BetaHCF Case Studies Library is in beta. We're still adding campaigns and fixing things.
HCF Case Studies Library

← All campaigns · Open in the library

MAR NOW promotion campaign (Chicago)

Also: MAR Saves Lives. Connect to Care Today.

“MAR Saves Lives. Connect to Care Today.”

Chicago Department of Public Health (US-IL) campaign promoting MAR NOW, the 24/7 Illinois Helpline route (833-234-6343) to same- or next-day medication for opioid use disorder that CDPH launched with the Illinois Department of Human Services in May 2022. CDPH announced a citywide promotion for fall 2022, made English/Spanish tear-off flyers and posters (including one aimed at pregnant and postpartum people), and ran a marketing push in summer 2024, when monthly MAR NOW calls rose from 252 in May to 388 in August.

Years
2022–2024
Country
United States
Topic
DrugsOpioids
Asks people to
Seek help
Strategy
Service linkSimple instruction
Channel
Print
Audience
AdultsGeneral public
Chicagoans with opioid use disorder; one poster aimed at pregnant and postpartum people ('Overdose is a leading cause of maternal death'). English and Spanish.

Evidence

Self-reportedUnknown

CDPH 2024 summer response summary: after CDPH 'initiated a marketing campaign', monthly MAR NOW calls rose from 252 in May to 388 in August 2024, and Chicago callers rose from 11% of calls (May) to 17-18% (July-August). No comparison group; the same summer also had door-to-door outreach and wider naloxone distribution. Fall 2022 brief: 82% of callers seeking care connected to same- or next-day treatment (program outcome, not campaign).

Sponsor (who paid)

  • Chicago Department of Public Health State local government, funder and creator
  • Illinois Department of Human Services (MAR NOW / Illinois Helpline partner) State local government, service partner

Credits (who made it)

Not recorded yet.

Executions (individual ads)

Related campaigns

Sources

  1. CDPH: Overdose Prevention and Harm Reduction Initiatives (Fall 2022, Budget 2023 brief) sponsor · 2022
  2. CDPH: 2024 Summer Opioid Response, Executive Summary sponsor · 2024
  3. CDPH MAR NOW poster, 11x17 (June 2023 file) sponsor · 2023
  4. CDPH MAR NOW tear-off flyer, Fall 2022 (English/Spanish) sponsor · 2022

Research notes

US-IL (City of Chicago). Discovered 2026-10-22 for #17 (local campaigns pass; method: od2a-grantee). chicago.gov PDFs return 403 to scripts; all four were read 2026-10-22 from Wayback Machine copies (2024-2025 captures) of the URLs cited. Fall 2022 brief: MAR NOW launched May 2022 with IDHS, expanded statewide 1 Sept 2022, 'CDPH is launching a citywide campaign to promote MAR NOW in the Fall'. 2024 summary: 'CDPH initiated a marketing campaign to promote medication assisted recovery or MAR through its innovative telemedicine hotline, MAR NOW', with the call figures quoted in findings. Posters: maternal-death poster (11x17; filename suffix 6823 suggests June 2023) and the bilingual tear-off with buprenorphine vs methadone table and 'Help starts here.' Channels beyond print, paid media, spend, vendor and funding source not stated in any source opened; the CDC OD2A link in the research row is the city's grant status, not a stated funder of this campaign. Overlaps with the IDHS statewide helpline/MAR Now promotion (il-illinois-helpline-help-is-here), which ran its own MAR Now testimonials in 2025; this case is the city's own promotion. Check the numbers: 252 and 388 are total MAR NOW calls (statewide line), not Chicago-only calls. endYear 2024 is the last documented push, not a known end. CDPH's 2024 PIO board presentation (opened) lists other 2024 campaigns but not MAR NOW.

Record cases/chicago-mar-now-promotion.json, updated 2026-10-22· Link to this campaign