Effective prevention messaging for youth – 1/18/11

Q: Arkansas is working on developing a new statewide media campaign and would like examples of advertising materials (print, radio, and television ads, as well as social media) that have worked well in other states to promote prevention messages to youth aged between 10 and 18. Messages geared to the dangers of smoking or using smokeless tobacco are welcomed, and both traditional and social media channels may be used.

Arkansas already has strong general media and cessation campaigns, but would like some examples of advertising materials that have worked to lower youth smoking rates in other states.

A:

  1. Iowa: Here is an archive of JEL’s past advertising campaigns. We are in the middle of the “Keep it Real” campaign. The website for it is www.keepitrealz.com. Last year’s campaign website was www.seetheconnection.com.
     
  2. Montana: Here are two links that should help:
  3. Washington: Check out our three year NoStankYou youth tobacco prevention campaigns. Target audience was 11-17 year olds. A variety of ads were produced, ranging from 5 seconds to 30 seconds long, which were extremely effective with the target audience. There was no fourth year because of our massive budget cuts. At one time we had 57,000 visits a month to the youth website.
     
    There is no NoStankYou 4.0. Visits to the website dropped to 1,200 last month. We have completely redone the site and will unveil it in late January 2011 via webinar. It is still called NoStankYou, but is less about the campaign and more about a cool place for youth to go to get tobacco-related information and research.
     
    See attached materials:
     
  4. Wisconsin: Here in Wisconsin, we've had great success with our media campaigns for the FACT (Fighting Against Corporate Tobacco) movement. FACT is for Wisconsin youth ages 13-17 and focuses on raising awareness of the tobacco industry's targeting of young people.
     
    In recent years, we've moved to a model of producing activism kits for FACT groups throughout the state. The kits focus on a specific activism theme and provide consistent graphics and materials across the FACT movement to create a larger, statewide impact. Our most recent campaign was called "SevenFive10" and focused on Wisconsin going smoke-free on July 5th, 2010. Kit materials included stickers, stencils, promotional cards, and other items. Here's a snapshot of some of the results we saw from the campaign:
     
    • 44 youth-driven FACT groups involved
    • 1,033 new FACT members recruited
    • 317 FACTivisms implemented that focused on secondhand smoke and smoke-free air
    • 76 earned media hits
    • 39 legislative visits completed
       
    The activism kit model started with a campaign we did in 2008 called “They Killed 8,000.” The campaign focused on the number of tobacco-related deaths in Wisconsin each year by imagining what would happen if a whole town in Wisconsin was wiped off the map. The campaign was supported by a statewide TV buy and online media buy in addition to the kits. Kit materials included evidence markers, tobacco industry documents, stencils, yard flags, and other items. That campaign also saw impressive results, including:
     
    • Estimated that over 3,500,000 Wisconsinites were touched by the campaign
    • $100,000 generated in earned media
    • Nearly 20,000 hits to FACT website (www.fightwithFACT.com)
    • 1,100 new FACT members recruited
    • Over 400 FACtivisms implemented statewide
       
    It's worth noting that FACT members were instrumental in the creation of the They Killed 8000 campaign, and play a role in helping to shape all of our campaigns. For They Killed 8000, we held six separate brainstorming sessions with FACT groups across the state to develop the campaign theme, and FACT members also starred in the commercial (which can be viewed here). FACT members also helped develop the concept for our next activism kit campaign (called Manipulicious), which focuses on Other Tobacco Products. Manipulicious will be our fourth kit.
     
    Wisconsin's 2010 Youth Tobacco Survey showed that youth smoking has dropped in Wisconsin from 2008. Specifically, the high school smoking rate went from 20.7% to 17.67% and the middle school rate went from 4.3% to 3.9%.
     
    Photos of the activism kits being implemented are available here. This section of the site features six pages of FACT members using the kits in their community.
     
    Attached are a number of samples from our different kits:
     

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Partner Response:

  1. California Youth Advocacy Network: The New Mexico Health Department in collaboration with McKee Wallwork Cleveland (a media consulting agency) developed the "Thank you for not Sucking" campaign. This is a youth-targeted media campaign with three components: broadcast TV, online, and guerilla tactics. More information is available at the firm’s website. They also have a website dedicated to this campaign where kids can download stickers, watch the TV commercials, see the SUV's tour dates, and find out information about a contest (coming soon) which challenges kids to make a video about why they don't suck.
     
    Another campaign hosted by Utah Health Department's TRUTH is a contest for fourth and fifth graders to make an ad (radio, TV, or poster) that convinces people not to smoke or chew. There are cash prizes available for the winners. Here's the website for more information: http://youthagainsttobacco.com.
     
    Also, the http://the84.org/ is an online social network for youth in Massachusetts to discuss, plan, and talk about being a tobacco-free generation. They have chapters from all over the state who collaborate on this one network. They post events, have merchandise for purchase, and have an area just for youth to discuss their lives.

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