ABSTRACT
Introduction: In the context of increasing rates of methamphetamine (meth) overdose in Los Angeles County, California, USA, in 2021 the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health relaunched Meth Free LA County, a methamphetamine public education campaign built on Rescue Agency's Decision BlocksTM Strategic Framework. Methods: To assess campaign reach and reception, we examined media data and an online cross-sectional post-campaign survey in 2021 with a convenience sample of 750 county residents ages 18-54 who had used meth, were at-risk, or had personal relationships with people at-risk. We assessed campaign awareness, receptivity, and perceived effectiveness. Participants also reported concern about meth use in their community, recall of 10 facts from campaign content, and if they had taken promoted actions such as seeking help. We compared proportions between campaign-aware and unaware participants and explored if recall predicted these measures. Results: Most participants recalled the campaign (84.1%), felt it offered a new way of looking at meth (73.8%), and reported it made them feel that help is available (84.0%) or that it could help reduce their own use (82.4%). Video advertisements received high perceived effectiveness scores. Greater campaign recall was associated with significantly increased odds of being concerned about meth use in the community, recalling facts, and taking promoted actions. Conclusion: In 2021, Meth Free LA County reached its high-risk audiences. Unlike fear-based campaigns its message resonated with high-risk individuals, providing an example of how public education campaigns on meth and similar illicit substances can connect with their audiences.
ABSTRACT
Despite overall declines in youth cigarette use, tobacco use inequities exist by race/ethnicity. Health communication campaigns can be effective in changing tobacco-related attitudes, intentions, and behaviors and can be used to address tobacco use inequities by targeting young people who are at high risk for tobacco use. In 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration launched Fresh Empire, the first tobacco public education campaign designed to reach primarily African American, Hispanic, and/or Asian American/Pacific Islander youth ages 12 to 17 years who identify with the Hip-Hop peer crowd. This article presents an overview of two targeting strategies-(a) influencers on social media and (b) paid digital and social media advertisements-that Fresh Empire uses to reach its audience and increase message credibility that can inform future campaigns targeting hard-to-reach populations. These strategies help the campaign expand its reach, be authentic, and increase engagement with the target audience. Microinfluencers are selected for their alignment with Hip-Hop values and high engagement rates; local influencers are teens recruited to promote the campaign in their communities; and digital and social ads are purchased with a minimum number of in-target guaranteed impressions. Across both strategies, metrics have met or exceeded expectations, including a sentiment analysis that revealed 87.3% of comments on microinfluencer posts were positive. Initial findings suggest that the tobacco prevention messages have reached the target population and resonated positively, which may help to increase message credibility and improve receptivity to tobacco prevention messages.
