New Media Strategies for New Services: Using Empathy and Animation to Launch Cessation Services

Background:  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends using mass media campaigns to encourage people to quit smoking. Research has shown a relationship between promoting cessation services and service volumes.

Program background:  ClearWay Minnesota uses mass media campaigns to motivate people to use our cessation programs, called QUITPLAN Services. QUITPLAN Services were dramatically redesigned in 2013-14 to make services more effective and attractive. A media campaign was designed to launch the new services by motivating people to use them and continuing to build a positive image for the QUITPLAN brand. The target audience was expanded for the redesign from “quit seekers” (those wanting to quit in the next 30 days) to all smokers. Formative research and online message testing was used to identify and execute ads that would attract more people to QUITPLAN Services.

Evaluation Methods and Results:  ClearWay Minnesota used focus groups to identify effective approaches to promote services. Ten 4-person interviews in metro and greater Minnesota with current smokers, ages 25-54, were conducted in 2013. One direction, “It’s Hard Being a Smoker,” emerged as the strongest direction. Respondents felt a sense of relief when it was shown. The concepts did not chastise people for smoking, or use scare tactics. Rather, they communicated that somebody actually understood the difficulties of being a smoker. Online message testing was used to further test this approach. This survey was conducted in 2014 with 400 tobacco users, ages 18-54, belonging to established, online research panels who live in Minnesota or the adjoining states. Participants watched a preliminary cut of an ad via YouTube video. Action Marketing Research developed the questionnaire in collaboration with ClearWay Minnesota and fielded the survey. The results of online testing showed 63 percent of respondents felt motivated to quit and 64 percent of respondents were motivated to use QUITPLAN Services. 76 percent identified with the main character. Men found the spot more motivating than women. There was broad appreciation for the nonjudgmental tone of the spots. This presentation will also report on the number of participants using services after the TV campaign launches in April 2014.

Conclusions:  Emotional and graphic ads have been shown to be effective, but other approaches should be considered if data demonstrates effectiveness. Dramatically redesigning QUITPLAN Services and expanding the target audience created an opportunity to develop a new approach to promoting the services. Focus groups and on-line message testing found that the approach called “It’s Hard Being a Smoker” showed promise in using hopeful, nonjudgmental ads to promote cessation services.

Implications for research and/or practice:  Practitioners should be open to redesigning services and media to meet the changing needs of tobacco users. Although emotional and graphic ads can be effective, other strategies should be considered if data show their effectiveness – especially in states like Minnesota where cessation ads have run consistently for years. Relevant and motivating services and campaigns are important if we want to continue to make progress in reducing the tobacco use rate.