Movement. Color. Shape. Style. These are the elements that characterize some of our favorite childhood films, and as a result, many of our core memories. Animation can have just as lasting of an effect when it’s used in branding. This spring, we saw just how effective it could be when working on a project for Moms Helpline, a call center run by the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) that helps Indiana moms access community resources and get their questions answered. Though Moms Helpline had been in operation for several years, it wasn’t receiving many calls. So, the IDOH approached Williams Randall about branding the program and launching an awareness campaign to increase call volume.

The Process

We began our process by examining similar programs to better understand the landscape of the service being provided. Our agency already works with several organizations that provide support to mothers and address the infant and maternal mortality crisis in Indiana, so we’re very familiar with and have a deep appreciation for the collective work being done. But we would need to make sure that the messaging was different enough that people wouldn’t begin to confuse the programs.

To spread awareness about Moms Helpline in Indiana, we created several video and audio spots, OOH boards, and a landing page. All of these deliverables centered around a cast of animated moms and babies.

Our designer Rachel Knierman animated each character. Before Knierman began animating, she created mood boards and made recommendations on the animation style. Next, she drew the animations on her iPad and then animated each character using After Effects. Knierman didn’t want the animations to feel too corporate, instead, she opted for a softer, storybook style and drew a wide variety of moms to make the animated characters feel more “human” and relatable.

In addition to our animations, we also created messaging and penned a tagline (“Moms Helpline: here for all Indiana moms and babies”) to emphasize the fact that Moms Helpline serves all Indiana mothers, regardless of income level or other demographic factors. This tagline, alongside the animations, creates continuity across all campaign collateral.

The Results

We launched the campaign on May 8, 2023. Running only three weeks in its first month, the campaign managed to increase phone calls by 233%, when comparing numbers from the same month last year.