Digital media and tobacco
control: Building the evidence
base
Rhiannon Newcombe, Iain Potter
Health Sponsorship Council
Karen Gutierrez
Global Dialogue
Global Dialogue
• Global Dialogue for effective
stop-smoking campaigns
• Since 2005
• Work internationally to
improve campaigns
• US-based
• Numerous initiative partners
Why are communication
strategies important?
• Part of a broad, comprehensive tobacco
control programme
• Evidence of benefit
– Decrease youth uptake
– Increase cessation
– Reduced prevalence
• Traditional channels:
– TV, radio, print, outdoor, billboard
Traditional channels
How are digital media defined?
For purposes of this presentation:
Computerised, or networked information and
communication technologies.
Examples:
Websites
Blogs
Text messaging
Cell phone communications
Why are digital media important?
1) Embraced by business sector
2) Tobacco industry using extensively
– Ad bans don’t usually including digital vehicles
– Facebook “fan” pages have been created for brands such as
Marlboro, Peter Stuyvesant and Lucky Strike
– Camel brand engaged online community to help design a new
cigarette packet - 5 million adult smokers had been invited to
give their input
3) Our audience use in everyday lives
4) Calls that we should be using in public health
Use by audience
Digital media
NZ
Internet
83% of NZers use the internet1
Social networking
48% NZers access social networking sites1
Online games
26% of NZers have played an online game in the last
fortnight2
Email
86% of NZers who use the internet use email3
Cell phone
86% of NZers have regular access to a cell phone2
1 Smith,
P., Smith, N., Sherman, K., Goodwin, I., Crothers, C., Billot, J., Bell, A. (2010). The Internet in New
Zealand 2009. Auckland: Institute of Culture, Discourse and Communication, AUT University.
2 Research New Zealand (2009). New Zealanders’ Use of Broadcasting and Related Media. Wellington.
3 Stats NZ
What do we know about impact
of digital media campaigns?
• Not enough
• Many countries are using some form of digital media in
their campaigns, however, too few are measuring
outcomes
– “process” measures easy to find (i.e., # visitors to site, #
text message responses, time spent on site)
– “outcome” measures more difficult (i.e., increases in
knowledge, changes in attitudes, changes in behaviors)
International Review of Lessons
Learned from Digital Campaigns
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Not a comprehensive literature review
Used international networks
Gathered lessons learned
Reflect 8 lessons learned to date
Work in progress
International Review of Lessons
Learned from Digital Campaigns
Country Case Studies:
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Australia (2)
Canada (4)
China
Denmark (2)
England (5)
European Union (2)
Germany
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Israel
Netherlands
New Zealand (2)
Norway
Singapore
United Kingdom
United States (6)
#1: Digital media can reach
diverse audiences
Examples:
• New Zealand: Maori
• England: Routine and Manual workers (“blue
collar”)
• Singapore: Parents of young children
• Many countries: teenagers, young adult
smokers, all smokers
Singapore
“Kids Watch. Kids Learn.”
http://www.oureverydaythings.com/2009/08/smokingkids-watch-kids-learn/
http://www.babyandpapa.com/forums/forum113/thread1470.html
Influential Blogger Engagement
#2: People want to be engaged
Concept only
#3: Participants like digital interacting
because it’s anonymous and personal
Denmark
•Personal weight
calculations
•Personal online
advice (based on
individual’s input)
•Discussion
forum
•Diary
Switzerland “Feelok” home page
New Zealand web banners
#4: Variety of digital vehicles can
increase participants’ involvement
United Kingdom: Viral seeding and video sharing
US (Minnesota) “QuitCash”
Recruitment Email Blast
Quitcash.com Sign Up
for Text Messages
Mobile Welcome Text
Message is sent
immediately after user
provides cell phone number
and hits submit.
Mobile Sign Up
Same entry
fields as online
signup page.
Intro Text
Includes:
“click to call” to
the QUITPLAN
Services
Scroll
Choice of weekly
tips sent to email
or mobile phone.
Click to call
QUITPLAN & link
to website.
WAP Signup Page
Quit Tips Email and Videos
#5: Digital campaigns inexpensive, but
reach limited and measurement critical
• UK Youth Anti-Smoking Video Competition: 108,000 views
of winning videos across video sharing sites and seeding
network ($1.63 per view)
• England: Yahoo Forum
• 300,000+ visitors (39,000+ visits of 5+ minutes)
• Almost 4000 smokers pledged to quit smoking (each cost
NHS 1/3 of what normal TV campaign costs to achieve)
• England: MSN partnership
– 160,000 unique visitors over 6 weeks
– Cost per active response of approx. $7.50 (the lowest of all
media responses, including TV)
“Smoke-free Ride” Results
Canada: Campaign for a Smoke-free Ride
– Campaign to influence parents not to smoke in cars and increase support
for legislation
– Measured awareness, main message communication, attitudes & claimed
behaviors
Findings
– 86% awareness among parents
– ‘Smoking in cars with children is illegal’ most commonly recalled message
– Those who recalled Campaign in greater disagreement with statement
‘Smoking in cars with children won’t harm them as long as you leave the
windows open’ than those who didn’t recall campaign
– Those who recalled Campaign messages less likely to report smoking in
cars with children.
Xhale Results
• Smoking cessation support
• 12-month follow-up study
• Intervention > control to be Smokefree at 1
year follow-up
• Positive feedback on content and form
• Attracted target audience (15- to 25-yearolds)
#6: Digital campaigns can benefit
from saliency of traditional media
• Nielsen (2010)
– TV has far greater reach
– Web advertising helps TV campaigns work
‘harder’
England
Canada “Smoke-Free Ride”
Materials
#7: Needs to be part of a
broader strategy
• One-off approaches less successful
• Needs to be integrated
• Strategy important
#8: Internet opens your program to
everyone in the world
• Benefits: inexpensive way to publicise your program
and key messages
– Also a way to help target a global problem
• Drawbacks: difficult to determine whom you are
reaching and whether they are in the scope of your
target audience(s)
– Your cost per participant or per visitor may include people
who you aren’t interested in reaching
New Zealand
• Example – viral games developed in New
Zealand
Kiss Off
Kanvas
Smoking Not Our Future
Example 1: Kiss Off
• Application on FB, Bebo, and seeded into global
viral gaming sites
• 450,000 visits, including 22,000 from NZ
• NZ visits ranked 6th
Example 2: Kanvas
• Linked to NZ campaign website
• 26,500 visits, including 25,000 from NZ
• NZ visits ranked 1st
Summary of Lessons Learned
1.
Digital media provide excellent means to reach diverse audiences, not
just youth and high-income
2.
People want to be engaged—want to be heard and give advice (e.g.,
stories and experiences), to build relationships
3.
Participants like interacting digitally because it feels both anonymous
and personal/tailored
4.
A variety of digital vehicles and relationships (Internet, mobile
messaging, IVR, etc.) can increase the participants’ involvement in the
program
5.
Digital campaigns can reach many people quickly and inexpensively,
however numbers typically in thousands not millions, and outcomes
are critical to measure
6.
Digital campaigns can benefit from the saliency of traditional
vehicles
7.
Digital campaigns need to be part of a broader strategy
8.
The Internet opens your program to everyone in the world—has
benefits and drawbacks
Contact Information
Karen Gutierrez
Global Dialogue for Effective Stop-Smoking Campaigns
global@stopsmokingcampaigns.org
For campaign development resources and summaries of
lessons learned, visit:
www.stopsmokingcampaigns.org
Rhiannon Newcombe
Health Sponsorship Council
rhiannon@hsc.org.nz
US time spent on internet
Source: http://blog.nielsen.com
Use of digital media is
changing
• 40% of time by US online users spent
doing three things:
– Social networks
– Online games
– E-mail
• Increase in time spent on social
networking sites and online games; email
decreasing