Effectively Using Digital Media to Enhance Social Marketing Campaigns

Background:  In 2008, ClearWay Minnesota^SM launched a quit-and-win contest, The QuitCash Challenge^TM, as a new way to promote QUITPLAN^® Services, our evidenced-based cessation programs. The contest is designed to motivate tobacco users to enroll in QUITPLAN Services by offering a chance to win $5,000 if participants quit tobacco for at least a month.

Program background: After low participation in The QuitCash Challenge’s second year (2009), our primary goal in 2010 was to increase contest participation by creating a sense of urgency around quitting. To encourage more tobacco users to enroll in QUITPLAN Services and make quit attempts, ClearWay Minnesota sought to develop a more supportive, engaging experience for contest participants through enhanced social and digital media. In addition, ClearWay Minnesota wanted to better understand the consumer’s perspective of the quitting process and how to better promote services.

Evaluation Methods and Results: Audience segmentation was used to target “quit seekers” – tobacco users interested in quitting. Increased use of social networking sites, online advertising, text messaging, email marketing and viral videos provided the opportunity to better reach and engage with the target audience. One week after the contest ended, a brief online follow-up survey was sent to all contest participants who opted-in to receive message from the contest (n=2,399). Through the online survey (n= 496; 21 percent response rate) we were able to gain valuable insight into tobacco users’ perspectives on the quitting process and the promotional effectiveness of The QuitCash Challenge. Key findings include 38 percent of participants reported using QUITPLAN Services and 63 percent reported staying quit for at least the contest period (one month).

Conclusions: Overall the 2010 contest had the highest participation of any QuitCash Challenge to date, with a 64 percent increase in contest registration over 2009. It was successful in getting more Minnesota tobacco users to make a quit attempt using evidence-based cessation services (creating a 117 percent increase in quitplan.com online cessation program registrations and a 32 percent increase in call volume to QUITPLAN Services.)

Implications for research and/or practice:

1. A quit-and-win contest can be used as an effective social marketing campaign to promote evidenced-based services.
2. It is important to segment the target audience and encourage a high level of engagement with the audience.
3. This campaign demonstrates that innovative uses of new and existing digital tools can enhance social marketing campaigns to promote healthy behavior change.