Know the Dangers

Whether it’s prescription opioids, counterfeit pills, or fentanyl–the quest for physical or mental relief has created so much pain in people’s lives. And as the issue mutates, the opioid crisis destroys individuals, shattering families, and debilitating more communities than ever before. It’s why we created knowthedangers.com as a hub for people to stay informed and find hope, recovery programs and harm reduction resources.

What We Did

Client:

Know The Dangers

Focus:

Research

Creative Testing

User Experience

Ethnographic Research

Customer Journey Mapping

Brand Equity Assessments

Copywriting

Video

Photography

Collateral

Email Content

Ad Creative

Web Design

Digital Marketing Strategy

Web Development

Paid Advertising

Search Engine Marketing

Paid Social

Campaign Management

Analytics

Social Media

What began as a Minnesota initiative to raise awareness about the dangers of synthetic drugs has become a nationally-recognized, crucial tool and messaging platform to help Minnesotans tackle the opioid crisis.

Today, the website offers stories of hope, guidance on starting recovery, tips for affected loved ones, educational pieces for the public, and helpful resources such as instructions for administering naloxone, a lifesaving drug, and an interactive map that helps people find it.

HELPING MINNESOTANS KNOW THE DANGERS WHILE FINDING HOPE

To build a following, we deployed awareness and recovery campaigns, from print to video to digital, and everything in between. Speaking to both active opioid users and affected others, our messaging started from a place of empathy. We never stigmatized or placed blame, but instead related to the realities of the struggle and offered hope for recovery.

COCREATION

An integral part of this campaign was co-creation. We gave affected communities the voice to tell their stories and keep on telling them. Our approach is captured in this moving music video, produced in conjunction with Twin Cities musician Danami-Maurice Champion. With an emphasis on positivity, this work expresses hope and a chance at wholeness in the face of painful realities.

As though the opioid epidemic isn’t bad enough, counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl have emerged as an even greater threat.

So, how do you tell teens the Xanax they think they’re buying might actually be a deadly fake pill without sounding like a concerned mother? You speak to them honestly in a way that grabs their attention.

With the COVID-19 pandemic came higher rates of drug overdose, prompting a need for greater education and access to naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal drug. To get naloxone into more people’s hands, we created and promoted an interactive map that helps Minnesotans find naloxone nearest them.

When we first created Know The Dangers, the scope was limited to synthetic drug awareness for a more narrowly defined audience. Despite messaging evolving and adapting to new opioid-related issues and audiences over time, the goal and approach has stayed the same – raise awareness about these issues and help people find hope and treatment through engaging, empathetic, and actionable content.

Every month knowthedangers.com is visited by thousands of those in need. That means that every month the website – and this overall campaign – saves lives.