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d&a's social marketing practice focuses on measurably changing opinions, attitudes and behavior, and in some instances, changing culture.
Many campaigns bring awareness to an issue, but fail to achieve meaningful and measurable behavioral or cultural change. It is the difference between reaching teens with a campaign message about not smoking cigarettes, and actually getting them not to start smoking. It is the difference between telling kids to eat healthier, and actually getting them to consume less fast food, soft drinks and junk food and eat more fruits and vegetables.
d&a’s top social marketing work has been in teen tobacco prevention and childhood obesity prevention, with the campaigns and programs created by d&a considered the nation’s most effective in addressing these health epidemics.
Teen Tobacco Prevention Overview
Dewey worked on the national ‘truth’ campaign during its creation/inception, and several highly successful state campaigns including West Virginia and Minnesota.
The West Virginia campaign (with Dewey as chief strategist) reduced teen tobacco use by 32.5% in three years, making it the second most effective state campaign in the more than 40 year history of teen tobacco prevention efforts. Also, the campaign reduced smokeless tobacco use among teenage boys by 38%, the most successful reduction in teen smokeless tobacco use ever. Additionally, in the three years Dewey was involved with the 'Raze' campaign, the tobacco industry doubled its advertising in the state from $35 million to $70 million.
Childhood Obesity Prevention Overview
Dewey applied best practices from teen tobacco prevention to childhood obesity prevention, creating counter-marketing and grassroots campaigns and programs:
Counter-Marketing
Big Fat Industries is a counter-marketing campaign that addresses how fast food, soft drink and junk food companies target kids with billions in marketing, advertising and free toys to get them to eat and drink their stuff all day, everyday – instead of promoting moderation, which is the only healthy way to consume these products.
Couch Potato Companies is a counter-marketing campaign that addresses how natl. TV networks and video game companies promote sedentary lifestyles among kids by encouraging them to watch TV and play video games most of their free time.
Grassroots Movement
Kidz Bite Back is a kid-created, kid-led, kid-spread movement among 4th and 5th graders. Students spread the word (peer-to-peer communication model) to their friends, families and neighbors -- exposing Big Fat Industries and Couch Potato Companies and promoting the Kidz Creed and healthy lifestyles.
Kidz Bite Back in Tampa Bay is currently being evaluated by the University of South Florida, College of Public Health (initial results show great promise in improving nutrition and increasing activity among kids). Additionally, Kidz Bite Back was evaluated as a three-year pilot program in South Florida and showed improved nutrition (consumed less fast food and more fruits and vegetables) and increased activity among kids. For more information about Kidz Bite Back visit www.kidzbiteback.com For pilot program evaluation visit www.deweyandassociates.com/obesity.
Parental Responsibility and Accountability
Parents Step Up is a hard-hitting advertising campaign with the message that although there are many causes of childhood obesity – like too much fast food and video games – a parent is ultimately responsible and accountable for his/her children becoming overweight or obese. The one-year campaign was piloted in South Florida and the evaluation revealed among mom’s a 67% increase in their perceived level of responsibility for their child becoming overweight or obese. For more information about Parents Step Up, visit www.parentsstepup.com For pilot program evaluation, visit www.deweyandassociates.com/obesity.
In Tampa Bay, a collaboration of health organizations is considering launching a Parents Step Up campaign that would include a Family Wellness Screening for parents to determine their child’s healthy weight and resources on how to raise healthy children.
Parents Step Up also has a Spanish version called Familias en Marcha, complete with TV ad, print ads and website in Spanish.
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