Misinformation increased Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy in Indonesia and to take on mistrust, Google Search leveraged data to position itself as the go-to platform for verified vaccine information.

Data to understand vaccine hesitancy: We used Google Search data, data from the Ministry of Health and social-listening to interpret vaccine fears of different users -elderly, pregnant women, daily wage earners, etc.

Data to shift vaccination perceptions: We dived into user behaviour to see the decision making pathways of our audience. This helped us map out personalised verified information seeking experiences at scale, to motivate millions to find answers with Reviews of Hope.

In Indonesia, misinformation on social media and chats showed mistrust and fear spreading around the Covid-19 vaccine leading to increasing vaccine hesitancy in Indonesia.

To counter misinformation, Google Search wanted to give people easy access to verified information, establish itself as the trusted platform to seek vaccine related facts - eventually, increasing vaccination rates in Indonesia.

In its endeavour to be the world’s most helpful brand, Google Search wanted to take on this onslaught of hoaxes on social media and chats, and be the go-to platform for verified vaccine information.

We had to find a way to break through these perceived barriers to change behaviour. Our objective was to convey ease, access and relevance to people - we partnered with the Ministry of Health to use verified information - eventually helping shrink vaccine hesitancy rates in Indonesia.

When in doubt people often rely on Google Search peer reviews before making a decision and we thought of using this behaviour to convince them to take the vaccine. With Reviews of Hope we took the power of reassuring real life stories to break the toxic cycle of misinformation and fear.

We looked at data and mapped trending vaccine fears against credible first-hand stories of users who took the vaccine, to create the first-ever reviews of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Caregivers gave hope about easy availability, breadwinners reassured everyone about side effects, seniors spread cheer about seeing grandchildren soon and parents addressed safety. These frank but compelling reviews were delivered contextually across audiences so their message was relatable to the right people.

As data revealed fears, we continued to create more Reviews of Hope and it moved Indonesians to get vaccinated in large numbers.

Our challenge was not only to reach as many Indonesians as possible, but to also be able to switch their behaviour by making an emotional connection.

We had to understand the individual reasons behind vaccine hesitancy. We segmented the audience - ranging from the vulnerable elderly to pregnant women to breadwinners who couldn’t afford to be sick to caregivers who had to take the decision for dependants and more.

Once these groups revealed the highest percentages of fears, we used it to interpret their individual fears, their influences and their decision making process.

We asked segmented groups their vaccine concerns and found their fear of the unknown manifested in the form of negative side-effects as well as concerns for the ‘experimental’ nature of the vaccine itself.

We realised, not all doubts are born equal. With vaccine hesitancy, the driving motivation is rooted in fear. Fear driven by caring for your own wellbeing and that of your loved ones.

Vulnerable elderly: I’m fragile, will I be able to endure the vaccine?

Pregnant women: Is it safe for my baby?

Caretakers: My family is in the village, can they access the vaccine safely?

Breadwinners: I can’t afford to get sick, my family depends on me

Hesitancy was driven by ‘care’, giving us an opportunity to reframe its perception and show how as a brand Google Search embraces ‘doubts’ with helpful technology that connects us as a community in search of what’s best for us.

Reviews of Hope proved to move the needle, not only in shifting brand opinions but most importantly in driving key actionable results - positive vaccination perception and convincing Indonesians to get vaccinated in large numbers.

As we took the data of trending fears and mapped them against relevant Reviews of Hope that were served contextually, we seeded relevant vaccine information to those who needed it and this resulted in more consumers seeing the importance of vaccination.

- Google Search data saw a shift, with a reduction in misinformation and an increase in positive perception about vaccination by 8.6%.

- Vaccination rates in Indonesia saw a dramatic increase during the campaign's duration.

- With a campaign reach of 260M across 4 months of Digital & TV broadcasting, the effort also led to a lift-up in brand trustworthiness with a 5% average increase across Indonesia.