)
Refresh Creative: Even successful campaigns benefit from occasional creative updates maintaining interest.
Expand Partnerships: As initial placements prove successful, approach additional locations and partners.
Share Learnings: Connect with other WIC agencies to share successful strategies and learn from their experiences.
Plan Next Phase: Use performance data to inform increasingly sophisticated campaigns, testing new locations, messages, or technologies.
Essential Resources for Success
Launching your WIC OOH campaign requires reliable resources and partners. Here are key references:
Program Information and Guidelines
USDA WIC Program Homepage: https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic
WIC Communications Toolkit: Available through USDA for consistent messaging
State WIC Agency Directory: Connect with your state program for local guidelines
Industry Associations and Research
Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA): Resources on OOH effectiveness and best practices
Geopath (formerly TAB): Audience measurement and research for OOH campaigns
Ad Council: Examples of successful public service OOH campaigns
Design and Creative Resources
Canva for Teams: Affordable design tools for basic materials
99designs or Fiverr: Access to freelance designers
Local university graphic design departments: Student projects can deliver professional results at lower costs
Stock photo sites with diverse, authentic imagery: Pexels, Unsplash, or subscription services like Getty Images
Measurement and Analytics
Google Analytics: Track website traffic from QR codes and campaign URLs
Call tracking services: Unique phone numbers reveal which placements drive calls
SurveyMonkey or Google Forms: Create simple intake surveys for attribution
Your WIC management information system: Mine existing data for enrollment patterns
Compliance and Legal Considerations
Ensure your OOH campaigns comply with federal requirements for WIC communications, including non-discrimination statements and equal opportunity messaging. All materials should include appropriate USDA non-discrimination statements when required.
Work with your legal counsel to ensure any health claims made in materials are accurate and appropriate. While WIC benefits are well-established, marketing materials shouldn't overstate or misrepresent program offerings.
Privacy considerations matter, particularly when working with healthcare partners. Ensure materials comply with HIPAA and don't inadvertently disclose that specific individuals receive WIC services.
Conclusion: Making WIC Accessible Through Strategic Presence
Every child deserves a healthy start in life, and WIC provides crucial nutritional support to make that possible. Yet this support only helps families who know about it, understand their eligibility, and can navigate enrollment processes. Place-based out-of-home media serves as a powerful bridge connecting eligible families with the program that can transform their children's health trajectories.
