CPPW State Wide Integration: An Invesitgation of Earned and Paid Media Across the State

Background:  In 2008, among NC children ages 10-17, 17.6% were overweight, and 15.2% were obese, compared to 61.3 percent who were at a healthy weight. High rates of overweight may be attributed to physical inactivity and unhealthy eating habits among youth in the state. Nearly 80 percent of N.C. adults and 85 percent of N.C. high school students ate less than five servings of fruits and vegetables each day, the minimum recommendation for good health. In 2006, one-third of N.C. children typically consumed one serving or less of vegetables per day, and one in three N.C. children eats fast food two or more times per week. 

Program background:  This media campaign is based off of the Communities Putting Prevention To Work (CPPW) grant that was given to these Department of Public Healths through the Affordable Care Act.  CPPW funding focuses on supporting communities making policy, environmental, and systems changes necessary for improved nutrition and increased physical activity.  These changes have the potential to improve health outcomes for more people than those that focus on individuals.  This media campaign is supplemental to the large changes that are to be achieved.

Evaluation Methods and Results:  Approach: Each CPPW North Carolina community (Pitt County and Appalachian District) has deliberate and powerful media campaigns arranged to maximize the use of the national media campaign and other similar state-wide media efforts including Eat Smart, Move More ESMM, and the CPPW II grant for built environments.

Tactics: Use of innovative and tailored national media in local markets, including: guerilla marketing, social media, grassroots and co-branding. •    Co-branding: making each campaign specific to the communities while giving state-wide recognition.  Each campaign remains undiluted. •    Guerilla marketing: placing the campaign in peoples’ “backyards” and creating a buzz. •    Social media: current, interactive and visually stimulating online presence using this efficient and cost-effective way of reaching audiences to distinguish this campaign through execution in high-reaching and smart outlets that speak to the target audience. •    Grassroots as a fundamental tool.  Creating local buy-in to have this campaign succeed.  The elements of community involvement are woven throughout this media plan giving it the groundswell it needs to not only succeed but achieve sustainability.

Conclusions: Successes: The use of existing messages from: national CPPW media (tailored to local), ESMM (building on their brand recognition), and the CPPW II (using cross-promotional ads when relevant with grant endeavors in the CPPW communities) and co-branding each of them was incredibly effective.   Grassroots and community relations (including social media) had higher levels of success in these rural areas as each

Barriers:   The first barrier is finding localized media outlets in the rural communities.  The second is using the national media (which is very urban) in the rural setting. The third barrier is getting past a “political” message to a health message.

Implications for research and/or practice: 

• Implementing national media into local or rural areas. 
• Co-branding
• Reducing the political message that comes with public health