![[ Visit Client Website ]](images/banner.gif)
Background: To connect with young adults, CDC's DSTDP created a Collegiate STD Awareness Month (April) Campaign Contest. Student teams from participating schools developed STD awareness campaigns that employed new media and innovative approaches to reach 18-25 year olds on their campuses and in the surrounding communities. The contest was designed as a pilot project to engage college students in creating communications campaign plans to increase STD awareness and encourage testing among their peers. DSTDP reached out to schools in the southeast that had both schools of communications and schools of public health to participate in this contest. A total of nine entries were received from five participating schools.
Objectives: By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to list the various new media approaches used by a student team to reach young adults and describe the winning campaign and its components.
Methods: Each team was required to develop a creative communication campaign plan with supporting tactics to include a mix of traditional and new media components, and an evaluation component within budgetary and other operational parameters.
Results: This contest resulted in an innovative communications campaign designed by young adults for young adults about STDs and the importance of getting tested.
Conclusions: The winning campaign was announced in April 2009 and CDC is planning to implement the communication campaign in April 2010.
Implications for Programs, Policy, and/or Research: By engaging members of the target population, young adults ages 18 – 24, this pilot project provided an important educational opportunity for both the college/university students and for public health professionals. The participating students were given a real world experience working on an important public health issue and DSTDP was given an opportunity to learn about the mores, codes and media habits critical to reaching young adults.