Make the policy personal—and the next action unmistakable.
#HealthFirstAdvocates
A federal funding deadline in Washington could affect community health centers and the services Kentuckians depend on. #HealthFirstAdvocates translated the national Community Health Center Fund debate into a clear public action and gave Kentucky advocates a direct path to their members of Congress.
see the work- client
- HealthFirst Bluegrass · Kentucky advocates
- period
- 2023
- our part
- Advocacy campaign strategy, message architecture, activation system, and performance tracking within Sage Marketing’s integrated HealthFirst team.
What was
in motion.
HealthFirst Bluegrass brought Sage Marketing in as its integrated marketing department in 2021. The wider partnership joined brand positioning, digital marketing, public relations, inclusive communications, and community outreach. Within that work, the 2023 advocacy campaign mobilized staff, patients, partners, and supporters in Kentucky as part of the national effort to prevent federal Community Health Center funding from expiring September 30.
The decisions that shaped it.
Translate a federal issue for everyday audiences
Connect Community Health Center funding with local care, including primary care, pharmacy, behavioral health, pediatrics, and school-based services.
Equip Kentucky advocates
Build campaign materials and calls to action that HealthFirst staff, patients, partners, and supporters could carry through social, digital, and community channels.
Make contacting Congress straightforward
Direct audiences to the offices of U.S. Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul and U.S. Representative Andy Barr with a clear funding request.
Track activation across the campaign
Measure completed congressional contacts and use participation data to show the scale of Kentucky’s response within a national funding effort.
What the work included.
- Grassroots campaign strategy
- Shared message and call-to-action system
- Kentucky activation materials
- Organic social activation
- Audience-to-Congress contact pathway
- Congressional response tracking
tracked contacts to members of Congress
Campaign result reported by Madeline for the Kentucky-based activation within the national funding effort.
kept Community Health Center funding in place beyond September 30
Congress and the President enacted a short-term continuing resolution extending Community Health Center funding through November 17, 2023. Longer-term reauthorization remained under consideration, so the case does not claim that one standalone Senate bill passed.
Read the 2023 federal funding update ↗The broader HealthFirst engagement Sage Marketing case study · April 2024
increase in website clicks reported by Sage Marketing
Sage also reports a 2,124.67% increase in organic reach and a 637% increase in page impressions across the broader HealthFirst partnership. These figures give context for the integrated marketing environment around #HealthFirstAdvocates; the 1,800+ congressional contacts above are the separate campaign result.
Read Sage Marketing’s HealthFirst case study ↗A closer look.
The public call to advocate
Original #HealthFirstAdvocates social artwork paired with the Kentucky call to contact federal policy-makers.
HealthFirst Bluegrass · original LinkedIn campaign post, June 2023Kentucky voices, directed to Congress
Case-study visualization of a shared federal-funding message moving through HealthFirst and its community to members of Congress.
ad.visor case-study visualization · campaign structure reported by Madeline and verified against published calls to action
Constituent action, counted
The campaign’s reported congressional contacts and the verified short-term federal funding extension.
ad.visor case-study visualization · contact result reported by Madeline; federal extension independently verified
The broader digital lift
Published digital growth across Sage Marketing’s wider HealthFirst engagement, presented separately from the advocacy campaign’s 1,800+ congressional contacts.
ad.visor case-study visualization · figures published by Sage Marketing, April 2024People will act on policy when they can see what it changes close to home.
Good work has good company.
- Grassroots strategy and campaign system: Madeline Diane
- Campaign lead and client: HealthFirst Bluegrass
- Kentucky activation: HealthFirst staff, patients, partners, community supporters, and participating advocates
- Federal advocacy targets: Kentucky’s congressional delegation
- Federal funding action: United States Congress and the President