THE MEDIA AND PREVENTION

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THE MEDIA AND PREVENTION The Substance Abuse
Prevention Specialist Training
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The Media and Prevention

• Why study the media?
• The media play an important role in impacting
  peoples attitudes, perceptions, and behavior.
  The media can advance the prevention message by
  increasing awareness and helping gain support for
  prevention policies

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Activity
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The Big Business of Marketing

• The alcohol industry spends 1.5 billion on TV,
  radio and print advertising each year
• (Source Children, Health and Advertising, 2002)
  
• The alcohol industry spends 3 times that much on
  collateral promotional advertising
• (Source Federal Trade Commission)
• Annual tobacco industry marketing expenditures
  nationwide total 8.4 billion (23 million per
  day!)
• (Source Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids)

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Communication Channels

• Television (local, public, statewide, regional,
  national, cable) and radio
• Newspapers (local, city, college/school
  newspapers)
• Movies and movie trailers
• Electronic (e-mail, cell phones, internet, video
  games)
• Billboards and posters
• Printed insert materials
• Free Public Service Announcements

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Communication Channels(continued)

• Paid commercials
• Conversations between people(e.g.,Everyone is
  doing it.)
• Curriculum materials at schools
• Churches
• News coverage of events
• Doctor offices and clinics
• Collateral, such as t-shirts and hats, event
  sponsorship, giveaways, etc

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Alcohol Advertising to Youth

• In 2002, 15 of the TV shows most popular with
  teens showed 5,085 alcohol ads at a cost of 53
  million
• (Source CAMY, 2002)
• Hispanic youth see 30 more alcohol advertising
  than non-Hispanic youth
• (Source Exposure of Hispanic Youth to Alcohol
  Advertising Center on Alcohol Marketing and
  Youth, 2003)
• African-American youth see 60 more alcohol
  advertising than non-African-American youth
• (Source Exposure of African-American Youth to
  Alcohol Advertising Center on Alcohol Marketing
  and Youth, 2003)

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Prevention and the Media

• Media Advocacy
• Media Literacy
• Social Marketing

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Media Advocacy

• The strategic use of media as a resource for
  advancing a social or public policy initiative
• Specific tools exist for advocating for social
  initiatives using media

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Environmental Strategies

• Media advocacy is a way of advancing
  environmental strategies such as changes in

• Availability of ATOD
• Laws
• Rules
• Regulations
• Policies
• Norms

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Media Advocacy Tools

• Research
• Creative use of epidemiology and statistics
• Issue framing
• Gaining access to media outlets

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Activity

• Read the Media Advocacy Case Study
• Refer to the information sheet, Media Advocacy
  Tools
• Read the case study and determine which tools
  were used and how they were applied in the case
  study
• Prepare a short statement to share with the group

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Media Literacy

• The ability to read or decode messages in a
  variety of print and electronic media

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Deconstructing Media Messages (Media Literacy)

• Who is communicating and why?
• Who owns, profits from, and pays for media
  messages?
• How are media messages communicated?
• Who receives media messages and what sense is
  made of them?
• What are the intended or underlying purposes and
  whose point of view is behind the message?
• What is NOT being said and why?
• Is there consistency both within and across
  media?
• (CDC, 1998)

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Activity

• Refer to the advertisement that was given to your
  group and answer the following questions
• Who is communicating and why?
• Who owns, profits from, and pays for media
  messages?
• How are media messages communicated?
• Who receives media messages and what sense is
  made of them?
• What are the intended or underlying purposes and
  whose point of view is behind the message?
• What is NOT being said and why?

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Social Marketing
Definition The process of applying basic
(commercial) marketing techniques to social
issues in order to create behavior change (Kotler
and Andreasen, 1987) Consumer-driven The
consumer (focus population) is the central focus
for all steps of a social marketing campaign
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The 4Ps of Social Marketing

• Product is the goal of the campaign. It is the
  behavior we would like the focus audience to
  change or maintain
• Price is what the people in the focus audience
  must give up in order to receive the programs
  benefit
• (Linkenbach, 1998)

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The 4Ps of Social Marketing

• Promotion is the overall strategy (messages) used
  for persuading people to accept the price for the
  product
• Place is the communication channel that will be
  usedto get the promotional message to the focus
  audience
• (Linkenbach, 1998)

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The 4Ps of Social Marketing Example A

• Product Pre-teens choose to abstain from all
  alcohol use in all situations
• Price Not fitting in with ones peers when the
  perceptionis that the majority use alcohol
• Promotion Most of us dont use alcohol
• Place Mass media campaign and schools

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The 4Ps of Social Marketing Example B

• Product Native American pregnant teens choose to
  abstain from all tobacco use during pregnancy
• Price Self-denial investment in the future
  generation
• Promotion (S)he breathes what you breathe
  posters, fliers depicting positive cultural
  symbols, pregnant NA teen
• Place Schools, public health department, tobacco
  shop, convenience store, local TV, radio

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Activity

• Form case study groups
• Develop an outline of a social marketing campaign
  for the program you wrote a Logic Model on, using
  the 4Ps
• Use chart pad paper and markers to create the
  campaign announcement
• You have 15 minutes
• Be prepared to share with the group

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Challenges with Social Marketing

• Rigor of a research-driven process (each step and
  decision requires input from focus group)
• Competition with highly financed campaigns
  (i.e., alcohol industry)
• Presenting the product in a way which
  reinforces core needs (autonomy vs. health)
• (Linkenbach, 1998)

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Challenges with Social Marketing(continued)

• Evaluating the success of the campaign (i.e.
  campaigns often stop at process evaluation and
  awareness vs. behaviorchange)
• Focus on negative approaches are often popular
  but may not be effective
• (Linkenbach, 1998)

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Scare Tactics
Definition The use of fear or disgust for the
purpose of improved well-being Goal Scare the
health into them(focus population) Assumption A
wareness of negative consequences will result in
positive behavior change (Linkenbach, 1998)
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Scare Tactics(continued)
Limitations Good intentions but poor science.
(Impact/outcome studies are often lacking, or
some show a negative effect.) Institutional
Insanity Are we doing what weve always done but
expecting different results? (Linkenbach, 1998)
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PSA Analysis

• Are scare tactics used? Why is this approach
  popular?
• Who is the intended audience?
• What emotional reaction is intended?
• How do we know if a PSA is a success?
• Could they be causing harm?
• How do we evaluate the effectiveness of PSAs?

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Effective Media Messages

• Are based on fact and focus on immediate
  consequences
• Clearly state the desired behavior and its
  benefits
• Use positive emotional appeals and/or humor
• Appeal to logic and reason
• Show desired behavior

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Is the Glass Half Empty or Half Full?

• Traditional prevention press releases focus
  heavily on negative behaviors. (We have a drug
  crisis with our youth.)
• Often the statistics reflect a non-normative
  behavior. (Fifteen percent of youth in
  ourschools have tried marijuana.)

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Is the Glass Half Empty or Half Full?(continued)

• Press releases must be consistent with our goals
  of promoting health. A paradigm shift may be more
  effective. (Eighty-five percent of youth in our
  schools have never tried marijuana.)
• Develop or choose instruments that provide a more
  accurate view. (Ask equal questions about risk
  and protection.)

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Is the Glass Half Empty or Half Full?(continued)

• Emphasize the seriousness of the situation
  without losing context of focus on the positive

Fortunately, most (85) of our youth have never
used marijuana. However, we are seriously
committed to reaching that small percentage
through the help of the majority of their peers.
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Social Norms Marketing

• Strategy used to promote healthy behavior
• Focus is to change perceptions of how much
  alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs peers use
• Assumes that correcting misperceptions about
  actual rates will decrease use because people
  want to be a part of the crowd
• Has research-based outcomes that document
  effectiveness in reducing ATOD

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QUESTIONS and DISCUSSION