PREPARED BY: Communications Department
DATE: May 15, 2025
SUBJECT: March 15 - April 14, 2025 Communications Update
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE:
Provide regular marketing and communication updates to the Board of Health.
| SOURCE | March 14 - April 15 | February 15 - March 14 | DIFFERENCE |
|---|---|---|---|
| News Releases, Media Advisories and Statements, or Notices Issued | 20 | 21 | -1 |
| Media Requests Received | 19 | 24 | -5 |
| Wechu.org pageviews | 162,638 | 144,228 | 18,410 |
| YouTube Channel Subscribers | 1,826 | 1,821 | 5 |
| Email Subscribers | 6,810 | 6,881 | -71 |
| Emails Distributed | 20 | 20 | - |
| Facebook Fans | 19,775 | 19,713 | 63 |
| Facebook Posts | 75 | 74 | 1 |
| Twitter Followers | 8,355 | 8.373 | -18 |
| Twitter Posts | 78 | 75 | 3 |
| Instagram Followers | 2,017 | 1,988 | 29 |
| Instagram Posts | 23 | 33 | -10 |
| LinkedIn Followers | 1,890 | 1,872 | 18 |
| LinkedIn Posts | 26 | 29 | -3 |
| Media Exposure | 197 | 189 | 8 |
Data Notes can be provided upon request.
Media Exposure Overview Graph
Notes: From March 15 – April 14, we experienced two main peaks in media exposure:
March 20 & 21 – News stories included WECHU’s updated measles vaccine recommendations for young children, measles exposure notifications, and an update on student suspensions related to the Immunization of School Pupils Act.
April 9 & 10 – Media coverage included stories regarding a planned KI Pill distribution event (WECHU issued a news release with this information on April 9), along with provincial coverage on measles cases across Ontario public health units.
Website Overview Graph
Notes: From March 15 – April 14 (darker blue line) we have experienced higher than normal levels of website traffic, which can be linked back to the measles exposure notifications which are issued via email and social media posts.
Social Media Overview Graph
Lighter blue line represents the current month, darker blue line represents the previous month. Notes: We saw an increase in followers across all platforms with the exception of Twitter.
Discussion – Immunization of School Pupils Act Campaign
Working collaboratively with the Immunization Department, Communications supported a multi-faceted campaign to raise awareness of the Immunization for School Pupils Act, as well as to communicate the details around the enforcement project in 2025.
The campaign included a variety of communication items including radio ads, paid social media ads, boosted social media posts, and email campaigns (i.e., News Releases and Media Statements).
Two social media ads ran in February to let parents and caregivers know of the deadline to submit immunization records. When combined, the two ads reached 89,502 users and generated 1,622 unique link clicks to visit the webpage to submit immunization records. Additionally, five boosted posts reached a total of 34,400 users and resulted in 516 unique link clicks (to the same webpage).
Twelve emails were issued throughout the campaign to the General Subscribers and Media lists. On average, the emails had an open rate of 48% and a click rate of 3.5%.