We made health a group project.

Although Hawaii ranks as one of the healthiest states in the nation, many residents struggle with chronic medical conditions such as high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Blue Zones Project is a community-driven initiative that identifies areas where health and longevity are at risk due to poor lifestyle decisions, then works with residents to give them the tools to make healthier choices. Three Hawaii communities were on track to become Blue Zones Communities—but their residents didn’t know about it—yet.

Altering lifestyle habits can be difficult—especially if you’re surrounded by others who don’t share your goals or values. The success of the Blue Zones Project relied on getting buy-in from individuals as well as community and business organizations who were willing to work as a team to improve the health and happiness of themselves, their neighborhood and their employees.

By sharing local Blue Zones Project transformation stories via statewide print, broadcast and media outlets, we shed light on individual efforts which in turn inspired others to take the Blue Zones pledge. Our social media efforts included blog posts and managing Blue Zones Project’s four Facebook pages (North Hawaii, West Hawaii, Ko‘olaupoko and statewide), with content development, ad development, boosting engagement and monitoring metrics. We regularly engaged followers and encouraged project community leads to Like and comment on posts. During the six-month campaign, we surpassed our goal of increasing Likes for all four pages by 20% and achieved a 56% increase in overall awareness.