Foundational Focus Groups

Focus Group Discussion Guide: We Can Do This (WCDT) Campaign Brand

Introduction and Ice Breaker (8 min.)

MODERATOR NOTE: Must-hit questions are in bold and should be prioritized if time is limited. Specific notes for moderators are in brackets and are highlighted.

Introduction (3 min.)

Hello, and thank you for speaking with me today. My name is X, and I work for a private research company.

Before we begin, I want to go over a couple of things:

• Your participation is voluntary. If I ask any questions that you do not wish to answer, you do not have to answer them. Also, there are no right or wrong answers here—we just want to know what you think.

• I did not create any of the materials you’ll be reviewing, so I invite you to openly share your thoughts and opinions with me. Your responses won’t affect me either way. Again, my whole reason for being here is to learn about what you think, not to try to sway you.

• There may be times when I ask you to clarify or to tell me more about what you just said. This is simply to make sure I understand and accurately capture what you think, not because I’m challenging your point of view.

• Everything you share here is confidential. Nothing you say will be tied back to you. Your name and any identifying information will not be used in any of our reports.

• There are some other people on the call who are helping me take notes so that I can focus on our conversation.

• I’ll be recording our conversation, and the recordings will be used to confirm our notes, so other project staff may hear the recording at a later date.

  • Do you agree to be recorded? [Receive verbal yes from each participant.]

  • Great! I am going to start the recording now. [Amplify will begin recording.]

• Our discussion should take no more than 90 minutes. I want to be respectful of your time, so I may interrupt occasionally to make sure we can stay on track and get through all of the questions I have today.

• In terms of the flow of our conversation today and what to expect, I’ll start off by asking general questions about your experience with COVID and the pandemic, and then move on to general questions about a public education campaign brand, and then more specific questions about your thoughts and opinions about the campaign brand.

Do you have any questions before we begin?

Icebreaker (5 min.)

Great! I’d like to start by getting to know each other a bit more by sharing where we live and some things we like to do for fun in our spare time. I can get us started.

[Moderator introduces self and shares.]

I have a list of participants here, so I’ll call on each of you and you can share where you’re joining us from, and something you like to do for fun. Please only use your first name when introducing yourself.

COVID Pandemic Experiences and Perceptions (12 min.)

Ok, thanks so much for sharing, everyone!

Now, we’re going to jump into some general questions about your experiences with COVID and the pandemic.

• Thinking back to when the pandemic first started back in 2020, how did you feel about COVID?

  • In what ways did COVID affect your life back then?

  • Probe: How did COVID affect your family, friends, your job, social life, etc.?

  • What concerned you the most about COVID?

• Now, how do you feel about COVID these days?

  • Is COVID still affecting your life? If so, how?

  • Probe: How has COVID affected your family, friends, your job, social life, etc.?

• In what situations do you still think about COVID?

  • Probe: Is there anything you’re still concerned about?

  • Is this different from when the pandemic first started? If so, how?

  • Is this different from this time last year? If so, how?

• When you think about the future and COVID, what comes to mind?

  • Probe: Is this different from how you’re thinking about COVID now? If so, how?

  • What about when the pandemic first started?

  • Do you think you’ll be more or less concerned about COVID? Why?

• Have you received a COVID vaccine?

  • Probes (for those who are vaccinated):

    • When was the last dose you received?

    • What were some of the reasons you decided to get a COVID vaccine?

  • Probe (for those who are not vaccinated):

    • What were some of the reasons you decided not to get a vaccine?

• [ASK IN PARENT GROUP ONLY]: Has your child received a COVID vaccine? If you have more than one child, please answer for all of your children ages 6 months through 17 years?

  • Probes (for those with a child that got a COVID vaccine):

    • When was your child’s last dose of a COVID vaccine?

    • What were some of the reasons you decided to get a COVID vaccine for your child?

  • Probes (for those with a child that did not get a COVID vaccine):

    • What were some of the reasons you decided not to get your child a COVID vaccine?

  • Probes (for those who have both vaccinated and unvaccinated children):

    • What are some of the reasons your decision was different for each of your children?

WCDT Campaign Brand Perception (50 min.)

Now, I’m going to ask you a few more questions to dig a little deeper about your thoughts and opinions about a public education campaign.

General Brands (10 min.)

First, let’s make sure we all know what we’re thinking about when we’re talking about a brand.

• Briefly, in your own words, what is a campaign brand?

  • Probe: What things do you think about when you think of a brand? Logo? Tagline? Look and feel of ads? What about purpose, mission, or focus?

  • What do you think makes a good brand?

  • What brands are you familiar with?

    • Do you have a favorite brand? What makes it your favorite?

  • Do you remember any big health campaign brands?

    • (Probe if participants can’t remember any): Act Against AIDS or Let’s Stop HIV Together, Tips From Former Smokers, Bring Your Brave, breast cancer awareness (e.g., Susan G. Komen brand)

  • What makes a campaign or brand memorable to you?

WCDT Brand Reactions (12 min.)

[Moderators: Screenshare the WCDT campaign slide with description and images in the WCDT Campaign Brand Overview deck.]

Now, we’re going to think about a specific brand. You’ll see some examples of a COVID communication campaign brand and its logo. Take a few minutes to look over the materials on the screen. [Moderators: Give participants 1–2 minutes to read over the Campaign overview slide. Have participants give you a thumbs up when they’re finished reviewing and proceed with the questions.]

• First, can I get a show of hands of how many of you have seen this Campaign before? [Moderators: Orally count how many people raise their hands]

• Ok, can I get a show of hands of how many people have not seen this before? [Moderators: Orally count how many people raise their hands]

• [If there are participants who have not raised their hands yet] Ok, how many of you are unsure whether you’ve seen this before? [Moderators: Orally count how many people raise their hands]

• Briefly, in your own words, what is the main message or “big idea” of this brand?

  • How important is it for a brand about COVID vaccines to communicate the “big idea” you described?

• Based on the description, what are your initial impressions of the brand?

• What are some words you would use to describe this brand? [Moderators: if needed, encourage the participants to be honest. Their answers won’t affect you either way]

  • Probe: What are some positive things about this brand? Please explain why you chose those positive things.

  • Probe: What are some negative things? Please explain why you chose those negative things.

• What are some of the things about the brand that catch your attention?

  • Probe: Why does that stand out to you?

  • Probe: What are some things you like or can relate to?

  • Probe: What are some things that you don’t like or can’t really relate to?

• Who do you think this brand is for?

  • Probe: Do you think this brand is for you? Why or why not?

  • [ASK IN PARENT GROUP ONLY]: Do you think this brand applies to your child? Why or why not?

• How does this brand make you feel? [Moderators: if needed, encourage the participants to be honest. Their answers won’t affect you either way]

• How much would you trust information provided by this brand?

  • Probe: Do you think this brand is trustworthy?

  • Why or why not?

• If you saw this brand a couple of years ago at the start of the COVID pandemic, would you think about it differently than you do now?

  • Probe: What would feel different about the Campaign a few years ago?

  • Probe: Would you have thought more positively about the brand? More negatively? About the same?

WCDT Brand Logo (10 min.)

Now, I want you to focus on just the Campaign’s logo. [Moderator: Screenshare the logo slide.]

• What are your initial reactions to the logo?

  • Probe: What do you like about it?

  • Probe: What don’t you like about it?

  • What does the logo convey to you?

  • Probe: What are some words that come to mind when you see the logo?

• What does this image make you think of?

• How does the image make you feel?

  • Probe: What kinds of emotions does it raise, if any?

• When you think of COVID vaccines, how does this image relate, if at all?

  • Probe: Why or why not?

  • When you think of the pandemic now, what would you change, if anything, about this logo to make it more relevant?

WCDT Brand Name (10 min.)

Next, let’s shift our focus to the name: We Can Do This [Moderator: Screenshare the logo slide.]

• What are your initial reactions to the name We Can Do This?

  • Probe: What do you like about it?

  • Probe: What don’t you like about it?

  • What does the name convey to you?

• What does this name make you think of?

  • Probe: What are some words that come to mind when you see the name?

• How does the name make you feel?

  • Probe: What kinds of emotions does it raise, if any?

• How does this name relate to COVID, if at all?

  • Probe: Why or why not?

  • When you think of the pandemic now, what would you change, if anything, about this name to make it more relevant?

Future Branding (8 min.)

Now, I want you to think of the brand as a whole, with the logo, the tagline, the tone, and the communication approach. [Moderator: Screenshare Campaign overview slide.]

• Thinking about where we are in the pandemic, what aspects of this brand are relevant to you?

  • Probe: Why?

  • What would you do, if anything, to improve on it?

• What aspects feel irrelevant or outdated?

  • Probe: Why?

  • How would you change it to make it more relevant?

Whiteboard Exercise—Brand Qualities (15 min.)

Ok, now with all that in mind, we’re going to do a quick activity. I’m going to ask you all to think a bit creatively. Imagine that you have creative control: you’re in charge of creating a brand or campaign that will communicate COVID treatment, prevention, and vaccine information to people like you.

[Moderators: Screenshare the first whiteboard slide in the WCDT Campaign Brand Overview deck]

• What are some of the qualities and characteristics that you think this brand should have? [Moderators: Type out participants’ responses in real time on the slide]

  • Can you explain why you listed this quality or characteristic?

• What words or phrases would appeal to you for a brand about COVID treatment, prevention, and vaccine information? [Moderators: Type out participants’ responses in real time on the slide]

  • Can you explain why you listed this word or phrase?

• Now, on the flip side, what are some of the qualities and characteristics that you think this brand should not have? [Moderators: Type out participants’ responses in real time on the slide]

  • Can you explain why you listed this quality or characteristic?

• On a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 is not at all important and 5 is very important, how important is it for a campaign name or tagline to include the word COVID? [Moderators: Show question and scale slide.]

  • Can you tell me why you ranked it that way?

Follow-Up Questions/Wrap-Up (5 min.)

• Those are all the questions I have for you. I just want to check to see if any of my colleagues have any final questions.

• Is there anything you would like to share that you have not had the chance to share before we wrap up?

• I appreciate you sharing your views about COVID and vaccines. As you know, there are a lot of myths and misinformation around this topic being shared. We would encourage you to go to cdc.gov/coronavirus for the latest scientific evidence regarding COVID vaccines. We have also created an FAQ that will be emailed to you following this interview.

• Please remember not to share anything we’ve discussed here today.

• Thank you very much for participating in this discussion. I appreciate your time, and your feedback has been extremely helpful, because it will help the country to deal with the COVID pandemic more effectively.