West Virginia WIC: “I’m a WIC Kid” Campaign

Challenge

West Virginia Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) was looking for a way to reach potential participants and destigmatize concerns surrounding the program. Leadership wanted to position WIC as a resource and reinforce that they are here to help. West Virginia WIC wanted to launch a statewide campaign to engage these families while also educating the public.

Key Objectives

• Put a face to the West Virginia WIC program
• Remove stigmas associated with the program
• Raise awareness and inform the public about the West Virginia WIC program

Solution

West Virginia WIC enlisted TMG to create a recruitment campaign on social media and within local agencies to solicit former WIC kids to tell their story. The goal was to find successful adults, admired within their communities, who had once been WIC participants as children. How did WV WIC shape your relationship with food? How did WV WIC affect your life? What lessons did WV WIC teach you that you still use as an adult?

Campaign Deliverables

• Billboards
• Social media posts for recruitment and campaign
• Videos
• Community event launch

Results

Many responses to the recruitment campaign came from adults who utilized West Virginia WIC for their children but a few stories met the goal of an adult who participated in WV WIC as a child. Those stories were narrowed down and a woman from Nitro, WV was willing to participate. A paid media campaign consisting of billboards and radio ad placements promoting our “WIC Kid” was placed across the state, over 2,100 ads ran July-September 2024, generating 5.4 million impressions.

A press event held in conjunction with the 2024 Training Conference held in Huntington, West Virginia resulted in over 40 stories running in local and statewide media, generating over 241,000 impressions and over $9,500 in earned media value

Conclusion

“I’m a WIC Kid” was more than a campaign—it was a movement to shift public perception and celebrate the impact of WIC across generations. TMG’s thoughtful campaign strategy, creative execution, and media activation helped turn stigma into pride and silence into story.

Big impact starts with a real voice. Let’s find yours.