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Company: National Association of Manufacturers, Washington, DC
Company Description: The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states.
Nomination Category: Thought Leadership Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Thought Leadership Campaign of the Year - Government or Non-Profit
 Nomination Title: Creators Respond
- Which will you submit for this nomination, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the nominated PR campaign or program, or written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this first question: Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:
Creators Respond was launched in March 2020.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this second question: Describe the genesis of the nominated campaign or program: the reasons it was initiated, the challenges it was created to address, the problems it was developed to solve, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 191 words used.
COVID-19 threatens lives and livelihoods across the country, but although respected public health experts recommended that Americans practice social distancing and wear masks when they were in public places, during the worst days of the pandemic there was a distinct absence of a coordinated campaign to spread awareness about the importance of these critical safety practices. The NAM originally intended to launch part a multi-city tour in early 2020 for its workforce development campaign, Creators Wanted, but quickly pivoted as the pandemic changed the way work and business happened in our country. Whereas Creators Wanted would showcase career opportunities in modern manufacturing, Creators Respond set out to tell the stories of manufacturing teams who went above and beyond throughout 2020, working long hours, nights and weekends, completely shifting operations to produce vitally-needed PPE, sanitizing products and other crucial supplies. Manufacturers and their teams worked since the start of the pandemic to safely produce the household goods and personal protective equipment Americans needed to fight COVID-19. The American public and elected officials needed to understand manufacturers’ heroic efforts—in part, to ensure manufacturers could continue to operate and not be subject to shutdowns.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this third question: Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the subject and content development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 197 words used.
The flagship component of Creators Respond was the one-stop website, nam.org/creatorsrespond, which features content—reported and written by NAM staff—showcasing the work manufacturers did to reimagine the operations in the face of the spread of COVID-19. The NAM communications team conducted interviews with manufacturing teams to find the most interesting, compelling and heroic stories to use. The stories would be published regularly over the course of the year, providing constant reinforcement of the fact that manufacturers and their teams were going above and beyond to keep supplies flowing to the American public.
Another critical element of the campaign was aggregating tools for manufacturers, such as information on state COVID-19 health and safety regulations and other resources, including the “Creators Respond Commitment” to encourage safe behaviors in the workplace. Our communications outreach leveraged the main NAM landing page and its content, using a multichannel strategy that incorporated influencer engagement to expand the reach. Our team evaluated the best means of reaching specific audiences, including young people and local communities. We produced public service announcement videos in-house, promoting them across channels where target audiences like political and business leaders are, so they could engage with and amplify the campaign.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this fourth question: Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of January 2020. Even if your initiative started before January 2020, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of July 2019 only (up to 250 words):
Total 205 words used.
The NAM’s most important metrics for success in Creators Respond were lives saved, communities protected, businesses safely operating and widespread awareness about how social distancing and mask wearing helped make those possible. Our Creators Respond videos garnered about 700K views, and the campaign landing page received about 35K views. The This is Our Shot "I Love Frank" video racked up a whopping 5M views, and the related landing page drew in about 60K pageviews.
The stories we shared reached policymakers, media, key influencers and the general public. Anecdotes about the courageous efforts of manufacturing employees helped influence perceptions and attitudes toward the industry, showing it to be indispensable and essential for disaster response. Federal and state officials classified manufacturers as essential workers, owing in part to Creators Respond and its impact on raising the profile of the industry’s work to combat COVID-19. Just as the industry was viewed as the “Arsenal of Democracy” during WWII, Creators Respond successfully helped cast manufacturers as the “Arsenal of Health.”
As vaccines were developed and the country’s largest-ever vaccination campaign got off the ground, Creators Respond evolved into the This Is Our Shot project, oriented around encouraging manufacturing employees and their loved ones to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
- Optional: Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 242 words used.
Creators Respond main landing page: https://www.nam.org/creatorsrespond/
Creators Stories highlighting COVID-19 problem-solving, such as “Manufacturer Racks Up New Product in COVID-19 Response,” “Manufacturer Helps Patients Breath Easier,” and “How One Manufacturer is Helping School Labs 3D Print Protective Gear.” The NAM’s in-house team produced videos to inspire viewers and help spread awareness of the campaign, including “Count Us In,” which powerfully described manufacturers’ willingness to be part of the fight against COVID-19. These public service announcements included “Peer Pressure,” emphasizing the danger that failing to social distance or wear masks posed for the rising COVID-19 death toll, “Carry the Ball,” illustrating the death toll at the time in terms of filled-to-capacity football stadiums, “About Grandpa,” a PSA that featured TikTok influencer Charles Mallett to make the case that social distancing and mask usage will help protect our older loved ones and “Stop the Other Spread,” which countered misinformation about mask usage. Some videos harnessed a local connection, such as “It Takes a Team,” featuring the 1988 AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals team and rolled out to coincide with an Ohio football opening game.
In the roughly six months after the “Stop the Spread” videos were first released, they were viewed 693,864 times The videos have regularly been discussed and shared by major news hosts, politicians, businesses and other thought leaders. This Is Our Shot main landing page: https://www.nam.org/thisisourshot/
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