Effective Mass Media Messages for Tobacco Prevention with Generation Z

Background:  While hard hitting media has been proven to reduce teen tobacco use rates, much of what we know about effective media messages comes from research conducted with teens in Generation Y. With a new generation now filling high schools, and teen tobacco use rates generally plateauing, new research is needed to reignite decreases in tobacco use among Generation Y teens.

Program background:  Media were tested from tobacco control programs in ten different states, as well as national and international campaign media developed between 2000 and 2011.

Evaluation Methods and Results:  This session combines findings from twelve studies on teen tobacco prevention messaging conducted in six states. 475 teens and young adults participated in 57 focus groups between 2008-2011. Over two-thirds of participants were current tobacco-users or high-risk non-users. Participants were presented with 12–20 tobacco prevention TV commercials and answered a written questionnaire about each commercial before an open discussion. Quantitative date were analyzed to identify trends, which were then enriched by qualitative data collected through open discussions. Media that were presented were coded based on message type (such as long term health consequence or social justice issues) and presentation characteristics (such as scare tactics or use of teens in the media).

Conclusions:  Participants responded more positively to commercials if they included 1) short-term health consequences, 2) rebellious looking youth, 3) tobacco social justice issues (i.e.: animal testing, deforestation, etc), and/or 4) straightforward messaging. They responded with indifference or negativity towards commercials that 1) used scare tactics, 2) utilized “over-the-top” creative, 3) included teens that looked low-risk, and/or 4) did not clearly explain the message. Anti-tobacco industry messages were only rated highly when one of the identified positive components was included, but did not score well when negative components were included. Youth comments relating to each advertising strategy will be presented to explain findings.

Implications for research and/or practice:  Most research on teen tobacco prevention messages included youth from Generation Y. This session will provide attendees up-to-date data to help adapt strategies to reach a new generation of young people. By better understanding how generational changes are affecting youth’s reactions to tobacco control media, future creative development can focus on the most effective messaging possible to reignite the reduction of tobacco use rates.  In addition, while this study focused on TV commercials, messaging findings can be used to improve strategies that use other mediums, such as social media.