Partnership for a Drug-Free America
Background: The Partnership for Drug-Free America has declared war on Methamphetamines. Experts say Meth as the most widespread, damaging drug to ever hit the U.S. Wrecking not only the bodies and lives of users, but also causing collateral damage spanning schools, real estate, air/water, taxes, health care and more. Past outreach efforts included traditional messaging to drug users, their families, and people who may know drug users through traditional media outlets.
Challenge: Convince people that methamphetamine can destroy their lives - even if they never take it.
Insights: Research showed that Meth and its effects are most devastating in rural America, C&D counties. Places where people still take pride in their towns. If the Partnership could reach the residents of these communities and educate them about the collateral damage Meth can cause, then townspeople could take decided action to defeat the drug before it destroys a town.
Opportunity: Develop smart messaging explaining how the drug can affect the daily lives of non-users, and then strategically utilize out of home to place those messages in places that interrupt daily lives -- community picnic, post office, parks, Friday night football games -- making imminent danger real. The very way a person encountered the "Infected by Meth" campaign message was as important as the message itself. Given that all work, including media placement, for the Partnership is pro bono, Buntin Out-of-Home Media utilized innovative media planning and placement strategies to create a "plug and play" outdoor program that small town anti-drug coalitions could produce and place in and around their communities.
Results: Due to increased demand from coalitions, the Partnership decided to go national with the effort, providing the Partnership with ground-level troops in its war against Meth.
The campaign won the 2007 OAAA Public Service Out of Home Media Plan Award.