YouTube Japan Official COVID 19 Vaccine Campaign (Summer 2021)
Background
Until early 2021, Japan was seen as one of the more successful countries in tackling COVID-19. With no actual lockdown in place, the government was encouraging domestic travel, allowing concerts and sporting events to happen, and many people were commuting to their offices on packed trains. For a moment it seemed like life was going back to normal. As a result, the Japanese population showed low interest in the vaccine at the beginning of the year, and there was much negativity around it, compounded by fake news.
Fast forward to April 2021, and case numbers were growing dramatically with a 3rd State of Emergency announced through the end of May. As Japan watched other countries such as the US and the UK rapidly rollout vaccines, the media began to point out how far behind Japan’s efforts were compared to the rest of the world. Japan’s vaccination rate when we started working on the campaign was 129th out of 196 countries - the lowest among OECD countries.
Japanese citizens became more vocal with their frustration towards the government. They were criticizing how slow the government was to secure doses, the lack of a clear rollout plan for all, a poorly managed vaccination operation for the elderly, and the fact that the government is pushing ahead with the Olympics when only 2% of the population is inoculated.
Takarajima (Publisher) Campaign from May 2021, showing the frustration and growing criticism on the Japanese gov. The copy says “no vaccines, no medication. Should we battle the virus with bamboo sticks?”
This has led to increased demand for vaccines among the population. Now over 70% of the population is saying they will probably get vaccinated. However, this number paints too rosy a picture. Looking at respondents in the top box, just 25% of the population is saying they will definitely get vaccinated. In addition, we still see a higher hesitancy among the younger demographics, with only 16% of 20-29 year olds saying they will definitely get vaccinated.
The Goal
To reduce vaccine hesitancy by making authoritative information engaging, relevant, and easy to comprehend for young and high-hesitancy communities.
The Strategy
Biggest “Wait and See” group: No real fear of COVID but big fear of side-effects.
The younger generation is overall pro-vaccine, but the latest data we got from research showed they have the biggest “wait and see” percentage out of all demographics. They do not know when they will get vaccinated in the first place, they also know that COVID is not fatal to them, and although there are limitations to their everyday lives, it is not unbearable - so there is no urgency among them.
In addition, according to an interviews by the biggest TV stations and newspapers we collected and analysed, young people are scared of the potential vaccine side effects, since they hear stories about getting fevers and headaches, from people around them or on social media. The mass media are communicating the facts around vaccine side effects, but they are clearly not reaching the younger generation nor getting through to them.
The Solution
In a 60 seconds film titles ちゃんと知ることから、はじめよう。(“Let’s start after learning right” ) we tried to urge youger and high-hesitancy population to get their information on the vaccine from authoritative sources like the Health Ministry, experts and doctors who were all on YouTube’s official COVID-19 page. The video tackled all the causes for hesitancy we spotted in our research, and touched the concerns of almost any Japanese citizen regarding the vaccine.
Our video attempted to reassure users that they can’t know everything by themselves, and that together with the YouTube community, they need to listen to experts and learn before they make a decision. The visuals referred to approved information sources all containing high-quality information on the vaccine. We also did not urge users to make a decision for or against the vaccine but only to learn and do their own research, listening to the best sources one can find on YouTube.
The Results
Our campaign yielded great results in short time, with over 16 million views, references in multiple publications (including medical ones) and overall positive reviews for a contentious and sensitive issue. Six months from the campaign lunch, Japan achieved some of the best results among OECD countries for the number of vaccinated citizens (77% of the population as of October 2021), also in the age brackets for high-hesitancy communities. (accurate numbers can be found here).