Leveraging Resources: Building On National Campaigns to Promote Local Tobacco Quit Lines and Increase Call Volume

Background:  It has long been a goal of the State of Alaska Tobacco Prevention and Control Program (SOATPC) to “demystify” the free quit line services provided by Alaska’s Tobacco Quit Line (ATQL),to increase call volume. The SOATPC Program has consistently received feedback from tobacco users, ATQL callers, and health professionals statewide that a hesitancy to call the quit line exists due to common misperceptions and an overall lack of understanding. When the Tips From Former Smokers national ad campaign started running, it provided impactful health effects messaging specifically aimed at increasing thoughts of quitting in addition to an  opportunity for SOATPC to hone in on specific promotion of the quit line—something their limited budget had never allowed before. SOATPC set to work on creating a campaign that debunked quit line myths and inspired calls while providing information on quit line services. The “Game Plan” campaign features Quit Coaches with Alere Wellbeing (ATQL’s quit line contractor) and actual ATQL callers in Alaska. The TV components demonstrate a relationship between the coach and the caller, in scenarios ranging from relapse to first time callers. The spots were placed on statewide cable and broadcast channels, at relatively low levels, during prime TV viewership time for our target populations.

Program background:  The SOATPC Program is organized and prioritized to reflect the CDC’s program goals for best practices. The program continues to be strengthened by full funding, statewide community collaboration, and ongoing training, research and evaluation. Alaska has achieved success over time with a sustained and strategic program.

Evaluation Methods and Results:  The campaign began December 2012, and is scheduled to run through May 2013. During the short time frame between December 2012 and January 2013, actual calls to and enrollment with the quit line exponentially increased, and is directly attributable to TV and print advertising. For example, quit line call volume experienced and increase of 54% in January between the years of 2012 and 2013. The campaign is still in progress, and an ad recall survey will be fielded in May to evaluate performance. These results will be available for presentation and will be cross-referenced with a post-buy analysis to craft a complete picture of campaign effectiveness.

Conclusions:  Supplementing the Tips campaign with media describing and promoting ATQL is effective in increasing calls to ATQL. The combination of emotional appeal/scare tactics from the Tips ads and education about ATQL in the Game Plan campaign provided tobacco users with motivation to call the quit line and an increased understanding of what it is and how it can help.

Implications for research and/or practice:  The CDC Tips placement created an opportunity for states to apply resources toward quit line information and education as another way to reach priority populations. The campaign demonstrated the interaction between the caller and the coach while highlighting the advantage of using a combination of pharmacotherapy and counseling—a method proven to work. This education attempts to break down the barriers that exist, especially with Alaska’s Native and Low SES populations. Targeted media placement makes the best use of limited media budgets.