Campaign and Documentary Series Will Shine a Light on Rural Americans’ Challenges, Including Access to Information, Healthcare, Broadband, Tech, Consumer Goods, Clean Water and More.
FINN Partners, a leading independent, globally integrated marketing and communications firm, announced today that it will join forces with OffScrip Health, one of the leading digital health media platforms focused on patient engagement, health equity, and access to care, for the multimedia campaign “Heartbreak in America’s Heartland – Crisis in Rural America.” The campaign aims to raise awareness of the many challenges Americans face in rural areas and build advocacy to address the persistent, underlying causes.
FINN will serve as the pro bono agency of record for the effort, which is centered on a multi-part documentary series produced by OffScrip Health and presented on OffScrip’s podcast network, which is intended to raise awareness, spark conversations, promote solutions and highlight the work of communities, leaders in business and health, and policymakers making a difference. As part of the campaign, OffScrip and FINN Partners will collaborate to enlist a coalition of companies, academic institutions, and nonprofits to participate in the initiative.
“Living in the heartland has become increasingly difficult for Americans, and with this unprecedented narrative podcast documentary, we will present noted policy, community, and industry leaders working to change this reality,” said Matthew Zachary, OffScrip Health co-founder and executive producer of the award-winning network. “The FINN collaborative spirit and readiness to work with like-minded partners to make a measurable difference made it clear with whom we should partner to address this significant American challenge, which needs many allies to succeed. We and FINN urge all those who want to make a difference to join this much-needed effort.”
Some 46 million Americans live in rural communities, but many live hours away from basic care, emergency services, and specialist providers. People in rural areas have higher rates of smoking, high blood pressure, obesity, mental illness, and poor end-of-life care than residents of urban and suburban areas. The challenges faced by rural Americans also include the impacts of climate change on their livelihoods, access to broadband technology, and sparse educational resources.
“These challenges to rural Americans cause suffering, which drives despair and feeds discord. Dialogue that elevates awareness of people’s difficulties is an important step in providing a remedy, and communication is the first step in providing viable solutions,” said Peter Finn, founding partner and CEO, FINN Partners. “I have been a long-time resident of Hunter, one of the far too many rural communities struggling in Upstate New York. The town was economically depressed and quickly deteriorating, but rather than abandon Hunter and shut our eyes to what was happening, we chose to get involved by raising awareness and engaging partners through the Catskill Mountain Foundation. Today, Hunter’s streets are lined with inns, restaurants, antique shops, and art galleries. Visitors come to enjoy the fall foliage, hike, and ski. We know that raising awareness to activate people will make a difference throughout the nation.”
Using the example of Hunter, NY and other living laboratories that prove how creativity, communication and caring can shift events, FINN and OffScrip Health will work to invite others to partner in the effort, championing a national conversation on the challenges rural Americans face, especially their struggles to access education, health, technology, consumer goods, clean water and more.
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