Integrated campaign

The Challenge
When Duncan Channon took on Covered California in 2019, 1.4 million Californians were uninsured — and that number doubled within months. But the biggest barrier wasn’t awareness. It was self-elimination: people had already decided health insurance wasn’t for them, was too expensive, or felt inaccessible. Our challenge was to drive behavioral change among audiences who believed coverage didn’t apply to them.

Result
To overcome self-elimination, we had to shift the conversation from policy and price to emotion. Health insurance needed to feel less like a system and more like an act of protection, care, and personal empowerment.

Through emotionally resonant messaging and photography that captured real Californian families across LatinX, Black, Asian American, and LGBTQ+ communities, we helped Californians see themselves reflected in a system designed to support them.

The campaign successfully increased brand awareness, improved favorability, and achieved greater perceived accessibility.

—
Role: Senior Designer and art direction
ECD: Michael Lemme / ACD: Kat Michie / Design Director: Jen Kellogg / Senior Copywriter: Madeline Lambie / Photography: We are the Rhoads
Awards: SF ADDY (Gold) Photography for Integrated Campaign