Key Points: Beginning in mid-2005, the Colorado State Tobacco Education and Prevention Partnership and Cactus Marketing Communications embarked on a comprehensive campaign to enroll 18 to 24-year-old tobacco users in one of two cessation programs. Through research, we found two distinct audiences, college students and straight-to-work individuals, requiring specific tactics that would effectively communicate key messages. What ensued was one integrated campaign with two unique outreach efforts.

Learning Objectives: The audience will learn: Key findings from the research, a glimpse of the 2006 pilot program and the details of the 2007 campaign employing broad tactics in combination with targeted efforts to reach 18 to 24-year-old young adults.

Benefits: The “Quit Doing It” campaign, launched in March 2007, used mass media across both audiences to create awareness of cessation resources. Radio, print and the web were utilized to generate reach and frequency, while events were developed with key radio partners to establish credibility and engage the target audiences. Similar relationship-building tactics were also used to communicate key messages to each of the sub-targets.

To reach college students, the “I Do It” campaign was created to first compel students to recognize they are tobacco users and then seek guidance for quitting. Tactics included deploying a street team to college campuses across the state. For the elusive straight-to-work population, a variety of highly targeted tactics were employed, including sending direct mail to trade schools and employers in industries typically staffed by straight-to-work individuals.