The National Youth Anti Drug Media Campaign is a fully integrated public health communications effort. It encompasses advertising and non-advertising communications elements (including collaboration with the entertainment industry, interactive media initiatives, partnerships with local and national organizations, corporate involvement and media outreach) to help educate and enable Americas' youth to stay drug free. Since the launch of the program we have evidenced significant success, many of these accomplishments are detailed on the Media Campaign website. Notable recent accomplishments include:

• Continue to reach approximately 90 percent of America's youth at least four times a week through paid advertising, achieving growing brand and advertising awareness, even in the face of substantial media inflation.

• Achieved significant campaign impact on parents, reversing their eroding sense that they can do something about imminent danger their children face with respect to illicit drug use. NIDA/Westat data indicates stronger positive attitudes and behaviors regarding talking to kids about drugs, monitoring their kids to help protect them from drugs and their beliefs about monitoring. Particular progress was noted among fathers, a traditionally difficult target to affect.

• Successfully expanded saliency and meaning of the anti-drug "brands" created and implemented for both the youth and parents advertising marketing efforts. The integrated communications effort has built anti-drug brand recall and recognition among youth to nearly 70%. Parent recognition is at the 55%. (NIDA/Westat) Branding serves to consolidate communications and increase consumer recognition of anti-drug messages; maximizes the impact of advertising dollars; creates synergy between advertising and non-advertising messages; and unites an organization's messages. 'Anti-drug' logo recognition has reached its current level in about half the time it typically takes for a private sector new product to achieve.

• Launched the significant initiative underscoring the connection between Drugs and Terror . This program has achieved a remarkable awareness of over 80% among youth 14 to 18 and 60% among all adults. The Drugs and Terror initiative leverages "new news," which elevates recognition and inspires new lines of reasoning and communication among key audiences.

• Developed and launched a dedicated national anti-Ecstasy media plan campaign (using PDFA created advertising). This plan includes a media market spending-test effort in several ecstasy markets, using data from NIDA, treatment data from SAMSA, arrestee drug abuse data, DEA statistics and information from medical examiners as well as customized field research to measure results.

• Through advertising promotion and partnerships with national organizations, the Campaign has distributed over 1 million brochures entitled, "Keeping Your Kids Drug Free: A How To Guide for Parents and Caregivers." The brochure was co-developed with the American Academy of Pediatricians and the National PTA.

• Traffic to the Campaigns multiple-language Web sites for parents had surpassed three million visitors and over 15,000 parents have signed up to receive free bi-weekly emails with parenting tips in English and Spanish.

• Created and implemented the first comprehensive communications research and communications effort for Native American youth and adults. Research was conducted to identify the most persuasive drug-prevention messages for this audience. The Campaign then developed powerful, customized advertising and media vehicles specifically to reach Native American youth, their parents, and elders.

• Developed and continue to communicate advertising messages in multiple languages through one of the most comprehensive and sophisticated multi-cultural efforts ever implemented to date by the U.S. government. We reach youth and adults in various ethnic groups, including African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (including Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Filipinos, Guamanians, and Samoans), Alaskan Natives, and Aleuts. The Campaign also includes advertising and outreach in the U.S. territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S. Samoa and Puerto Rico.

• This summer, the Campaign is publishing brochures on marijuana and inhalants in Korean, Cambodia, Chinese and Vietnamese. Community based organizations areas with high populations of Asian Americans have pledged to assist in distributing the brochures, as has the East-West Bank.

• Created a new and powerful relationship with the National Football League as a partner through which to communicate anti-drug messaging to our audiences: using high visibility players as ambassadors for the "anti-drug brand", securing six PSA's produced pro bono by the NFL, grassroots and local community outreach programs, Sports Illustrated "advertorials", television sponsorship presence.

• Pro Bono Match--Continue to accomplish the Pro Bono Match having achieved XXX percent media match at a value of $665.0 million. (Projected through September 2002. Does not include additional "In-Kind" corporate contributions.)

• Expanded the Campaign's youth Website, Freevibe.com, with an animated serial featuring five high school freshmen as they address teenage issues and pressures. The site continues to attract tens of thousands of visitors monthly and now features over 280,000 anti-drugs submitted by youth.



• Developed an information web-site specifically targeted to the entertainment industry to encourage accurate depictions of drug issues in movies and television programming. DrugStory.org, designed for entertainment writers and feature journalists, is a comprehensive, online resource about substance abuse and drug-related issues. DrugStory.org focuses on issues ranging from the physical and mental effects of drugs like Ecstasy and heroin, to drug smuggling techniques and international drug trafficking. The site also provides writers with the opportunity to email specific questions to a select list of drug experts.

• Launched a Corporate Partnership Program to extend messages into more homes and communities during their daily routines in traditional and unexpected ways. Corporations are using their communications power to bring anti-drug information not only their customers, but to their employees as well. Specific benefits include donated advertising space for existing Campaign PSAs and resource promotion, expanded reach through millions of direct mail messages, and established presence in thousands of retail locations.

• Created an @Work Program to promote distribution of drug prevention materials and resources to parents and other adult influencers through their employers. The program includes an extensive set of online materials, making it easy for employers to download articles and tips for internal distribution.

For further information about the Campaign, visit www.mediacampaign.org

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