In her May 25th blog post Does Fear Work, Tonya Peters wrote about the Colorado Meth Project campaign. This cross-channel campaign (radio, video, billboard) shares the stories of individuals whose lives have been directly impacted through the use of methamphetamine. I had noticed the billboards before Tonya’s writing, but seeing her post has raised my awareness of the campaign even further. With each new billboard, I think not just of the message, but also the campaign itself.
Why is this? As Tonya wrote, the campaign itself is strong enough to incite a response in people. But it is the fact that someone else I know discussed it that the campaign now has additional meaning for me. It is more personal; not because I know someone affected by meth, but because I know someone else affected by the campaign.
This is a case where social media and the natural tendency for people to talk and share can give your message some additional lift. While we can’t “force” people to talk about our campaign, we can make it easier for them to share it. We may use Youtube for our videos, to allow others to embed them on their own site. We also may encourage people to “forward to a friend” via a tool like “addThis” or “shareThis”.
The campaign has two distinct approaches: the radio ads are personal: an individual sharing their own experience. We are able to feel compassionate towards another human being. In contrast, the billboard ads are stark, and each include the phrase “No one thinks….Meth will change that”. There are generally no people in the ads, so the viewer can try to imagine their own lives being so dramatically changed.
Both of these approaches appeal to us on a personal level; the campaign is not about statistics but about stories. And once we are emotionally invested, we also become messengers for this cause ourselves. Making a cause personally relevant not only helps individuals make changes in their perceptions and behavior, it also has a ripple effect on all those they engage with.
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