Building on the success of earlier infant and toddler nutrition campaigns led by the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) in partnership with CDC, Rocket Camp, and Propellant Media, the 2026 Multi-State Young Child Nutrition Campaign continued to connect families with trusted nutrition information through evidence-based digital outreach. Lessons learned from previous campaign cycles, which generated more than 50 million impressions across seven states, helped shape this year’s approach to reaching mothers, parents, and caregivers of young children with practical nutrition and healthy beverage messages.

Implemented in selected communities across Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, and North Carolina, the 2026 campaign used a combination of programmatic display advertising and paid social media on Facebook and Instagram to deliver CDC-approved nutrition messages from the State and Community Health Media Center to mothers, parents, and caregivers of young children. Rather than conducting statewide outreach, each participating state identified geographic areas and populations where the campaign could have the greatest impact. Across all five states, the campaign consistently exceeded the digital advertising industry benchmark click-through rate (CTR) of 0.1%, with state results ranging from 0.43% to 0.75%. Click-through rate is the percentage of ad views that resulted in a click. Together, the campaigns generated millions of ad impressions and directed well over 150,000 users to trusted nutrition resources.

Several key lessons emerged across participating states:

• Video content drove the strongest engagement. A rebrand of Alaska Play Every Day’s Toddler Public Service Announcement (PSA) consistently outperformed static advertisements, achieving click-through rates as high as 5.32% in Georgia and resonating particularly well with younger parents and caregivers.
• Paid social media delivered the best results. Facebook and Instagram campaigns consistently generated higher engagement than programmatic display advertising, demonstrating the value of reaching families through the platforms they use most.
• Targeted outreach and optimized creative improved performance. Geographic targeting, custom audiences, retargeting, mobile-friendly ad formats, and family-centered messaging all contributed to stronger engagement across communities.
• Local insights can strengthen future campaigns. While overall performance was consistently strong, differences across communities highlighted opportunities to further tailor messaging, media placements, and creative assets to local audiences.

State-specific results reinforced these findings. California generated more than 8.2 million impressions and nearly 51,000 clicks, while Georgia delivered over 9.5 million impressions and more than 41,000 clicks. Colorado identified strong engagement with parent-centered messaging in selected communities, Arkansas saw consistent performance across a variety of creative assets, and North Carolina achieved the highest overall CTR at 0.75%.

The campaign demonstrates how strong partnerships, data-driven implementation, and continuous improvement can expand the reach of evidence-based nutrition messages in communities where they are needed most. These findings will help inform future efforts to connect more families with trusted resources that support healthy eating and healthy beverage choices for young children.

For additional information please contact cahcinfo@chronicdisease.org.