Since the pandemic began, Austin’s in-house communications department, Austin Public Health, has led the marketing campaign on the “best practices” to avoid getting sick and spreading the disease.

However, Austin Public Health now says it is “overwhelmed” and can no longer lead the campaign. The department recommended that the council hire an outside firm to take over.

The council is now considering a five-year contract with Sherry Matthews, founder of Sherry Matthews Group, a marketing firm based in Austin, Texas. Sherry Matthews was selected from eight firms that had submitted bids for this particular project.

Sherry Matthews has previously done similar work, including a New York City campaign titled “Vaccine for All,” and has prior experience in Austin. Since 2011, Austin has paid the firm $4.7 million, mainly for an anti-tobacco movement.

“Outreach will center on developing creative concepts for comprehensive COVID-19 response marketing including advertising content and collateral materials,” the contract reads. “Outreach scope includes identifying paid and other placement opportunities on traditional and non-traditional media outlets and platforms to maximize across key audiences by demographic and location(s) as defined by [Austin Public Health].”

The contract with the City of Austin provided a breakdown of how Sherry Matthews will use the funding, which read:

• 30% of the allocated funds will be for “Broadcast Media.”
• 20% will go towards marketing on “Digital Media” platforms.
• 15% has been set aside for “Social Media.”
• 10% will go towards “Community Media.”
• 25% will be used for “Campaign development, management, and media placement.”

The campaign’s primary goal is to convince unvaccinated Austin residents to seek vaccination and encourage vaccinated residents to seek booster shots. It hopes to address the issue of “vaccine hesitancy” among its residents.

However, the cost of $15 million over five years led to some holdups among the council.

Because it is unknown how much money could be derived from federal funding instead of local taxpayers, the council moved for a delay. The contract is now expected to be voted on in two weeks.

In a news statement released to the media, the City said it intends to put $1.75 million of federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act toward the contract’s first year. However, Austin Public Health has not determined a source for the remaining $13.25 million.

The City spent $2.8 million on advertisements in the past year, Austin Public Health Director Adrienne Sturrup said.

If the contract is approved, the City will no longer pay temporary employees to work on pandemic-related marketing. The money to pay those workers comes from federal funds set to expire in July.

Council Members Alison Alter and Paige Ellis asked what specific services the firm would provide. Austin Public Health replied that marketing firms have “more purchasing power” to secure advertisements. They also added that the contract would be on an “as-needed” basis, meaning it may not take the total $15 million.

Ellis also questioned whether COVID-19 will still need to be dealt with in five years and wanted to know if the City could use the marketing firm for other needs with the same contract. Austin Public Health said that the contract is currently constructed only for the pandemic-related campaign.

Austin’s vaccination dashboard indicates that City has given out 523,000 coronavirus vaccinations. Of these, 30,000 are booster shots.

Austin has recently lifted all restrictions and emergency orders that were in place to curb the spread of this virus.

Council Member Kathie Tovo wanted more information on why the existing staff could not continue to do the work. Austin Public Health noted that communications professionals from other city departments were helping lead the marketing campaigns at the beginning of the pandemic. Those officials have returned to their regular jobs, leaving only two employees and two temporary employees to handle all marketing regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, the main reason the council delayed the vote was cost. Council Member Mackenzie Kelly suggested other city departments could better benefit from the $15 million.

“We’re moving further away from COVID every day,” she said.