The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #35085

Jack J. Vondras, MPH, Cambridge Prevention Coalition, Director, 51 Inman Street, Cambridge, MA 02139 and Carey D. Toran, MPH, Cambridge Prevention Coalition, Consultant, 51 Inman St., Cambridge, MA 02139, 617-327-6503, jvondras@ci.cambridge.ma.us.

In an effort to reduce teen alcohol use in Cambridge, the Cambridge Prevention Coalition (CPC) has spent nearly three years mobilizing community resources to develop a cutting edge social marketing campaign. The campaign has focused on (1) engaging and developing resources in the business community to reduce the availability of alcohol to teens and (2) working with businesses, the Cambridge License Commission, and the Cambridge School Department to develop a social marketing media campaign to reduce teen access to alcohol through "third party sales." The presentation will highlight how the campaign has capitalized on building new collaborations in the community to address a problem of mutual concern. Additionally, the presentation will lead participants through the planning phases of the social marketing media campaign -- reminding people, at the same time, that social marketing is NOT just about media. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of formative research in the planning phase and how the project team conducted formative research with the potential target audiences. Other topics to be addressed include how the project team made final selection of the target audience(s), pre-tested messages and creative design, selected channels and vehicles of communication, worked with community partners, and evaluated the campaign. Briefly, the media campaign consists of three components: (1) a mailing to parents of high school students; (2) a point-of-purchase handout -- scratch cards with critical messages to make the target audience "stop and think" (to be handed out in local package stores), and; (3) a print media campaign to address social norms of third party purchasing.

Learning Objectives:

• Social marketing is not just marketing via media campaigns.
• A good social marketing campaign is composed of several important steps.
• Conducting formative research is critical to devising a successful social marketing campaign.
• Evaluation is a critical element of a successful campaign.

Keywords: Alcohol Use, Social Marketing

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: City of Cambridge
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.