A Tale of Two Audiences: Formative Research and Campaign Development for Two Different Latino Audiences, to Improve COVID-19 Prevention Behavior

The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected the Latino population in the United States, further exacerbating the existing racial and ethnic health disparities that this group faces. While government health entities rushed to develop COVID-19 prevention educational materials in Spanish, these failed to recognize the unique motivators and barriers that move different Latino audience segments to act. We conducted five online focus groups with two different Latino audience segments, general Latino people, and Latino migrant workers, to assess their experience navigating the pandemic, their engagement in preventive behavior, and their consumption of health news. While the general Latino audience had higher levels of social capital and established preventive healthcare, they were more skeptical about getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Migrant workers needed to be vaccinated to retain their jobs, and saw the vaccine as the only way to keep their families healthy. We used the focus group results to develop two different creative concepts that aligned with each audience’s unique experience. Our study highlights the importance of developing hyper-focused messages, responsive to the experience of distinct audience segments, for maximum impact.