2022 Report
Multichannel Career
Awareness Campaign
Increase Awareness of OP&P
Profession among Gen Z
ABC is embarking on a campaign to increase awareness of the OP&P profession among high school and college-age students (Generation Z).
To inform the OP&P career awareness campaign and understand Gen Z’s perceptions about career decision-making, advertising, and their knowledge about OP&P overall, the communications team undertook a mix of quantitative and qualitative research exploring key topics.
Insights from the collective body of research shaped strategy and the campaign’s tactical approaches.
Research Methods
The team conducted multiple modes of research to understand Gen Z’s career decision-making, media consumption, and awareness of OP&P
Quantitative. Fielded national online survey of 1,020 respondents ages 14-28.
Qualitative. Conducted virtual focus groups with small clusters of the target audience (ages 15-24), one-on-one interviews with young OP&P professionals, and informal interviews with 21–28-year-olds about career decision-making.
Social Research. Reviewed existing social media content relevant to OP&P.
The research yielded six main findings that serve as strategic pillars to guide the campaign.
These pillars fall into three categories: audience identification, the value proposition, and creative principles.
Audience Identification
Who are we targeting?
Prioritize High School Students
Pillar 1
Gen Z are dreaming about their lives and jobs when they are in high school.
14-17-year-olds said they had a career path in mind before they graduated high school.
14-28-year-olds said they identified their career path before they graduated high school.
“It started in high school as part of a club that was teaching people about financial literacy skills, and that's how I got interested in finance. And then from there, this club offered this summer shadowing experience.”
Interest in Healthcare is a Prerequisite
Pillar 2
Respondents who are not interested in OP&P are simply not interested in a career in healthcare.
Respondents interested in healthcare expressed an interest in OP&P.
Value Proposition
What does Gen Z value in a career?
Money is not the top motivator – impact is.
Pillar 3
Want a career that allows them to make a difference.
“A rewarding, fulfilling experience…I want to be enjoying my job every day as I go to work. And I think another piece of that…is working at a company…with a good work culture.”
Value making a difference more than making money
“When it comes to a salary and money, it will come eventually. But right now, I'm just focused on doing what makes me happy.”
Creative Principles
What content will resonate with Gen Z?
Authenticity Matters
Pillar 4
Gen Z is inundated with celebrity influencers and paid sponsorships, so they value authentic content.
“I do kind of try to find myself within all of the ads that I see.”
Show real OP&P professionals throughout creative concepts.
“I would be really interested if you showed me who are the people you help and/or impact? What are you doing and for whom?”
Show real people, day to day, and personal impact to help Gen Z.
Envision, Explore, Engage
With all the possibilities of an OP&P career.
Show Me What OP&P is Like
Pillar 5
Gen Z wants to know what their career will be like before they commit to it.
“I kind of wish there'd be some way to walk people through that or at least provide a guide to how to immerse yourself in your career path before actually doing it.”
They gather information from family and friends before committing to a career path. They ask questions like “what does a typical work day look like?” in interviews.
“I talked with my guidance counselor in high school and also YouTube really helped me because a lot of people on YouTube are in the same kind of sphere that I'm in.”
Prosthetics is Most Familiar to Gen Z
Pillar 6
Recognize Prosthetics, but fewer recognize orthotics or pedorthics.
“They’re helping people with prosthetics and discovering new ways to live a normal life.”
“I think that OP&P, more particularly prosthetics, is a combination between nursing and robotics.”
“OP&P is everything from the creation to the execution of prosthetic products or products that help people who need help moving in any way.”
POP means...
- A million cool jobs you never heard of
- Making a difference
- Connecting with people
- Balancing health, technology, creativity, and caring for others
- Helping people
- Making a difference on day one
- Being on the healthcare team
A Career that POPs
POP. A million cool jobs you never heard of.
POP means … making a difference / connecting with people / balancing art and health / helping people / making a difference on day one/being on the team
Draw in Gen Z with a catchy name that they’ll remember and repeat.
POP Drives a Personal Connection to OP&P.POP includes all three specialties in the name, but leads with the one most familiar to our audience, Prosthetics.
Adds excitement and piques curiosity—“What is POP?”
Tactical Execution
Prioritize Content over Traditional Ads
Raising awareness with Gen Z means advertising differently
Develop Content that Allows Gen Z to Envision, Explore & Engage
Gen Z spends a large amount of time online consuming visual content.
YouTube
TikTok
Websites
Activate Authentic Ambassadors
Stories
Video
Social
“In the wild”
Toolkit
Patients’ Voices
Connect with High Schoolers
Youth think they have chosen a career path as early as high school, so the campaign will target health, technology, and science-minded high schoolers.
Connect clinics with high schools
Curriculum partnerships
Science fairs
Extracurriculars with Ambassadors
Toolkits for counselors and PTAs
Campus Connections
Focus on building a campus presence with colleges and universities that do not have a POP program.
Curriculum partnerships
"POP Talks" to educate on POP careers and give students opportunities to talk directly with a POP professional
Build Campus Presence
