In Oklahoma, teens are becoming addicted to tobacco and nicotine at alarming rates. In a state where 21.8% of high schoolers are vaping, and kids as young as 11 years old report using e-cigarettes, the situation is dire. But, there’s hope – although many parents are unaware of how impactful a simple conversation can be, our research indicates that talking with kids about the dangers of tobacco can create significant change and contribute towards teen prevention and cessation.
Tobacco Stops With Me is a public health program in Oklahoma designed to help reduce tobacco’s impact in Oklahoma through education and advocacy. To direct special attention to a specific portion of the program’s typically broad efforts, Tobacco Stops With Me created a sub-brand called Talk About Tobacco, which messaged solely to adults on efforts associated with curbing youth tobacco and nicotine use. This campaign focused on adult intervention by way of simple conversations with kids about the dangers of tobacco. Tobacco Stops With Me leveraged its astounding 75% statewide brand recall to champion the Talk About Tobacco campaign, which hosted its messages and resources on a campaign website, TalkAboutTobacco.com.
A primary focus for the Talk About Tobacco campaign was its Interactive Learning Experience (see Additional Info section) hosted on a microsite. The objective for this microsite was for 10,000 Oklahomans to play the interactive game and receive tailored education and resources in the campaign’s first 9 weeks.
The goal of the Interactive Experience was to create an avenue for parents and kids to enter into simple discussions about tobacco and nicotine products and the associated health issues. However, research made it clear that these conversations don’t come easily… so we set out to lessen the barriers, make the perceived burden of a conversation much lighter, and present the topic in a fun and engaging manner. We decided that the microsite would allow users to learn about these topics in real time through immersive, gamified education.
Creative and strategy were heavily influenced by findings from the brand’s efforts in conducting in-depth interviews (IDIs) with rural and urban Oklahoma parents of children of varying ages. The IDIs dug into the realities of teen tobacco and nicotine use and were effective in revealing common barriers parents experience when it comes to having a conversation with their kids about tobacco. The IDIs helped identify areas where Oklahoma adults need the most support related to conversations with children about tobacco. IDIs revealed that parents often felt that a conversation was unnecessary, or that they were ill-equipped to have a meaningful conversation. IDIs also revealed that parents did not always believe the issue was relevant to their kid, even if they knew the issue was prominent universally.
These IDIs provided critical insights that shaped this project, ensuring it effectively addressed parents’ concerns and misconceptions. The result was a microsite that promoted an immersive online experience that gamified tobacco prevention education, tailoring learnings to specific age groups and creating an entertaining and safe space for tobacco conversations.
The microsite drew heavy attention, attracting thousands of Oklahomans to the Interactive Experience. From there, over 14,500 users dove into the Experience and played the game in the first 9 weeks, a 45% increase on the original objective. These numbers indicate incredible success toward the campaign’s overarching goals surrounding curbing youth addiction, as every person who went through the Experience received enticing, simplified, fun education about the dangers of tobacco and nicotine, all designed to open up lifechanging conversations between adults and kids.
