Goals

• To create a common, regional message for teens and parents.
• To help parents jump-start difficult conversations with their teens.
• To help teens make better choices.

Strategies

A regional group of ten counties from North Central Iowa came together early in 2006 to identify why some kids make positive choices and others don’t.  The goal of these regional partners was to create a common regional message to reach the adults of North Central Iowa who encounter youth in their lives.

To accomplish their goal group looked toward the expertise of Glynis Shea of the University of Minnesota.  According to Shea, “Communication skills are critical for helping professionals because of the vital role we play in building public will.  Whether our communication is successful or damaging, fruitful or unproductive, depends on knowledge, skills, and confidence.”

To build their confidence, the regional partners took part in a communications workshop.  There they learned how advertisers think about communicating, and how to apply this knowledge to their own challenges.  The workshop taught them that communications research shows public perceptions and through research findings strategies can be developed that will yield effective approaches.

Through the initial guidance of Glynis Shea and the creative filtering of graphic designer, Mary Schaaf, the group approached this campaign with the idea that adults need to pay attention to the youth in their lives.  The group believes this goal can be accomplished through simple message of the campaign theme, “Got a Minute? – Ask Me, Talk to Me, and Eat with Me.”

The 6-month campaign was scheduled to run through the holiday and include prom seasons.  These are times when underage drinking is more frequent.  The campaign was broken down into three phases, so the three main messages were publicly visible at all times.  The messages were placed in different areas, so they complemented each other.  A poster and theatre ad ran frequently throughout the campaign, tying the entire concept together in one element.

Results

• Several additional coalitions have adopted this campaign for their areas.
• Three new messages were added to the campaign:  “Tell Me – It’s Unsafe, It’s Illegal, It’s Irresponsible”, “Show Me – I am watching what you do”, and “Challenge Me – to do the right thing”.  These have been developed into billboard format thus far.
• In an follow up survey, youth and parents reported seeing the billboards more than any other forms of the campaign.
• All of the coalitions involved in the campaign have experienced more community recognition of their coalition branding following the campaign.