Czech Republic to spend 50 million crowns on vaccination ad campaign

The Czech Health Ministry will buy media space worth 50 million crowns to advertise COVID-19 vaccination on TV and radios, newspapers, webs and billboards.

The campaign will take place from March until September 2021, and is aimed at people aged from 18 to 55.

It will be prepared by Cesta ven (Way Out), a group of PR agencies and experts, which has been chosen by the government. The campaign's main motto is "Let's fully stop the coronavirus."

Health Minister Jan Blatný has tweeted that he met representatives from the PR Agencies' Association and agreed on the avenues of possible cooperation on Saturday.

Out of the planned expenses of 50 million crowns, the ministry wants to spend 25 million on TV advertisement slots.

Advertisements in the printed press, radio, and web are to cost 10.7 million, four million, and eight million, respectively.

A half million crowns is to be paid for ten PR articles, 2.3 million for billboard adverts and 1.5 million for banners.

Of the billboards and banners, half will be bought in towns with under 100,000 inhabitants and the other half in towns with over 100,000 inhabitants.

Bidders can submit lists of media channels that can publish the pro-vaccination advertisements to the ministry, along with an analysis estimating the advertisement's effect in individual media.

Bidders must have experience with broad media campaigns. They are required to present a list of significant achievements they made in these areas over the past three years.

The ministry will choose a supplier through a special public procedure, which is different from a classic tender and allows the ministry to address several different suppliers. The law makes this procedure possible "amid urgent circumstances that the organizer could not anticipate."

Opposition parties have criticized the Health Ministry's poor communication with the public in connection with the COVID-19 vaccination. This began in late December, but has so far applied only to those eligible for vaccination, which includes healthcare workers and seniors over 80.