Problem/Objective: Brand equity is a important feature of commercial advertising which sells products, but its role in tobacco prevention campaigns has not previously been established. The Ohio “stand” brand calls on young people to take a stand against tobacco use based on aspirational messages and images of Ohio youth.

Methods: This longitudinal study of 18 months assessed the effect of affinity to Ohio's stand countermarketing campaign in preventing smoking in a longitudinal sample of 868 11--17 year olds in Ohio who had never smoked at baseline

Results: Adolescents who identified with the stand brand were significantly less like to have experimented with cigarettes after 18 months, controlling for age, gender, and demographic background. The effects of brand identity were strongest on middle school rather than high school youth.

The study assessed the key dimensions of brand equity proposed developed by Aaker. The study found that particular directions of brand equity with the strongest effects were brand leadership (Odds ratio [OR] among 11-14 year olds: 0.66, p < 0.01); brand loyalty (OR: 0.77; p < .002), and brand personality (OR: 0.79; p < 0.05). The study describes the implications of the brand findings for social marketing efforts.

Conclusions: The study empirically demonstrates that affinity with anti-tobacco brands in social marketing campaign can prevent smoking among adolescents, and that the effects of brand affinity are particularly strong among middle school age youth.