Pushkin PR Helps Colorado “Beat the Bug – Get a Flu Shot”

Pushkin Public Relations teamed up with Cactus Marketing Communications to create a statewide public awareness campaign to encourage Coloradoans to get their flu shots and prevent respiratory illness this winter. The program is called “Beat the Bug - Get a Flu Shot”. It launches in October when flu season begins.

Beat the Bug includes a Web-based viral marketing campaign designed to spread the word about the need for flu shots faster than the flu can spread from person to person; a humorous Public Service Announcement featuring Denver Nuggets star Marcus Camby; and a press conference at the Pepsi Center in Denver where Rocky, the Nuggets mascot, gets a flu shot and beats the trash talking, obnoxious Bug.

The Colorado Influenza and Pneumococcal Alert Coalition (CIPAC), part of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, chose Cactus and Pushkin over three other firms to develop the 2004 campaign. In addition to promoting flu vaccinations for everyone, CIPAC also wants to raise awareness that respiratory illnesses like the flu and pneumonia are preventable. Practicing simple hygiene such as washing your hands and covering your cough can significantly reduce the spread and incidence of these illnesses.

More than 36,000 people die each year from the flu and pneumonia, and 200,000 are hospitalized. The flu hits everybody regardless of age, but only half the people who need it the most get a shot. Last year, 152 children died from the flu in the United States, and over 66 percent of Americans are vulnerable.