Awareness of and receptivity to FDA's point-of-sale tobacco public education campaign.

The purpose of the study was to assess awareness of and receptivity to FDA's point-of-sale (POS) tobacco public education campaign for adult cigarette smokers called Every Try Counts; it was the first multi-county POS campaign in the U.S. The design was a county-level treatment-control three-wave longitudinal design. The setting was 15 treatment and 15 control counties. Subjects were smokers ages 25 to 54 (N = 3,628). 4,145 individuals screened in as eligible; 3,628 (87.5% response rate) completed the Wave 1 questionnaire (Wave 2: n = 2,812; Wave 3: n = 2,571; retention 70.9%). Measures were self-reported brand and ad awareness (saw any ad a few times or more) and receptivity (5-item perceived effectiveness scale). The analysis included descriptive analyses of receptivity; bivariate analyses of awareness by treatment group; and covariate- and time-adjusted logistic regression models to determine changes in awareness attributable to the campaign. Receptivity was moderate and differed significantly by race/ethnicity. As was the case for all waves, at wave 3, ad awareness was significantly higher in treatment (53.3%) than control counties (36.1%, p < .05). In regression models, brand (OR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.26-1.86) and ad (OR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.39-2.16) awareness were significantly higher in treatment than control counties. Every Try Counts generated a moderate level of receptivity and attention from cigarette smokers. Limitations include self-reports of campaign awareness and generalizability to a small number of U.S. counties.

Reach, Receptivity, And Beliefs Associated With the Fresh Empire Campaign to Prevent and Reduce Cigarette Use Among Youth in the United States.

PURPOSE: To determine the association between exposure to FDA's Fresh Empire tobacco public education campaign and tobacco-related beliefs. DESIGN: Repeated cross-sectional data collection design with embedded longitudinal cohort over six data collection waves. SETTING: 30 US evaluation markets. SAMPLE: Hip Hop peer crowd-identified US youth aged 12-18 (N = 5,378). MEASURES: Self-reported brand and video ad awareness (saw any ad at least sometimes) and perceived effectiveness (1-5 scale) to describe campaign awareness and receptivity. Exogenous exposure was measured using population-adjusted broadcast and digital video impressions. Tobacco-related beliefs included beliefs about smoking risks, attitudes towards tobacco-free people and lifestyles, and normative beliefs about smoking. ANALYSIS: Descriptive analyses of awareness, receptivity, and agreement with tobacco-related beliefs. Logistic regression models to determine the relationship between broadcast and digital video impressions and beliefs. INTERVENTION: Fresh Empire campaign. RESULTS: The campaign generated a high level of reach (71% brand and 66% video ad awareness at final wave) and messages were well-received (across waves 3.5-4.1 mean perceived effectiveness scores). Higher broadcast television exposure was associated with increased agreement with five beliefs related to addiction/control, being a bad influence on family/friends, and cosmetic effects of smoking (breath and attractiveness) (ORs = 1.16-1.27, (Ps < .05)). CONCLUSION: Fresh Empire successfully reached and resonated with Hip Hop-identified youth. The campaign was associated with a limited number of targeted beliefs.

Final Evaluation Findings for This Free Life, a 3-Year, Multi-Market Tobacco Public Education Campaign for Gender and Sexual Minority Young Adults in the United States.

INTRODUCTION: This Free Life was the first multi-market, primarily digital campaign designed to change tobacco-related beliefs among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) young adults. Our evaluation sought to determine whether campaign exposure resulted in changes in tobacco-related beliefs. We summarize awareness and receptivity at the conclusion of the campaign and assess the effect of campaign exposure on tobacco-related beliefs in campaign treatment markets compared with control markets. AIMS AND METHODS: Twenty-four US designated market areas were selected to receive the campaign or serve as control markets. A baseline survey was conducted in 2016, with six follow-up surveys conducted approximately 6 months apart over the course of the 3-year campaign. 12 324 LGBT young adult survey participants were recruited via intercept interviews and social media. Campaign effects on outcomes were estimated using difference-in-difference panel regression models, with p-values corrected for multiple comparisons. RESULTS: Brand and ad awareness peaked in treatment markets approximately 2.5 years into the 3-year campaign and were significantly higher in treatment than control markets. Brand equity and ad receptivity were generally high and similar across LGBT subgroups. There were small but significant campaign effects on five tobacco-related beliefs, with difference-in-difference estimates ranging from 1.9 to 5.6 percentage points. CONCLUSIONS: This Free Life, the first multi-market tobacco public education campaign for LGBT young adults, reached and resonated with a large and diverse population, and had a small effect on beliefs involving social aspects of smoking. These findings should inform future communication efforts aimed at reducing tobacco use among LGBT young adults. IMPLICATIONS: Modest overall campaign effects suggest that further research on effective campaign messaging and delivery to LGBT young adults is needed. Campaign messaging style, delivery channels, and targeted outcomes likely contributed to these findings. Health communication efforts for LGBT young adults should consider the limitations of digital media in achieving sufficient exposure. Ad style and content optimized for a digital environment is an area that will benefit from further development.