HRSA Poison Help Line Awareness Campaign 2023-2024

A poison emergency can happen anywhere, at any time. The Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Poison Control Program (PCP) funds a network of national poison centers. It maintains the Poison Help Line, a national toll-free number (1-800-222-1222) –  that connects the public with fast, free, and local expert help in the event of a poison emergency.

Since 2023, Castano Group has managed HRSA’s ongoing communication and marketing campaign promoting the Poison Help Line and poison safety nationwide. Our work with HRSA began with the creation of “The Poison Help Line: Real Help. In Real Time” campaign. It emphasized the swift and direct link between individuals confronted with potential poison emergencies and the immediate expert guidance of the Poison Help Line. Creatively, a distinctive and warm illustrative/animation style was utilized to represent the Poison Help Line as a “doorway” through which individuals were seamlessly connected to expert help during an emergency.

The campaign’s media plan consisted of a combination of multilingual television and radio public service advertisements, social media posts, paid social media campaigns, public relations outreach, and web videos. 

“Real Help in Real Time”  educated Americans on how to prevent and respond to a poison emergency. It also resulted in an across-the-board increase in media engagement metrics.