erg.com#CouldBeYou
Also: Could Be You · CouldBeYou Project
Fairfax County, Virginia opioid stigma-reduction and awareness campaign (US-VA) launched May 2019 by the county's Opioid and Substance Use Task Force with ERG: social ads, videos, posters, transit ads and a website for 14-35-year-olds saying anyone could be affected and help is available, with materials in seven languages. ERG ran a 60-day follow-up digital wave in 2023 on safe prescription use, fentanyl facts and 'safe spaces', in English and Spanish.
- Years
- 2019–2023
- Reach
- 4.7M impressions as reported“the 2023 60-day wave received 4.7 million impressions, reached more than 1 million people and drew over 167,000 engagements.”
- Country
- United States
- Topic
- DrugsOpioids
- Asks people to
- Reduce stigmaSeek helpStart
- Strategy
- Stigma reductionTestimonial
- Channel
- OutdoorPrintSocial (paid)Website
- Audience
- Young adultsYouthAges 14-35 (2019); 2023 wave aimed at Black, Hispanic and Latinx/Latine, LGBTQIA+ and youth audiences.
Evidence
Self-reportedUnknown
ERG reports 2019-20 ads were viewed more than 8.5 million times; the 2023 60-day wave received 4.7 million impressions, reached more than 1 million people and drew over 167,000 engagements.
Sponsor (who paid)
- Fairfax County Government (Opioid and Substance Use Task Force; Office of Public Affairs) State local government, funder
Credits (who made it)
- ERG (Eastern Research Group) Creative, 2019 source
- ERG (Eastern Research Group) Digital, 2023 source
Related campaigns
- Become Unskippable 2024–now
- Curb the Crisis 2018–now
Sources
- Fairfax-Falls Church CSB: Fairfax County launches unique communications campaign; #CouldBeYou (2019) sponsor · 2019
- Fairfax County: Opioids Communications Toolkit sponsor · 2026
- ERG: Reducing Stigma Around Opioid Substance Abuse (CouldBeYou Project) archive
- ERG: A Digital Campaign to Combat Opioid Misuse and Stigma in Fairfax County, Virginia (4 Oct 2023) archive · 2023
Research notes
US-VA (Fairfax County). Discovered 2026-10-22 for #17. Credits checked 2026-10-22 against fetched pages: ERG for the 2019 campaign (ERG project page, 'CouldBeYou Project', client Fairfax County Office of Public Affairs) and the 2023 digital wave (ERG news item, 4 Oct 2023: 'Fairfax County tasked ERG with developing a public awareness campaign...'). The 2023 wave is not branded #CouldBeYou on the ERG page; it is filed here because ERG calls it 'building on our past work' and the county toolkit added 'new social media creative' in 2023. Funding: Board of Supervisors via the Opioid Task Force (search snippet of the 2019 CSB release); no settlement funding found for this campaign. No individual ad URLs found (toolkit downloads only). endYear 2023 = last wave found. Reuse terms checked 2026-10-23 by an AI research pass for #47; not yet reviewed by a person.
Record cases/fairfax-county-could-be-you.json, updated 2026-10-23· Link to this campaign