• by Larissa Faw , March 25, 2020

Last week the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a pandemic-related PSA campaign in partnership with the Ad Council and major media networks and digital platforms.

Now a number of additional media and tech companies are joining the effort including Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, SiriusXM and Pandora, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter and Verizon Media, among others.

“We have seen the media industry come together time and time again to address the most critical issues facing our country, and the COVID-19 pandemic is no exception,” said Lisa Sherman, president & CEO of the Ad Council.

While each platform is providing customized support, the common goal is to drive audiences to www.coronavirus.gov, a centralized resource from HHS and the CDC that features up-to-date information on the COVID-19 crisis.

In addition to these informational efforts, individual agencies and companies are utilizing their specific tools to connect their audiences with messages to help slow the spread of the virus.

To that end, Cadreon, The Trade Desk and EMX, a division of Engine Group, are building private marketplaces for publishers to donate media inventory. Acxiom, Crossix and Fluent are donating audience targeting segments through LiveRamp to help reach millennials and those who are at higher risk for COVID-19.

In addition, DoubleVerify and IAS are levering their ad blocking technologies to serve campaign messages across a breadth of publisher sites. Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Group Nine Media, Google, Pluto TV, Pinterest, TikTok, TrueX, WarnerMedia, Xandr and YouTube are providing what the Ad Council calls “significant” donated media space to run and amplify campaign assets.

“We are always at our best when we respond to challenges as a community,” said Tara Walpert Levy, vice president, agency and brand solutions, Google and YouTube. “Right now, helping people get the right information to stay healthy is more important than ever.” She adds, Google will keep doing “everything we can to help people take care of themselves and their communities during this unprecedented time.”