Ads in a Box: Whoops Proof Birth Control

Background:  Data from national and local surveys indicate that familiarity with the most effective methods of contraception—intrauterine devices (IUDs) and the contraceptive implant (implant)—is low among young adults in general and among young adult women at risk of unplanned pregnancy more specifically. In an effort to address this issue, The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (TNC), worked in partnership with Smart Design, to learn more about how to effectively raise awareness of and positive regard for these methods. We conducted in-depth research (interviews, groups, and co-creation sessions) with 64 women from across the United States and focused on working with low to middle income women and women of color. Key insights from this research were used to inform the development of a marketing campaign—Whoops Proof birth control—that is available as a toolkit for community level implementation. 

Program background:  To date, TNC has partnered with two communities in the United States—Cleveland, Ohio and Tulsa, Oklahoma—to implement and evaluate the Whoops Proof marketing campaign. The campaign is tailored to each community through the whoopsproof.org website which is the fulfillment for the marketing materials. Localization includes a community-specific logo on the website; information about the specific community partners implementing the campaign and complementary work with clinics; navigation specifics; and efforts to highlight key clinics in each community. The localization is tailored using geolocation such that women within 100 miles of each city are directed to the appropriate website. Women in other locations are directed to a generic website. In each setting, community partners are working with local advertising firms to implement the localized campaign. Digital and social media advertising is the key strategy for reaching women in the target audience although other strategies such as posters and transit advertising are also being used. 

Evaluation Methods and Results:  Evaluation efforts for the localized Whoops Proof campaigns are multifaceted including website analytics and survey efforts of young women in the target audience. Initial surveys, conducted through Facebook recruitment and an online panel in Tulsa and Cleveland respectively, suggest that awareness of these methods is very low. To date, there have been more than 4,000 visits to the website—nearly all via mobile device—from each community driven primarily through Facebook. We will present findings from the post-test surveys (to be completed in June) along with information about the types of marketing strategies that were most effective for reaching this often hard to reach cohort of young women. 

Conclusions: N/A

Implications for research and/or practice:  This work is unique in several ways. First, it is one of few campaigns in which non-profit organizations are marketing about IUDs and the implant in an effort to raise consumer demand for these types of contraceptive methods. Second, TNC is exploring whether or not providing ads in a box is a feasible strategy for community-level marketing. Finally, variation in both implementation and evaluation across the sites will offer insight into more effective marketing and communication strategies for young women and how we can measure these efforts in a cost effective way to inform future work.