The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) has launched a new advocacy campaign to amplify the voice of the province’s doctors.

“We won’t give up,” by longtime AOR partner, Toronto’s Yield Branding, reveals a raw, authentic representation of physicians’ commitment to not give up on patients or the public.

The work reinforces the need for the public and patients alike to see and trust Ontario’s doctors as primary advocates for their health care. And it is timed to coincide with the OMA’s Queen’s Park advocacy efforts – including Oct. 20, its annual lobby day (“Queen’s Park Day”) – and intended to influence the government agenda heading into the spring budget.

“We wanted to position and demonstrate Ontario’s doctors’ commitment to their patients in getting them access to care, in the midst of a very challenging health-care system,” says Laura Anderson, senior director, marketing, OMA.

Anderson tells strategy that while progress has been made with the government in some areas of OMA’s advocacy activities, more work is still required. “If we continue to just shout from the rafters that everything is in crisis, eventually it becomes noise, both with the public, and with the government,” she says.

According to Anderson, shifting the narrative is important because patients in the province trust doctors the most on health system advocacy and need to feel and see that their doctors are not only continuing to care, but to fight for them and for the health system.

“We need the public to deeply understand the value of doctors within the health-care system, to believe and see that we are their health-care advocates,” she says. “We need Ontario’s doctors (our members) to know we have their back and are continuing to advocate for their needs. And finally, we need the government to see us as a key partner in building a better health-care system.”

Last year, OMA ran its “Stop the Crisis” integrated advocacy campaign. However, this is the largest campaign it has launched since its original Masterbrand campaign in 2020.

Cinema was again an intentional part of the buy for this campaign, based on insights shared by media partners, Media Dimensions, providing a high-impact awareness medium while allowing OMA to reach a younger audience outside of traditional TV.

Crafted as a fully integrated 360 campaign, “We Won’t Give Up” was filmed with real Ontario doctors and medical students, and spans TV, cinema, digital, social and advocacy platforms.

“Investing in the brand of Ontario’s Doctors as part of our always-on brand building strategy is crucially important,” Anderson says. “Making sure the messages are seen by the right people, in the right place, at the right time to make the most impact requires a thoughtfully planned and purchased ad spend.”

Anderson was just promoted to the OMA’s senior director of marketing role, joining the organization in 2019 after serving for more than five-and-half-years in the agency world with Sid Lee.

“Over the years, immersion in many different brands in many different industries has helped to enable a deep understanding of what drives people’s behaviour broadly,” she says. “That breath of brand experience has been highly applicable to my role at the OMA.”