Vaping, Chew, and Smoking Prevention Campaigns for Rural Teens

Rural teens are disproportionately more likely to use tobacco products due to factors like a pro-tobacco policy environment and dedicated tobacco industry marketing. This had led to greater health consequences in rural areas due to tobacco use. Though this has been a problem for several years, many public health campaigns have struggled to effectively address this challenge in the past. We can use behavior change marketing to break the association between tobacco use and rural lifestyles. In this educational video, learn how to develop effective vaping, chew and smoking prevention campaigns for rural teens.

Key Moments

3:03: To create an effective behavior change campaign, we first need to understand the values, attitudes, and beliefs of the rural teen audience. We use Peer Crowds to understand the cultural perspective of rural teens, so that we can better tailor our messages to them. Learn about the five common Peer Crowds by tuning in here.

5:35: Peer Crowds are associated with deep-seated values, providing a window into who these teens are and what appeals to them. In messages targeting the Country Teen Peer Crowd, we need to appeal to their unique culture and values.

7:14: We know Country teens are different from other Peer Crowds, and these differences have led to them not identifying with many of the existing tobacco prevention campaigns. But it’s even deeper than that. Tune in here to learn how Country teens prefer to consume a specific type of information.

8:15: We used multi-state research to create a campaign specifically designed for Country teens. Learn more about this ready-made, evidence-based campaign Down and Dirty.

9:35: Our Down and Dirty campaign was developed based on our Social Branding model to break the association between tobacco and Country lifestyles. Dive deeper into how our Social Branding model works.

12:09: The Social Branding model originates from seeing how the tobacco industry markets to Country audiences, associating tobacco use with a Country lifestyle. Learn more about how we can flip that around in our prevention campaigns to counter-market to this audience.

14:17: We’ve been running Down and Dirty in over a dozen states across the U.S., providing us with valuable insights and giving us the opportunity to continue optimizing this campaign. Discover our growing library of Down and Dirty Message Packages for Country teens.

15:52: Watch our Down and Dirty ad “Country Legacy” and see what Country teens had to say about it in message testing.

21:53: Our ready-made message packages also include interactive elements, like our Cash Out on Dip game. Tune in here to see what it’s all about.

22:23: Learn more about the message delivery ecosystem you’ll receive when you license a Down and Dirty message package.

23:09: See an evaluation of Down and Dirty from a state that’s run the campaign for three years.

If you’d like to learn more about our teen vaping prevention campaigns or bringing Down and Dirty to your community, please contact Krysten Isaac, Group Management Director, Tobacco Control Programs.