Song for Charlie’s California fentanyl prevention program partnership with XOMAD won big at the 18th Annual Shorty Awards, taking home both a Silver Honor and Audience Honor in the Local Campaign category! This recognition proves yet again that authentic, community-led storytelling is most effective in reaching and engaging at-risk populations where they are, particularly on challenging and life-threatening topics.
The campaign deployed 40 community-based creators across California to deliver culturally relevant, script-free prevention education, specifically about counterfeit pills and overdose prevention within their existing community contexts.
California, like the rest of the nation, faces a critical fentanyl crisis, with counterfeit pills flooding local communities, neighborhoods, college campuses, and day-to-day spaces. Song for Charlie recognized the need to build a “trust infrastructure” that enabled educators, parents, and young adults to communicate through heartfelt, resonant social media content.
The difference is simple: people trust people they know. A Black educator speaking about what’s happening in their neighborhood carries weight. A parent sharing real fears about their kids gets through. Messaging in the language and culture of the communities receiving it just works.
Song for Charlie partnered with XOMAD to bring this strategy to life. XOMAD has deep experience deploying locally trusted messengers connected with the terrible scourge of illicit drugs to share authentic messaging urging real action. For example, when partnering with Mothers Against Prescription Drug Abuse (MAPDA) to launch “The Greatest Gift is a Conversation” Pledge, a national opioid use prevention campaign, the aim was the same: share real stories about addiction, prevention, and recovery, by even those who have been personally impacted. The campaign was recognized by its impact at the 2024 Ad Age Awards.
When organizations trust creators as experts on their own lived experiences, engagement and behavior change follow.
The campaign’s three phases targeted different at-risk populations:
- Phase 1: Black Communities: Partnering with 21 trusted messengers to post across Meta and TikTok. The content reached 1.2 million Black Californians (57% of the state’s Black population) with over 3.4 million views.
- Phase 2: Parents: The campaign expanded to 19 trusted parent creators with children ages 10-19 to share valuable resources made specifically to help parents have “the talk” with their kids. The content drove over 2,300 clicks to the Song for Charlie’s website.
- Phase 3: Youth under 25: Young voices reached out to their peers about the dangers of counterfeit pills in common settings like schools and parties.
The campaign significantly exceeded typical public health advertising benchmarks on social media. With an Instagram engagement rate of 2.3% compared to the industry standard of 0.7% for sponsored content, the campaign achieved engagement rates 3.3 times higher than typical paid social. Across all platforms, it achieved 60%+ positive sentiment, a remarkably high rate for content addressing such a difficult and stigmatized topic across at-risk communities.
Some examples of creators’ content:
- I’yyonce (@itslove_.official) talking to her fellow schoolmates – IG Post
- Tray (@teachwithtray) speaking up as an Elementary teacher – TT Post
- Andre (@a.d.woods) advocating as a concerned father – IG Post
For detailed metrics, strategy, and methodology, visit the 18th Annual Shorty Awards entry for the Song For Charlie campaign or watch the summary video here.
A Model for Fentanyl Prevention Work
Public health organizations and agencies tackling the opioid and fentanyl crises can replicate this approach by deploying trusted community messengers, prioritizing authenticity over scripts, and measuring impact through both quantitative metrics and real audience engagement.
Interested in bringing this approach to your community? Learn more about Song for Charlie’s prevention work and resources at songforcharlie.org, especially their African-American Initiative and The New Drug Talk (California).