Across the nation, local governments were not in sync in their directives and polarizing opinions emerged regarding the public’s civic duties and best practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19. To combat this, Shelby County government set out to create consistent, thorough messaging to democratize data and connect diverse populations with the information and resources they needed — in a positive, unifying tone and manner that would break through the “pandemic fatigue” anticipated in the late months of the year.

The ‘CO’ that Matters Most campaign focused on the community and coming together to combat COVID-19. The message themes abandoned blame and judgmental overtones that were surfacing across the country, in favor of emphasis on the positive way we each can impact our community, by continuing the course to prevent the spread of the virus. Influencers helped spread this message to their audiences in authentic ways, and humor was used to counter the complexity of public communication (as seen in ‘The Pitch’) and address multi-generational communication and shared responsibilities (as seen in ‘The Talk’).