Gallery 3 — SocialQuest Inc

Our Work

We have completed countless projects, recruited hard-to-reach audiences of diverse ethnicities, deeply engaged on personal and sensitive issues, and developed actionable strategies for marketing and communications campaigns, programs, and consumer products.

Below is some of our work related to the public health sector and personal and family health care.

Covid-19 Vaccine State Public Awareness Campaign for California Department of Public Health

In Fall of 2021, despite wide availability of the COVID-19 vaccine, hesitancy, skepticism and caution still existed among the U.S. population, and especially among young adults (ages 18 – 24) about the Covid-19 vaccine. The CDC Foundation (CDCF) was tasked to develop a nationwide social media campaign to increase awareness and acceptance of the Covid-19 vaccine among young adults of multi-ethnic backgrounds.
SocialQuest developed a robust research methodology and communications strategy informed by qualitative research previously conducted on behalf of CDCF and coupled with its ongoing Covid-19 vaccine work in this space. One of the main objectives of the prior research was to unveil the influential factors and perceptions affecting the decision-making process around Covid-19 vaccination among youth populations ages 18-24. Through this research work SocialQuest was able to identify three audience segments, across race, ethnicity and gender, which coincidentally informed a communication strategy to help develop targeted and culturally attuned messaging.
The holistic research approach led to the discovery of a hesitancy spectrum experienced by the audience segments which served as a foundation from which nuanced messaging that catered to the various stages in the spectrum could be developed. This messaging was then created to provoke, inspire and engage target segments with the goal of moving them along in the vaccination decision-process. Results from the social media campaign included higher engagement rates with messages that were specifically crafted with a culturally sensitive approach and guided by the strategy we recommended.
CDC Foundation

Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Young Adults Nationwide

In November 2020, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) needed to rapidly develop and deploy a culturally congruent campaign that informed California’s ethnically diverse populations about COVID-19 vaccines and motivated them to get vaccinated. CDPH further required monthly measures of campaign effectiveness and monitoring of phenomena motivating and inhibiting uptake for the COVID-19 vaccines.
Our study sought to uncover key beliefs and barriers across California’s diverse populations and identify relevant campaign messaging and strategy for discrete populations. We targeted multiple communities including African American, Asian & Pacific Islander, Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Hmong, Korean, Japanese, English/bilingual Latino, Spanish-dominant Latino, Middle Eastern & North African, Native & Indigenous peoples, Essential workers, Farmworkers, Seniors 60+, Adults with underlying health conditions, Parents with school-age kids and Teens. We designed appropriate interface with these populations using online discussion boards, focus groups, dyad/triad interviews and family pods. We then combined our findings with the perspectives of stakeholders from community-based organizations.
To measure campaign effectiveness and monitor motivators and barriers to vaccination, we conducted monthly online surveys with respondents from opt-in panels to measure adults 18+ and 5 key populations: Asian/Pacific Islander, African American, Latino English/bilingual, Spanish-dominant Latino, and White non-Hispanic. Using multivariate analysis and similar techniques we identified motivators and barriers to vaccination and campaign messages most effectively driving vaccination.
The study found persons “undecided” about vaccination could be persuaded to become “vaccine supporters.” Significant motivators mostly were consistent throughout the study period—except during onset of the Delta variant—and centered around themes of safety, testing, efficacy, opinions of California’s vaccine rollout, and trust in the State of California. These findings served as verification that the campaign was on-message and on-strategy. Our multivariate analysis confirmed it when it identified the message “The vaccine is safe, effective and free for all Californians” as one of the strongest drivers of vaccination.
Additionally, early in the study we noted the proportion of vaccine “rejectors” did not decline and barriers to vaccination consistently focused on distrust, belief in a conspiracy, misinformation on the science of vaccines, and assertion of personal rights. These findings served as confirmation that the campaign would not shift these Californians to vaccine supporters and thus required the campaign to pivot in its approach.
California Department of Public Health

CENSUS 2020 Communications Campaign for California

The California Complete Count Office (CCCO) implemented the Census 2020 Communications Campaign to educate and motivate California’s 15 hardest-to-count (HTC) populations to complete their Census forms. CCCO needed mid-campaign measures of campaign effectiveness to ensure California would meet its objectives for the 15 HTC populations when the Census count ended.
We provided 15 discrete sets of measures for each of the 15 HTC populations. We recruited respondents from online opt-in panels where available; where unavailable, we recruited in-person panels, via community outreach organizations and tribal councils for Farmworkers, Unhoused Individuals, Spanish-dominant Latinos, Middle Eastern/North African, Low Broadband, and Native populations. The survey was developed to measure awareness and perceptions of Census 2020, intent to complete the Census form, and a campaign recall at 4 points: pre-campaign; twice in mid-campaign; and post-campaign, using multivariate analysis and similar techniques at each of the 4 stages to identify drivers of Census form completion.
Mid-campaign, the study found COVID-19 and social unrest were feeding a rise in mistrust of government. Identification of these external forces alerted CCCO that campaign strategy and messaging needed to shift to address these intervening forces. As a result, the CCCO introduced new messaging and message delivery strategies in the mid-campaign. The post-campaign measurement provided evidence of the effectiveness of these mid-campaign pivots. Specifically, our multivariate analysis identified many of the new strategies (workshops/trainings, phone calls, text messages, utility bills, and grassroots approach) and messages (“Census is secure and confidential” and “Census is quick and easy to complete“) were significant drivers of increased Census form completion.
California’s 15 Hardest-to-Count Populations (California Complete Count 2020/California Governor’s Office)

African American Birth Disparities

Earlier research with Welcome Baby revealed that African American moms did not feel supported by home visiting programs offered in the state. Specifically, they felt left out, unheard, and unsupported by these programs and by healthcare in general. Their stories told a reality of how African American new moms suffered in silence with little or no support during pregnancy and thereafter.
SocialQuest partnered with First 5 LA to reveal the underlying, systemic reasons for the disparity within this specific population and to determine ways to bridge the gaps. What we learned was much deeper than the need for programs. We came to understand that the experiences of African American moms were unique to them and that systemic racism was a key factor in their access to and trust of healthcare and new mom programs, impacting negatively on birth outcomes.
Recommendations from this research were implemented by local and county health organizations into various programs, including, the launch of an action plan with the objective to reduce birth mortality rates and improve outcomes for African-American infants and mothers. A robust and specifically targeted communications campaign was implemented to address the unique needs of African American moms, further reducing the disparities. Finally, in October 2019, California’s Governor, Gavin Newsom, signed a bill requiring implicit bias training for health care providers serving pregnant women.
First 5 LA

Encouraging Enrollment in Home Visiting Programs

The enrollment and retention of pregnant women and new moms in the Welcome Baby program was declining in First 5 LA’s free curriculum-based home visiting/parent coaching programs. To reverse the decline, SocialQuest was engaged to identify content and message for more effective social marketing materials to enhance program engagement and retention.
What began as communications research on enrollment and retention for the program quickly expanded into a deeper understanding of the challenges encountered by participants, parent coaches, hospital liaisons, and stakeholders. This led to a better overall perspective of the challenges faced by moms, program design issues in the system, and needs of staff members working directly with moms.
A multi-pronged approach was implemented to better serve the needs of moms, staff members, stakeholders, and the organization. Welcome Baby launched a new broad-based social marketing campaign that improved how the benefits of the program to the babies and the moms was communicated. Our research findings also led to systemic changes within the organization to address program design issues, making enrollment, access and retention easier for moms and moms-to-be. Welcome Baby also implemented our recommendations on ways to better serve staff needs, creating opportunities for informal mentoring, shadowing, socializing and exchanging ideas via peer-to-peer learning luncheons and peer-to-peer co-creation workshops
First 5 LA

Transforming Opioid Education in California

As opioid addiction skyrocketed, the California Department of Public Health needed insights to guide a public education campaign. We knew we would need to reach deep into the intimate stories of opioid users and their caregivers. Among adults 50-69 years of age, misuse, dependence, overdose and death accounted for over 36% of opioid deaths in California in 2017.
To inform a communication campaign to prevent opioid addiction, we sought to: identify and understand the key challenges, risk factors and decision making leading to opioid addiction, and to determine the caregiver’s influence in prevention. Combining individual, social, cultural and emotional factors, this study revealed the enormous complexity of the opioid addiction epidemic, as well as the heightened risks for these older adults. We studied the intersections of age, gender, race and culture, socioeconomics, access to healthcare, pervasive scripts, misinformation and denial, all of which coexisted with co-morbid health states and a complex, subjective phenomenon of chronic pain.
To empower patients and providers to reverse systemic issues of dependency and addiction, a multi-tiered, multi-directional layered strategy was recommended that included healthcare provider, risk assessment and education training, prevention and intervention treatment, and a public education and awareness campaign.
California Department of Public Health

What some of our clients say about us.

Client Testimonial

“To make the best decisions you need the best information. SocialQuest combines exhaustive outreach to communities of color and hard-to-reach populations, along with rock-solid methodology and know-how to gather and interpret data. Their approach — that includes listening to our goals and challenging us to think about the best way to achieve them — helped us to do some of our best work for young children and their families.”

Gabriel Sanchez, Chief Communications Officer; First 5 LA

Client Testimonial

“Social Quest goes beyond the surface to bring insights and recommendations that allow campaigns to be tailored to diverse audiences in ways that motivate and change behavior. They understand the complexity of American culture and bring that know-how to the table when designing and implementing research projects.”

Suanne Buggy, Deputy Director;National Community COVID Coalition