When the Albuquerque Coalition for Healthcare Quality in Albuquerque, NM, spent $80,000 for radio and print advertising to launch a public information campaign about how to get the right care at the right time at the right place, it hardly expected to triple its projected reach.

But that’s exactly what happened when the AF4Q Alliance’s “Is it an emergency or an urgency?” campaign caught on in the Albuquerque media market. The program, which aimed to help consumers determine whether their medical situations warranted a visit to an emergency department (ED) or an urgent care facility, clearly struck a chord with the public and local media alike. Although the Coalition spent more than $57,000 on radio advertising (about 715 spots), it received more than 1,700 free public service announcements—more than $150,000 in free radio advertising.