AARP Maryland Transit Campaign Promotes the State's Toll Free Vaccination Hotline

AARP Maryland is launching a 16-week transit advertising campaign to help more Marylanders access COVID-19 vaccinations in their area. Aimed at audiences that may lack access to broadband internet, the posters appearing in both English and Spanish on 35 bus shelters and 206 transit buses across Baltimore, Montgomery County and the Eastern Shore shares the state’s toll-free line (855-GO-MDVAX) if they have questions or to schedule a vaccine appointment.

“Now that the vaccine is available to all Marylanders aged 16 and over, we want to help them get the information they need to protect themselves and their families,” said AARP Maryland State Director Hank Greenberg. “We believe that people, when provided with CDC-sourced information, can be empowered to make the best choice for themselves and their families. And so, we have embarked on this campaign to help people sort fact from fiction and learn how to get a vaccine where they live, if they so choose.”

The $135,000 campaign is just one part of AARP Maryland’s comprehensive vaccine outreach to hard to reach audiences launched in late April. In addition to transit advertising, the nonprofit is running 8-weeks of print ads in 9 community newspapers around the state and six weeks of radio ads on the Total Traffic and Weather Network affiliate stations in the Baltimore and DC markets.

As the coronavirus pandemic swept the nation over the past 15 months, AARP state offices around the country have stepped up to the plate to provide Americans with trusted, verified information available on the web, social media, and in the AARP Bulletin magazine and AARP The Magazine, telephone town halls with health officials, and in hundreds of media interviews in both local and national news outlets.

Since the first vaccines became available in January 2021, AARP Maryland has embarked on a multi-channel integrated communications effort to help Marylanders stay informed, including:

• A dedicated website www.aarp.org/mdvaccine with updated information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Maryland State Government;
• Digital ads across news and radio digital platforms, earning more than 1.06 million impressions;
• Audio spots across 6 audio streaming platforms reaching 200,000 impressions;
• Articles in the AARP Bulletin magazine, reaching 860,000 readers in Maryland;
• Audio news releases about vaccine availability picked up by 58 local radio stations; and
• Telephone town halls with local public health officials, attracting more than 2,000 participants.

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About AARP Representing 860,000 members in Maryland, AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence and nearly 38 million members, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation's largest circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org  or follow @AARP and @AARPadvocates on social media.