W. Douglas Evans, PhD¹, Sarah E. Ray, MA², James C. Hersey, PhD², Shu Wen Ng, BS², Beth Schieber, BS³, and Icilda Stevens-Dickerson, MSA⁴. (1) RTI International, 1615 M St. NW (Suite 740), Washington, DC 20036, 202-728-2080, devans@rti.org, (2) Research Triangle Institute, 1615 M St. (Suite 740), Washington, DC 20036, (3) Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation, 300 E Broad St., Suite 310, Columbus, OH 43215, (4) Ohio Tobbaco Use Prevention and Control Foundation, 300 E Broad St., Suite 310, Columbus, OH 43215

Ohio has built a tobacco countermarketing campaign based on a social marketing branding strategy. The state’s “stand” brand calls on young people to take a stand against tobacco use based on aspirational messages and images of Ohio youth. Similar strategies have been used by national social marketing campaigns such as Legacy’s truth® (Evans et al. 2002), and ONDCP’s National Youth Anti-drug Media Campaign (NIDA 2004). Having brand equity in truth® has been shown to mediate the relationship between campaign exposure and lower smoking uptake (Evans et al. in press).

Do state campaigns achieve similar results? Do the effects of such campaigns have a long-term effect on smoking knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors? Do those effects increase over time? Cross-sectional and longitudinal data on the “stand” brand are analyzed using descriptive and multivariate techniques, including path analysis, in order to answer these questions. These analyses represent the first ever longitudinal study of health behavior change based on a public health brand.

“stand” branding measures are based on the campaign’s behavior change objectives, a multi-dimensional brand equity scale developed for truth®, and scales used in commercial branding research. They include multi-item sub-scales on brand reaction, loyalty, popularity, and personality. The scales are designed to capture youth awareness of “stand” and the extent to which they associate it with positive messages and images.

Learning Objectives:

• Attendees will learn about branding as a social marketing strategy, how states have utilized it, and the effectiveness of tobacco countermarketing brands in changing smoking behavior.

Keywords: Social Marketing, Media Campaigns

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.