Drugs Developing an effective social marketing campaign to help

reduce drug use amongst young people

Today

• Lessons from the past• FRANK campaign – launch and building the brand• FRANK touchpoints - having a conversation with

young people about drugs • FRANK and behaviour change – reducing drug use• Case studies – cannabis and cocaine• Campaign effectiveness• FRANK ‘Tips’ on communicating with young people

Lessons from the past

Lessons from the past

The world of drugs campaigns (left) contrasted heavily with the world of drugs that most young people talked about (right)

Lessons from the past

• Campaigns talked at young people

• They presented one side of the story = Advertising deceit

• Not relevant to their world

Young people deeply mistrustful of any drug messages from authority figures

Lessons from the past

Not for profit sector talked with their audiences:• People with drink problems have Alcoholics Anonymous• People with depression have the Samaritans• Children in trouble have Childline

Young people needed someone they could talk with about drugs; someone who knew the score and could tell them how it really is.

Someone they could trust – a good guy in the world of drugs.

Lessons from the pastCreating the conversationEffective social marketing builds on past lessons and is grounded in consumer insight. We needed:

- To distance drug communications away from Government

- Much more than a campaign, we needed to build a brand – a famous, empathetic brand with a clear persona that young people would want to talk to

- A brand that would not lecture or patronise

Key insight: We needed a brand that would act like an older peer or brother, that young people could trust

FRANK campaign – launch and brand building

Open and honestNon judgemental

Expert on drugs

Warm and humourous Liked

Trusted

* FRANK is funded and managed by the Department of Health, Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Home Office

FRANK was launched in 2003*

FRANK campaign – launch and brand building

Talk about drugs – launch ad Inquisitive kid - 2005 Gameshow - 2005

• Advertising established FRANK as the expert on drugs and encouraged young people to contact FRANK if they had any questions about drugs. It also helped to build the FRANK brand:

KNOW FRANK LIKE FRANK TRUST FRANK

Conversation starters

FRANK touchpoints - Having a conversation with our audience

FRANK touchpoints: Being there when our audience wants to talk to us

Helpline Email Text

Search Website Literature in schools

Innovation: Taking FRANK touchpoints to our audiences

FRANK touchpoints: FRANK Bot

Instant messenging facts90% of 11-18 year olds use it

55% use it every day nearly 20% use

it at least five times a day

FRANK touchpoints: Social networks

Face to face, interactive communications, to reach the most vulnerable young people

Street marketing Stakeholder resources – guidance and collateral

FRANK Bus – visiting schools Stakeholders linking local activity to national campaign

FRANK touchpoints: Face to face

FRANK touchpoints: What next?

A FRANK sim card maybe?

FRANK behaviour change model to help prevent drug use – 2006 onwards

S u b jec tiv e N o rm s(Peers’ Behavior)

A ttitud es(Personal Vulnerability)

B e ha vio ra lIn ten tio n

B e ha vio ra lW illin gn ess

R iskIm ag es

R iskB e ha vio r

P re v io usB e ha vio r

S o cia lC om pa rison

Key behaviour change insights that have informed the FRANK campaign

Insight 1If a young person has previously used a drug they will use this experience to inform future drug taking behaviour

Behaviour can inform attitude

Contemplating Cannabis Class A New drugsCOMMS COMMS COMMS

Insight 2Communications can help prevent or stop the escalation of drug use

Insight 3• Focus on drugs that the audience are most likely to come into contact with and limit the level of exposure they have to messages on drugs that are not in their world

• Over exposure to these messages may create the impression that these drugs are common or ‘normal’ to use amongst their peer group (subjective norms); a perception that may encourage drug use

Contemplating11-14

Cannabis15-18

Class A15+

New drugsCOMMS COMMS COMMS

Insight 4• Younger adolescents (11-14) are heavily influenced by the peer group and social norms. Their drug taking is irrational, looking to the peer / social group to inform their decision whether or not to use a drug.

• Older adolescents (15+) think more rationally about the risks of drugs and their likelihood to use a drug is more informed by their perceived personal vulnerability, rather than irrational peer / social group factors.

Contemplating11-14

Cannabis15-18

Class A15+

New drugsCOMMS COMMS COMMS

Undermine image of drug user

Perceived risk of drugs Perceived risk of drugs Perceived risk of drugs

Creative and media strategies to help reduce drug use

Two case-studies:

1. Cannabis

2. Cocaine

Cannabis

Position cannabis as a dangerous drug

Cannabiscan cause mental health problems

Perception amongst some young people

that cannabis is a safe‘drug’

Audience: 11-14 year olds who are considering using cannabis for the first time

or have used it occasionally

PROBLEM KEY MESSAGESTRATEGY

Cocaine

Debunk the positive

cocaine myths by communicatingthe darker side to

cocaine

There are social and health risks to using cocaine

The new party drug (most

popular Class A drug). Surrounded by positive

perceptions of thedrug

Audience: 15-18 year olds who are considering using cocaine for the first time

or have used it occasionally

PROBLEM KEY MESSAGESTRATEGY

Evolution of FRANK to create behaviour change

Awareness

Affinity / Trust

Interaction

Perceptions Attitudes

BehaviourChange

Advertising between 2003-06 to establish the brand. Trust means more receptive to negative messages

Increase in FRANK touchpoints 2003-2010

Shift from brand building advertising to (more negative) behaviour change advertising (2006 onwards)

KPI’s

Success of the FRANK campaign – 08/09 results

Perceptions Attitudes

BehaviourChange

87% aware of the FRANK helpline

81% trust FRANK to provide them with reliable information

Awareness

Affinity / Trust

Interaction 341,972 calls to helpline, 3.46m web visits, 31,052 emails, 2.9m Bot conversations

Negative perception of a cannabis user increased from 7.2 in O6 to 7.7 in 09 (negative average out of ten)

Attitudes. The number of 11-14 year olds agreeing that cannabis is very likely to damage the mind of someone rose from 45% in 06 to 63% in 09

73% said the advertising made them less likely to take cannabis in the future.

Social marketing to young people – ‘Tips’ from the FRANK campaign

• Learn from the past (and others)

• Be honest and open with your audience to build trust – advertising deceit will be rejected

• Be brave to do the right thing (based on evidence)

• Create a two way dialogue and relationship with your audience –be interactive and make it easy for them

• Be clear on how you intend to create behaviour change and accept that this might be a long process

• Understand their world; be relevant in your communications

• Use media to reach them at the right ‘moments’

• Set KPI’s to measure the effectiveness of your activity and its contribution to behaviour change

Questions?