Connecticut's Leader in
Municipal Opioid Awareness Campaigns.
The Marketing Row has specialized in opioid awareness campaign communications for Connecticut towns and cities since 2018 - longer than any other firm in the state. We built the coalitions, launched the campaigns, helped fight the manufacturers, and produced nationally award-winning opioid awareness work. If your municipality is receiving opioid settlement funding, we know exactly how to put it to work.
We Were Doing This Before Anyone Else - and We Have the Awards to Prove It.
When opioid awareness campaigns weren't yet a standard municipal service, The Marketing Row's CEO and Founder Rowena White was already on the front lines - leading communications for the City of Bridgeport's opioid crisis response under Mayor Joe Ganim, organizing a regional coalition of mayors, chiefs of police, fire chiefs, health directors, and selectmen spanning Stratford to New Haven to Waterbury, and launching BPT IamU - "Bridgeport, I Am You. Real Life. Real Hope." - for the Bridgeport Department of Health and Social Services.
That early work helped drive Connecticut municipalities to take opioid manufacturers to court - and win. Settlement funding has been flowing to Connecticut towns annually since 2022. Today, TMR is the only Connecticut communications firm that has been doing this work continuously since before the litigation, through the settlement, and into ongoing annual campaigns - with two national Communicator Awards recognizing the quality of that work.
Opioid awareness has become a growing category in municipal communications - and with that comes agencies presenting themselves as specialists. TMR was doing this work before it was a category, before the settlements, and before the funding. That depth of experience is not something you can replicate.
Full-Service Opioid Awareness Campaign Communications
We develop opioid awareness campaign strategy rooted in community, built for your specific municipality. Messaging that reduces stigma, connects residents to resources, and meets state and federal reporting requirements for opioid settlement fund expenditures.
Award-winning video production that tells real stories - people in recovery, community leaders, families affected by the opioid crisis. The kind of authentic storytelling that earns national recognition and actually moves residents to seek help.
Platform-native social content series designed for municipal opioid awareness - the exact format that earned TMR a national Communicator Award for Social Content Series: Government & Associations. Built to reach your residents where they are.
We know how to bring government, public health, law enforcement, and community organizations together around a shared campaign. We've done it at the regional level - mayors, chiefs, health directors - and we can do it for your town.
Opioid awareness campaigns that get press coverage - local, regional, and statewide. We know how to pitch public health stories, secure earned media for your municipality's efforts, and keep your campaign in the public conversation.
Connecticut municipalities receiving annual opioid settlement distributions need communications programs that meet spending requirements and demonstrate community impact. We build those programs - and we document the results.
Seven Years on the Front Lines of Connecticut's Opioid Crisis
Regional Coalition + BPT IamU Launch
Rowena White led communications for the City of Bridgeport's opioid crisis response, helping convene a regional coalition of mayors, selectmen, chiefs of police, fire chiefs, and public health directors from Stratford to New Haven to Waterbury - one of Connecticut's earliest coordinated government opioid awareness efforts. That same year, TMR helped launch BPT IamU ("Bridgeport, I Am You. Real Life. Real Hope.") for the Bridgeport Department of Health and Social Services - using video storytelling and community outreach to reduce addiction stigma and connect residents to recovery support.
2021
Legislative & Legal Action - Senator Blumenthal & the AG
TMR's communications work extended into legislative and legal action. Rowena stood alongside U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, helped draft letters to Connecticut's state's attorney general, and built the public communications record that supported Connecticut municipalities in their litigation against opioid manufacturers. Connecticut cities and towns took the manufacturers to court - and won.
Present
Settlement Win - Annual Opioid Funding Flows to CT Towns
Connecticut municipalities began receiving annual opioid settlement distributions in 2022 - the direct result of the litigation that TMR helped support through communications. Communities including Bridgeport and Stratford receive annual payments earmarked for opioid awareness, prevention, and recovery programming. That funding is ongoing and must be deployed each year.
2025
2× National Communicator Award Winner - "One Community, One Family, Driven By Hope"
TMR's opioid awareness campaign for a Connecticut municipality earned two national Communicator Awards - an Award of Distinction for Government or Municipal Campaign and an Award of Distinction for Social Content Series: Government & Associations. TMR was engaged for Year 1 and retained for Year 2, a testament to measurable results and trusted partnership.
Award-Winning Opioid Awareness Work
2025 Communicator Award of Distinction recognizing TMR's opioid awareness campaign for a Connecticut municipality. Nationally recognized for excellence in government public health communications.
Watch Campaign
2025 Communicator Award of Distinction recognizing TMR's opioid awareness social media campaign - a model for how Connecticut municipalities can use digital platforms to reach residents about the opioid crisis.
Watch CampaignYour Town Is Holding Opioid Settlement Dollars.
They Need to Be Spent.
Beginning in 2022, Connecticut municipalities that participated in the litigation against opioid manufacturers began receiving annual settlement distributions. This funding is ongoing, it is earmarked for opioid awareness and prevention programming, and it must be spent.
Towns across Fairfield County, New Haven County, and the Greater Waterbury region are holding dollars every year that need a communications partner with proven experience to deploy effectively. A proper opioid awareness campaign does more than raise awareness - it connects residents to resources, reduces stigma, documents outcomes for state reporting, and builds a record of community investment that supports continued funding.
TMR has worked with Connecticut municipalities on exactly this. We know the landscape, we know the requirements, and we know how to build campaigns that deliver real results - and document them. When it comes to opioid awareness communications in Connecticut, experience matters.
If your town is receiving opioid settlement funding and hasn't yet engaged a communications partner - or you're not satisfied with your current program - reach out. We're ready.
Ready to Build Your Town's
Opioid Awareness Campaign?
Whether you're deploying settlement funding for the first time or looking for a stronger communications partner - TMR is ready. Seven years of experience. Nationally recognized work. A team that was there from the beginning.
Start the Conversation