Central Texas has not been immune to the drug overdose crisis that accelerated following the Covid pandemic. Nearly 1,700 deaths involving fentanyl alone were reported in Texas in 2021, with a significant number of these in Austin and the larger Travis County area.

With drug overdoses officially declared a public health crisis in Austin in 2022, Austin Public Health and Central Health (the Travis County hospital district) engaged Belmont to develop a campaign to raise local awareness to the immense dangers of opioids and the lethal doses of fentanyl they often carry.

Primarily targeting teens, young adults, and their parents, Belmont created “One Dose and It’s Over,” a campaign that leveraged gritty imagery and a message that even a single dose of opioids could be instantly fatal. Media included paid and organic social, billboards, posters, transit ads, and streaming audio spots.