Overcoming Addiction Recovery Barriers For The Marginalized Through Cultural Humility
PROJECT:
Go-to-Market Strategy, Brand Launch, Omnichannel Marketing
Client:
Full of Life Counseling & Addiction Services PLLC.
Skills:
Brand Development, Omnichannel Marketing, Market Access, Digital Innovation, Generative AI, Multimedia Art, Creative Direction
THE SITUATION
Full of Life Counseling & Addiction Services (FLCAS) serves Native American and marginalized communities, people living in social, economic, and deprived conditions. The team already delivered whole-person care (addiction recovery, mental health, marriage counseling, nutrition), yet four barriers remained intact:
- Mistrust & stigma: Many feared judgment or felt disrespected by traditional systems.
- Limited access: Distance, spotty connectivity, and low digital visibility blocked discovery.
- Clinician capacity: Too few trauma-informed, culturally grounded therapists.
- Fragmented support: Addictive disorders correlated with family stress, food insecurity, and mental health; siloed services unraveled progress.
Our objective was to build an end-to-end experience that people trust, can reach, and want to stay with, while expanding culturally competent capacity and protecting privacy, safety, and values.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Low-bandwidth access increased accessibility, driving +45% inquiries from remote/reservation ZIPs; 35% of bookings via SMS/phone.
- Efficient patient experience improved booked appointments by 30% and boosted show rate by +10 points.
- Targeted recruiting expanded clinician outreach by +20% and improved overall appointment availability (in-person/virtual).
- Cross-channel analytics fueled efficiency growth, slashing cost per qualified booking by −25% and improving ROAS by +35%.
THE SOLUTION
We aligned brand, staffing, and outreach around cultural humility and access, honing in on the moments that most influence trust, adherence, and the treatment’s ability to avoid relapse.
1. Identity that honors culture and invites belonging
The organization went from “service provider” to community ally under our guidance. An inclusive brand system, co-created with elders and people in recovery, allowed patients once again to believe in clinical intervention and long-term recovery. Our tone of voice focused on rebuilding the agency, along with avoiding cultural triggers and negative stereotypes. We ensured every asset, from intake forms and digital touchpoints to workshop flyers, kept a single promise: you are in a safe and judgment-free place.
2. Improving access by bridging the digital divide:
To bridge the digital divide and expand access to holistic addiction recovery services, Full of Life Counseling & Addiction Services implemented a strong and measured solution, strategically incorporating human and AI-driven workflows.
- Accessible website: We used the Progressive Web App (PWA) technology with an “offline-first” design approach to create a website accessible to people with limited internet access.
- Patient support on demand: A 24/7 assistant provided symptom checks and immediate scheduling, automatically transitioning into a human when an escalated problem arose. Micro-copy explained what happens next at every step.
- Low-connectivity pathways: Text/phone booking, mobile outreach for transportation barriers, and printed guides with SMS/QR code options met people where they already were, including at community centers, churches, and chapter houses.
3. Scalable growth engine
Both high-impact channels and analytics tracking helped us build a SMART marketing attribution funnel, driving both new patient recruits and clinician recruitment efforts.
- Targeted search+social: High-intent search, geo-targeted social, and local CTV send ready-to-book visitors to focused pages, lifting click-to-book rates while lowering cost per qualified booking.
- Community reach & referral partners: Traditional marketing efforts, like radio ads and fliers, helped maintain trust with the public, while schools, courts, clinics, and churches drove steady, higher-show-rate referrals.
- Analytics & budget orchestration: Cross-channel analytics tracked cost-per-qualified booking, appointment show rate, and patient retention by channel and location. Additionally, top performers helped shift budgets, refresh stale creative, and expand winnings.
- Clinician recruitment: Partnerships with tribal councils, indigenous organizations, and universities helped identify culturally humility-trained clinicians, helping build overall patient satisfaction and positive response to treatment.
4. Healing with music and art
- Brand song: “I am Rising”: A powerful soundtrack of resilience, hope, and transformation, reinforcing FLCAS’s mission through music.
- CTV commercial: “Your Healing Starts Today”, a high-impact campaign inspiring individuals to take the first step toward recovery.
- Immersive art experience: Soulscape, an art residency focused on faith-inspired, multimedia storytelling addressing the stigma around addiction and mental health.
