No DUI Colorado Campaign
Webb Strategic has managed various public education efforts on behalf of Colorado’s Persistent Drunk Driver (PDD) committee for over ten years. The committee, established by statute, consists of the Colorado Department of Human Services, Office of Behavioral Health, CDOT, the Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles, and the state judicial branch. A key function of the PDD Committee is to conduct public education regarding alcohol and drug-impaired driving. Webb has developed and managed both statewide and community-specific campaigns to fulfill these objectives with college-aged audiences, as well as the traditional PDD audience - males ages 21-34.
Highlights
Webb created the NoDUIColorado.org website and its associated marketing campaign in 2011. The site still serves as the state’s primary repository of information regarding impaired driving in Colorado. Statewide marketing efforts have promoted the site, as well as prevention-oriented messages developed through research. Additionally, Webb has planned, developed, and executed four (4) social norms campaigns on university campuses across Colorado. These evidence-based campaigns utilize data collected from students to craft messages aimed at reducing perceptions that impaired driving is commonplace among student populations.
Deliverables
RESEARCH – Campus-based social norms campaigns include both pre- and post-campaign surveys annually. Focus groups are utilized during development of campaign creative concepts specific to each campus. Webb has also conducted small discussion groups with first-time DUI offenders in multiple communities to inform message and tactical developments for statewide NoDUIColorado.org promotion and public education.
WEBSITE – Since launching in 2011, NoDUIColorado.org has primarily served as an information resource for individuals who had received a DUI. Beginning in 2014, the PDD Committee directed Webb to begin promoting the site’s prevention-related content. These efforts have sustained annual traffic of roughly 20,000 visits.
CREATIVE –Each social norms campaign required a unique identity, given that no two campuses are alike. Creative at each campus was developed through discussion groups with students and staff, and then qualitative testing with students. This resulted in concepts such as The Truth Fairy, Even Zombies Know, and #SmartMoveUCCS using a Statmobile (a VW bug wrapped bumper to bumper with messages). A variety of creative mini-campaigns have also been utilized to promote NoDUIColorado with the most recent example being Heroes Blow Zeros – a campaign focused on the messages of sober driving or finding round-trip alternative transportation when consuming alcohol or drugs.
UNIVERSITY MODEL SOCIAL NORMS GUIDE – Webb created a complete guide describing the best practices for developing and managing an ongoing social norms effort in a college setting. It assists campuses to sustain existing campaigns and provides a template for other campuses to implement their own social norms programs.
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND MEDIA GUIDE – Webb developed a guide for community-based organizations that may engage in public education and awareness. This guide provides overviews of various communications strategies, outlines best practices and simple wins, and evaluation approaches. The guide has been made available to Office of Behavioral Health grantee organizations and the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention.
Results
Big Picture: Of the four social norms campaigns completed, student surveys have shown steady decreases in perceptual gaps, and increases in protective behaviors to prevent impaired driving. Efforts to promote NoDUIColorado and DUI prevention messages continue today to achieve gains in traffic to the website, dozens of news stories secured through earned media outreach, and both direct and digital engagement with target audiences through community-focused partnerships and sponsorships across Colorado.
Campaign
Prescription drug misuse and abuse is now becoming more widely recognized as the nation’s number one drug problem. As this campaign often states in its messaging, “The biggest drug problem isn’t on the streets, it’s in your bathroom.” In 2014, The Governor’s Office and the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention hired Webb, following a national search, to develop a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to public awareness and the beginnings of behavior change surrounding this serious issue.
Since the initial launch of the campaign, Webb and the Consortium have produced multiple other public awareness efforts including mini-campaigns focused on safe disposal, seniors, and opioid naive patients. In 2017, a comprehensive Community Reference was published for Colorado communities wanting to take action on this issue. It includes practical applications approaching the problem from many angles such as treatment, harm reduction, provider education and regulatory oversight.
Highlights
A social marketing/ behavior change model (adapted from the Centers for Disease Control) uses top-down media (paid, earned and social) to drive awareness.
A comprehensive website was developed to provide a one-stop resource on the topic specific to Colorado. Consortium members (now numbering almost 300) were enlisted to be the “arms and legs” of the campaign in communities around the state. They are using materials initially produced by the campaign but also made available digitally on the website for their continued reproduction and use.
Stakeholder outreach and resulting campaign partnerships, along with local sponsorships for designated higher risk areas and demographics, rounded out the grassroots mix.
Deliverables
RESEARCH – Statewide mail survey augmented with online survey to reach younger demographic. Survey reveals very limited knowledge about the problem among the general population; focus groups to test creative and messages; Online and phone statewide survey in 2018 which included the statistic that 1 in 4 Coloradans surveyed would be inclined to purchase Naloxone.
WEBSITE – Popular homepage quiz, sections for key messages of safe use, safe storage and safe disposal; section on “The Problem” highlights Colorado and national stats, myths surrounding the issue and “real life” videos of Colorado family stories; site also in Spanish.
CREATIVE –Ads mirror the homepage of the website with a visual message to begin addressing the awareness issue.
PAID MEDIA –TV, bus backs (Denver metro), radio and newspaper (rural), online contextual and behavioral, Hispanic.
SOCIAL – Facebook for older adults and Hispanics, Pinterest infographics for women; content mainly created for large number of Consortium members to push out on their sites – downloadable from website.
EARNED MEDIA –Used during launch for Governor’s news conference (English and Spanish media); used for “take back” events; Placement of op-eds and news stories in local newspapers for senior-focused and patient education mini-campaigns.
PARTNERSHIPS – Meetings and presentations set up use of campaign collateral materials and social media content among numerous Consortium members; Visiting Nurses Association created partnership with the Skaggs School of Pharmacy putting pharmacy students into community centers and senior centers with Take Meds Seriously messages.
SPONSORSHIPS – Used at events in high-risk counties and for some harder-to-reach minority and at-risk audiences.
Launch Results (Over 4 months)
PAID MEDIA: 76,832,915 impressions with 62,353 clicks. Negotiated media partnership with top-rated NBC affiliate
EARNED MEDIA: 807,981 impressions earned from 48 media channels
GRASSROOTS: Materials provided directly to dozens of Colorado community outlets including health departments, senior centers, law enforcement agencies, local coalitions.
SPONSORSHIPS: Total personal engagement of 13,800 Coloradans with 100,000+ total impressions