Wisconsin Department of Justice

In Partnership With: We Heart You and Medical College of Wisconsin

thriving in recovery Statewide campaign

Saving lives and breaking stigma across an entire state.


Originally created for We Heart You, Winnebago County's Overdose Fatality Review Team, Thriving in Recovery was later adopted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice and expanded statewide in partnership with the Medical College of Wisconsin. What began as one local recovery story became a statewide awareness campaign, customized for overdose fatality review teams across Wisconsin to connect residents with local recovery resources while helping reduce the stigma surrounding addiction and recovery.

Project Deliverables

CAMPAIGN FILM

2.5-MINUTE PSA VIDEO


SOCIAL MEDIA CUTDOWNS

60, 30 & 15-SECONDS


STILL IMAGES

50+ PULLED FROM VIDEO


Services

VIDEO PRODUCTION
cAMPAIGN

HIGHLIGHTNG REAL PEOPLE IN RECOVERY

One Story. Thirty Cities. Fourteen Counties. One Shared Mission.


CLIENT Testimonial

Black quotation marks icon on a white background

Working with Mirrorless Productions allowed our campaign to become a success in our community. Their team did an incredible job managing communications, planning a strategic advertising campaign, and providing meaningful data that helped measure our impact. We saw a significant increase in website traffic and couldn't have been happier with the results. We look forward to working with Mirrorless again on future projects.


Wisconsin Deflection Initiative (WDI) logo for statewide recovery and public health initiatives supported through video production.
Brittany Kutz, BSN, RN

Jefferson County Health Department

Mirrorless Productions filming a Wisconsin recovery awareness campaign in front of a Winnebago County community billboard for We Heart You.
Wisconsin recovery awareness social media campaign created through commercial video production by Mirrorless Productions.

Project Highlight.

Black check mark on a white background
Statewide public awareness campaign
Black check mark icon on a white background
Creative concept & scriptwriting
Black checkmark icon on a white background
Media partner & county coordination
Black check mark icon on a white background
Statewide media buying & ad management
Black check mark icon on a white background
Campaign reporting & performance analytics

the challenge

Create a recovery campaign powerful enough to resonate across Wisconsin while ensuring every participating community could connect viewers with trusted recovery resources in their own county.


The campaign needed to reduce stigma, inspire hope, and remain locally relevant—without sacrificing a unified statewide message.

Woman running during a Wisconsin recovery awareness commercial video production for the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

OUR APPROACH

Rather than producing a different campaign for every community, we created one authentic recovery story and customized the ending for each participating county. Every version directed viewers to local recovery organizations, allowing one statewide campaign to feel personal and relevant throughout Wisconsin while maintaining one consistent message of hope and resilience.

The campaign launched across streaming television, local TV, movie theaters, billboards, gas station TV, and social media—ensuring the message reached Wisconsinites wherever they lived, worked, and traveled.

Statewide Distribution

Every participating community received a customized version of the campaign, connecting viewers with trusted recovery resources specific to their own county while maintaining one consistent statewide message.

Localized Messaging

Statewide Campaign Thriving in Recovery

Rather than creating separate campaigns for every community, we developed one authentic recovery story that could be adapted across Wisconsin. Each participating community received a customized version with local recovery resources, while a coordinated media strategy expanded the campaign through television, streaming, social media, movie theaters, billboards, and digital advertising.

Video production camera icon representing commercial filmmaking, content creation, and brand storytelling services.
Marketing strategy icon representing brand messaging, promotion, and business growth services by Mirrorless Productions.
Video play button icon representing commercial video production and branded content.

Multi-community Collaboration

Working alongside overdose fatality review teams throughout Wisconsin, we adapted the campaign for each community while preserving one unified story of hope, resilience, and recovery.

By sharing authentic stories of people thriving in recovery, the campaign encouraged conversations around addiction, challenged misconceptions, and reminded thousands of Wisconsinites that recovery is possible.

Breaking the Stigma

THE IMPACT

Every number represents more than campaign performance—it represents another opportunity to reduce stigma, encourage hope, and connect someone with recovery resources in their own community. What began as one local story grew into a statewide initiative, reaching millions of Wisconsinites through a coordinated campaign spanning television, streaming, movie theaters, billboards, gas station TV, and social media.


19.2M+

Campaign Reach

30+

Wisconsin Cities


 1.5M+

Streaming TV Impressions

2M+

Movie Theater Impressions


30,932

Movie Theater Airings

15,800+

Website Link Clicks

What began as one local story became a statewide movement—bringing hope, breaking stigma, and connecting communities across Wisconsin with the resources that help recovery thrive.