As COVID-19 swept across the country in early 2020, the majority of people were heading into quarantine and locking down inside. Almost overnight, the outside world became a totally different landscape. Streets were empty, but they were full of courage from the essential workers who were still heading out there, braving the pandemic, to keep the world running. We needed to find a way to connect those inside during lockdown with the essential workers on the ground, so they could share their gratitude and thanks.

We turned digital media billboards across the country into spaces where people could hyper-target messages of thanks and gratitude, and where essential workers could see them. We tapped our brand partners to donate ad space in high traffic areas, like Times Square, as well as contextual space close to locations where essential workers were headed, like hospitals. Using the #OutThereForUs hashtag on social, people could write their message and tag a location to deliver their message via these transformed digital media units. From mobile device to digital billboard, people could connect on a one-to-one basis using media once intended for mass communication.

Our strategy was to make it easy for those staying inside during quarantine to show their support for essential workers who were going out there for us. We used donated digital media space in close proximity to spaces where we knew essential workers would see the messages. And we made it simple for people to participate, by using straightforward hashtag and location tagging behavior. Your mobile device became a microphone to speak to essential workers who were out there keeping the world running, and let them know you were cheering them on.

To launch the campaign, we created an awareness film with a song by Alicia Keys donated for use in the film. Brands lined up to donate their media space in partnership with Ad Council. #OutThereForUs went live in April and began transmitting messages of appreciation to essential workers. But we didn’t stop there. COVID-19 only grew in severity, even when the news cycle seemed to move on, but our campaign continued to run for months. By design, #OutThereForUs was an always-on campaign to help keep the safety and work of essential workers top of mind, while giving people a chance to thank them directly from home.

Over $8 million in donated media space.

Over 334 million impressions.

Sustained engagement and donated media throughout 2020 to help keep essential workers top of mind.