results

virginia tobacco settlement foundation

situation

In 2004, the high school smoking rate in Virginia was 28.6%. The Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation (VTSF) turned to Barber Martin to help reduce that rate through advertising that teens would think about and feel empowered by.

insight

The 15-17 year old market already knows that smoking cigarettes is bad for your health. They do not want to be lectured any more on the issue. Nor do they respond well to death messages associated with cigarettes, as a) most kids think they’re invincible; and b) they’ve already been getting death messages about cigarettes through the public school systems – and many of those messages haven’t stuck.

solution

Don’t preach, don’t lecture, and don’t tell them something they already know. Instead, turn not smoking into the new “cool” that smoking has historically been associated with.

results

In four years, we reduced the high school smoking rate in Virginia from 28.6% to 15.5% – 4.5% below the national average. What’s more, our strategy achieved a 75% awareness level among Virginia teens and an 80% likeability rating. All at a cost of just $4.62 per teen.