The American Heart Association has long been active on issues of heart health, and overall seeks to create a country that is free of heart disease and stroke—which means demolishing obstacles to health equity in the United States.

Every day, the tobacco industry unfairly targets specific communities—including children and adolescents, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community—with products such as flavored tobacco and vapes. Wanting to create greater awareness and drive action, AHA looked to develop and design a campaign that would reach a diverse audience, inspiring them to advocate against tobacco companies.

Having spent years working with nonprofit organizations to mobilize grassroots advocacy, DBT knew firsthand the challenge of trying to mobilize communities at scale, and also the strategies required to reach these new audiences.

In partnership, AHA and DBT created a digital campaign strategy centered around authentic storytelling and resonant creative, using paid advertising to meaningfully engage diverse audiences, generating the advocacy needed to support AHA’s policy initiatives.

DBT flighted digital advertising acquisition campaigns with compelling creative that speaks directly to communities often targeted by tobacco companies across channels where they are already present, including Snapchat and Instagram. In addition, DBT created micro influencer campaigns that allowed AHA to partner with influencers affected by flavored tobacco and participate in the conversation where it’s already happening organically online.

The campaign quickly garnered interest amongst influencers, with over 30 individuals reaching out to AHA to express their interest in partnering. Then, in just the first few days of the campaign going live, digital ads generated over 2,500 clicks to the AHA website, where advocates could sign up to join the fight against tobacco companies.