Summary

The National Tobacco Campaign of 2011 has shown to be highly effective due to the use of multi-pronged approaches to engage with the target audiences, the use of a targeted media strategy, and contrasting campaigns that appealed to a wide range of audiences.
The National Tobacco Campaign used a well developed integreated marketing program that included a range of different advertising placement including:

• print advertisements 
• radio advertisments
• outdoor billboards
• bus and tram sides
• printed resources with quitting tips
• a campaign website www.quitnow.info.au (where all campaign electronic and printadvertising materials can be downloaded).

The tailored media stratergy included a range of purposful advertisments that reached specific different target audiences. The National Tobacco Campaign also extended specific media activity to target rural areas and lower SES areas to convey their message. These specific tailored advertisments proved to be highly effective in conveying the anti smoking message to different audience groups  including differenet age groups. This wide range of distribution channels allowed more audiences to be reached, more directly and effectively than traditional media.    
The use of contrasting appeals in the campaigns also contributed to the overall success. All campaigns featured cigarettes appearing in negative light, as well as issues that have proved relevant to adult smokers such as overcoming addiction, family impacts (evident in “Luke”) and withdrawal, and those relevant to younger non-smokers such as identity and social acceptance. In the July 2011 survey, results showed that both adults and youth responded more strongly to “Health Benefits”, that displayed the long term health benefits that appear once quitting smoking. The positive tone of "Health Benefits", compared to the neagative tone of "Luke" and "Cough", provided a strong contrast that caught the attention of audiences. Audiences identified with "Health Benefits" more and this may be dirrectly linked to the contrast of the advertisement compared to the other campaigns. "Heath Benefits" was a refreshing change to the nagative and often solemn messages conveyed in the other advertisments. 

Overall, the campaigns achieved high public awareness and improved smoker education, and also served to equip doctors and other health professionals against smoking. The survey proved that the tactics used by the National Tobacco Campaign where highly effective in  achieving their objectives.

Tobacco in Australia: Facts and Issues. Third Edition. Viewed 16th November 2011. http://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/downloads/chapters/Ch14_Socialmarketing.pdf

Luke (2010)

The campaign "Luke", also know as "who will you leave behind", comprised of a 30 second television commercial showing a man talking about his late father who passed away from cancer resulting from smoking, and missed out on the birth of his grandson. The advertisment was part of the 2011 National Tobacco Campaign, commencing in May and ran parallel with "Cough".
The ad recieved strong recognition results, with 65% of smokers and 72% amognst recent quitters who where interviewed in the July survey. This was encourging to the National Tobacco Campaign as "Luke" recieved a lower rate of media coverage as other campaigns such as "Cough".

The survey showed that "Luke" performed strongly as being easy to understand, believable, making me stop and think and making me more likely to stay quit (recent quitters). These results where simular to "Cough" apart from being slightly less personally relevant. This may have been from the "new father" perspective that was adopted in the ad. Younger age groups may not relate as strongly, having not been in the situation personally. "Luke" didn't perform strongly next to "health benefits", being less relevant, less likely to have taught audiences something new and more likely to enduce feelings of discomfort. This further highlights the importance of having a contrasting positive toned ad, as was the case with "Health Benefits".

Paul Myers, David Blackmore, 2011, The Social Research Centre. 

Department of Health and Ageing: Evaluation of the 2011 NPAPH Tobacco Social Marketing Campaign Final Report, viewed 14th November 2011.

<http://www.quitnow.gov.au/internet/quitnow/publishing.nsf/Content/C47FE07472F78E1ACA25786000795457/$File/NTC%202011%20Evaluation%20Report%20FINAL.pdf>

Health Benefits (2011)

The "Health Benefits" campaign was included in the National Tobacco Campaign in 2011. The Campaign consisted of several ads, through print, radio, outdoor and online, highlighting the health and financial benefits from day one of quitting smoking. 
"Health Benefits" adopted a different approach than many other current and previous campaigns by offering a softer, supportive and positive tone for audiences. The campaign highlighted the positive effects of quitting, rather than the common negative messages of the effects of smoking.
The survey conducted in July this year by the Department of Health and Aging showed that the campaign made a strong contribution to the overall campaign recognition, with 60% of smokers (who contributed in the July 2011 survey) and 68% of recent quitters recognising the radio ad. Recognition of the magazine ad was particually high (38%) amognst 18 to 24 year old smokers. 

The following health benefits where identified through the campaign:

Man:

Body part	Benefit
Face	In 1 week your sense of taste and smell improves
Chest	In 3 months your lung function begins to improve
Chest	In 8 hours excess carbon monoxide is out of your blood
Hip pocket	In 1 year a pack-a-day smoker will save over $4,000
Head	In 5 years your risk of a stroke has dramatically decreased
Chest	In 12 weeks your lungs regain the ability to clean themselves
Chest	In 12 months your risk of heart disease has halved
Abdomen	In 5 days most nicotine is out of your body

Woman:

Body part	Benefit
Face	In 1 week your sense of taste and smell improves
Chest	In 3 months your lung function begins to improve
Right arm	In 8 hours excess carbon monoxide is out of your blood
Hip pocket	In 1 year a pack-a-day smoker will save over $4,000
Face	In 1 month skin appearance is likely to improve
Chest	In 5 days most nicotine is out of your body
Chest	In 12 months your risk of heart disease has halved
Abdomen	Today quit before getting pregnant and your risk of having a pre-term baby is reduced to that of a non-smoker

The effectivness of the communication was also evident from the proportion of respondents able to provide correct information from the messages in  "Health Benefits" about the time taken for the post-quitting changes to occur. The following results were obtained in the July survey:

• 56% of smokers and recent quitters correctly identified the time taken for nicotine to leave the body.

• 41% of smokers and 51% of recent quitters correctly identified the time taken for lung capacity to increase by 30%.

• 30% of smokers and 41% of recent quitters correctly identified the time taken for the risk of heart disease to halve.

• 15% of smokers and 18% of recent quitters correctly identified the time needed for the risk of stroke to dramatically decrease.

The weakest of these (the time needed for the risk of stroke to dramatically decrease) was also the one that recieved the least exposure in the "Health Benefits" advertising; being not included in the radio ad. It was also only displayed visually in the male version of the print and outdoor ads. This is one area where Quitnow could have improved. By making all messages as evident as eachother, each message may have been strongly recognised by thosed surveyed.

The campaign was highly effective in reaching Quitnow's behavioral and communication objectives. Overall 41% of smokers surveyed and 59% of recent quitters stated they had taken some sort of action as a direct result of seeing the advertising.

The results of the survey also exposed the benefits of including advertising in campaigns that employs a positive tone and message, as with "Health Benefits". This is refreshing for audiences as it serves as a counterpoint to the strong and sometimes negative approach of "Cough" and "Luke". The National Tobacco Campaign should consider this balance with future campaigns.

Paul Myers, David Blackmore, 2011, The Social Research Centre. 

Department of Health and Ageing: Evaluation of the 2011 NPAPH Tobacco Social Marketing Campaign Final Report, viewed 14th November 2011.

<http://www.quitnow.gov.au/internet/quitnow/publishing.nsf/Content/C47FE07472F78E1ACA25786000795457/$File/NTC%202011%20Evaluation%20Report%20FINAL.pdf>

"Cough" (2011)

The 2011 National Tobacco Campaign included the television campaign; "Cough", with the slogan "Every cigarette brings cancer closer".

"Cough" is a 30 second television commercial showing a man with a smoker’s cough who

develops lung cancer evidenced when he coughs blood into a handkerchief. Cough was supported by a range of out of home (billboards, shopping centres and public transport) and digital (social networking, entertainment and special interest websites, online TV, as well as Google and Yahoo! search marketing) advertising. "Cough" proved to be the strongest of the 2011 campaigns with results from the survey showing 34% unprompted recall amongst smokers after watching the commercial, and 47% unprompted recall amongst recent quitters. 

Results of the 2011 survey:

• Perceived communication effectiveness showed that, in July, most smokers and recent quitters agreed the campaign had been effective in communicating the messages (87% of smokers; 93% of recent quitters).
•  71% of smokers surveyed though "Cough" was personally relevant.
• At July 2011, 31% of smokers surveyed and 35% of recent quitters had seen the out of home "Cough" advertising and 7% of smokers and 5% of recent quitters had seen "Cough" online.
• • Cough is regarded as easy to understand - in the July survey, 97% of smokers and
• 99% of recent quitters agreed this was the case.
  
  
  
  

  

  
  
  

  

  
  
  

  

  

  
  
  

  Paul Myers, David Blackmore, 2011, The Social Research Centre. 

  Department of Health and Ageing: Evaluation of the 2011 NPAPH Tobacco Social Marketing Campaign Final Report, viewed 14th November 2011.

  <http://www.quitnow.gov.au/internet/quitnow/publishing.nsf/Content/C47FE07472F78E1ACA25786000795457/$File/NTC%202011%20Evaluation%20Report%20FINAL.pdf>

History of National Tobacco Campaigns

4000 Chemicals Campaigns (2010)

The 2010 campaign was designed to make Australians aware and consider the chemicals they inhale and the long term health risks, focussing on 18 to 24 year olds. 


The extent of which the target audience was exposed to the campaign, was very strong with 96% of respondents (from 2010 survey involving telephone interviews of 602 respondents) able to recall at least one element of the 2010 NTC following brief verbal descriptions of the campaign elements. In the June 2010 survey, recognition was 74% for the television commercials, 44% for the radio advertising, 39% for the magazine ad and 57% for the out-of-home advertising. 


The message of the campaign was clear with 58% describing the main message in terms of the toxic content of cigarette smoke. A further nine percent referred to the contents of cigarettes, rather than of cigarette smoke. 
The effectiveness of the campaign was very strong, evident from the survey where three percent of respondents claimed to have learned something new about the toxic nature of tobacco smoke during the last six months and almost six out of 10 regular smokers (57%) thought they would quit or try to quit after seeing the campaign.

Paul Myers, David Blackmore, 2011, The Social Research Centre. 

Department of Health and Ageing: Evaluation of the 2011 NPAPH Tobacco Social Marketing Campaign Final Report, viewed 14th November 2011. <http://www.quitnow.gov.au/internet/quitnow/publishing.nsf/Content/C47FE07472F78E1ACA25786000795457/$File/NTC%202011%20Evaluation%20Report%20FINAL.pdf>

Health Warnings Campaign (2006)

The Graphic Health Warnings Campaign was launched on 14 February 2006, to raise awareness of the introduction of the graphic health warnings system.
The graphic health warnings aim to increase knowledge of the health effects related to smoking, to encourage quitting and to discourage relapse or smoking initiation.
The system includes 14 graphic warnings with accompanying warning statements and explanatory messages and are required to cover 30% of the front and 90% of the back of cigarette packs. The health warnings are rotated in two sets of seven warnings, Set A and Set B , alternating every 12 months to optimise learning and keep the messages fresh.


Images appearing on cigarette packets from March 2006:
Set A:

Set B:

Paul Myers, David Blackmore, 2011, The Social Research Centre. 

Department of Health and Ageing: Evaluation of the 2011 NPAPH Tobacco Social Marketing Campaign Final Report, viewed 14th November 2011. <http://www.quitnow.gov.au/internet/quitnow/publishing.nsf/Content/C47FE07472F78E1ACA25786000795457/$File/NTC%202011%20Evaluation%20Report%20FINAL.pdf>

National Tobacco Youth Campaign (2006-07)

The National Tobacco Youth Campaign was undertaken during 2006-2007 and aimed to contribute to a reduction in the uptake and prevalence of smoking among young Australians.
The key messages aimed to encourage:

• The primary target audience (young people aged 12-24 years) ‘to reject smoking’
• The secondary target audience (smoker parents) ‘to quit smoking in order to discourage your children from smoking’.

This campaign, which included television, cinema, magazine, radio, outdoor and on-line

advertising, ran from December 26 2006 to March 2007.

In assessing the National Tobacco Youth Campaign’s impact on 12-24 year olds, the following are of interest;

• In the post-campaign survey 9% of respondents claimed to have learned something new about the toxic nature of tobacco smoke, up from 3% in the benchmark.

As a result of seeing the NTYC;

• Most non-smokers thought they would either ‘not smoke themselves’ (42%) or that they would ‘discourage others from smoking’ (34%), while 63% of regular smokers thought they would quit.

Amongst regular smokers, the post-campaign survey results showed fewer who thought they would still be smoking in 12 months time (39% versus 31% post-campaign).

Paul Myers, David Blackmore, 2011, The Social Research Centre. 

Department of Health and Ageing: Evaluation of the 2011 NPAPH Tobacco Social Marketing Campaign Final Report, viewed 14th November 2011.

<http://www.quitnow.gov.au/internet/quitnow/publishing.nsf/Content/C47FE07472F78E1ACA25786000795457/$File/NTC%202011%20Evaluation%20Report%20FINAL.pdf>

National Tobacco Campaign 2011

Over the next few weeks I will be outlining and evaluating the 2011 National Tobacco Campaign.

• Tobacco smoking is the single largest preventable cause of premature death in Australia; accounting for approximately 15,500 deaths per year.
• Smoking is also responsible for more deaths in Australians, under the age of 64, than deaths due to illicit drugs and alcohol combined from all age groups.
• The 2011 National Tobacco Campaign aims to contribute to a reduction in the overall prevalence of daily adult smoking to 10% or less by the year 2018.
• The NTC uses a comprehensive approach, including a variety of media and well crafted messages designed to reach the target audience.
• The campaign features television, radio, print, outdoor and online advertising as well as radio and print advertising for audiences from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
• The 2011 NTC campaign aims to build on previous Australian Government campaigns including "every cigarette is doing you damage", which ran from 1997 to 2004, and "When you smoke you inhale over 4000 chemicals", which ran from 2006 to 2007 and also again in 2010.

Specific goals of the 2011 campaign, including behavioral and communication objectives, include:

• Increase quit attempts amongst current smokers.
• increase and reinforce the benefits of quitting.
• Increase and reinforce the range of health harms and certainty of health damage associated with smoking.
• Increase negative attitudes towards smoking.
• Increase positive attitudes towards quitting
• Increase confidence in being able to successfully quit and to remain a non-smoker
• Increase resilience amongst lapsed quitters to continue with their quit attempts• 
• Generate and reinforce intentions of current smokers to quit now.
• Generate and reinforce intentions of quitters to remain non-smokers.

The main components of the 2011 NTC were:

• Cough: a television commercial showing a man with a smoker’s cough who

develops lung cancer evidenced when he coughs blood into a handkerchief.

• Health Benefits : several ads which highlighted the financial and

health benefits of quitting.

• Luke (Who will you leave behind?) :  a television add showing a man talking about his

father who died of smoking induced cancer and, as a result, had missed out on the birth of

his grandson.

Paul Myers, David Blackmore, 2011, The Social Research Centre. 

Department of Health and Ageing: Evaluation of the 2011 NPAPH Tobacco Social Marketing Campaign Final Report, viewed 9th November 2011.

<http://www.quitnow.gov.au/internet/quitnow/publishing.nsf/Content/C47FE07472F78E1ACA25786000795457/$File/NTC%202011%20Evaluation%20Report%20FINAL.pdf>