Safe Sleep

Campaign: First Lady Grandparent Safe Sleep 

Elements: Print, Radio, Magazine & Social Media

• Situation:

  • When First Lady Linda Daugaard learned that South Dakota’s infant mortality numbers were high, she led a safe sleep initiative that included forming a statewide task force and developing a public service campaign to raise awareness around safe sleep. 

  • As an extension of the initial broadcast campaign and website launch, First Lady Daugaard called on other grandparents and caregivers to get familiar with and enforce safe sleep practices.

• Challenge:

  • Logistics. A busy First Lady with grandchildren spread across the state. 

  • Focus groups of young caucasian mothers revealed that they didn’t entirely trust the advice from their mothers and grandmothers– saying much had changed since they had their babies. This was unequivocally NOT the case among young Native mothers when it came to caring for their infants.

  • No longer is it recommended that babies sleep in cribs with cozy blankets, pillows, or toys. Babies should sleep on their backs on a firm surface, not in swings or car seats. Many older mothers and grandmothers put their children to sleep on their stomachs out of fear that their babies would choke (a misconception) and routinely used swings or “drives” to put babies to sleep. 

  • Encouraging grandmothers to change old habits and convincing young mothers that grandmothers were up to date on current safe sleep practices and would enforce safe sleep guidelines needed to be a focus.

• Approach:

  • A testimonial from one grandmother to another focused on “creating new traditions” that aligned with current safe sleep practices.

  • We leveraged the First Lady’s extensive following and hands-on, no-nonsense, regular-hard-working reputation and used all five of her grandchildren (an experience that yielded a story in and of itself) in print and magazine materials. These images were reinforced on social platforms and the First Lady’s message echoed on radio stations statewide.

  • We created a corresponding American Indian grandmother campaign emphasizing the sacred role of children within the Lakota culture and the importance of giving them the gift of safe sleep.

• Result:

  • The campaign was well-received overall with outstanding support on social media. 

  • The First Lady’s initiative has continued and expanded. The For Baby’s Sake brand continues to be a source of information on Safe Sleep and other important topics for young mothers and families.