Preliminary Results of EX Receptivity & Awareness in Grand Rapids Pilot Market

Research Team: Donna Vallone, Ph.D., Jennifer Duke, Ph.D.; Kristen McCausland, MPH; James Xiao, M.S.

Our Goal

• Develop a clear, authoritative voice of cessation to offer real “know-how” from a trusted brand:– To close the gap between awareness of

existing cessation services and use of them– To build smoker confidence by changing the

accepted knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about what it takes to quit smoking

Guiding Principles• Provide a sense of structure

– “A comprehensive plan that I can keep coming back to over time – break it into pieces I can absorb”

• Provide action-oriented content– “I need actionable know-how”

• Avoid language with anti-smoking overtones– “I don’t need another lecture; I need some empathy”

• Be real - acknowledge the struggle – “Don’t sugarcoat it and reinforce my feelings of weakness. A plan isn’t going to make it easier, just more achievable.”

• Help me do it on my own– “At the end of the day, it is up to me…”

What is EX?• A multi-component smoking cessation campaign

being piloted in four U.S. cities, from Sept. 2006 through June 2007.

• Ultimate Goal: Increase informed quit attempts

• Strategies: – Promotion of cessation services– Build confidence through self-efficacy

• Audience: People who want to quit

Program Elements

1-800-QUIT-NOW

EX Ads in Grand Rapids • Phase 1: Direct Response

• TV ads ran 11/13/07 – 1/7/07• Targeting committed quitters who are ready to quit and currently

trying• 3 Ads: Stalker; Leap; Fantasy• Building EX brand as credible, also push to services (web,

phone, manual)

• Phase 2: Knowledge Attitudes Beliefs • TV ads running 2/5/07 – 6/24/07• Targeting a broader audience of potential quitters, not just those

currently trying• 3 Ads: Start Your Day; Drive; Coffee• Focus on building confidence about quitting

Stalker

Preliminary Data from Grand Rapids

• Service Utilization – Call volume from Phase 1 of campaign– Web traffic from Phase 1 of campaign

• Awareness and receptivity of Phase 1 ads

Confidential - Do Not Distribute

Oct. ’06 (baseline)

610

140

741

359

586

479

315

647

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

Monthly Call Volume for Phase 1 by EX Pilot CityN

um

ber

of

Cal

lsG

RP

s

0

100

200

0

76

0 0 0

175175

Grand RapidsPop. 780,486

Control Area – No EX media(Rest of State Excluding GR)

Pop. 9,157,958

Nov. ‘06 Dec. ‘06 Jan. ‘07

601

424

115

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Nu

mb

er o

f U

niq

ue

Vis

ito

rs

Nov. ‘06. Dec. ‘06 Jan. ‘07

Phase 1 Grand Rapids Monthly Web Traffic*

*Ads highlighted 1-800-Quit-Now more prominently than the website. Website advertising began after Phase 1 (week 13 of the campaign).

GR

Ps

0

100

200

0

76

0 0 0

175175

Ad Awareness and ReceptivitySurvey

• Methodology• Telephone survey of N = 458 • Market/list survey sampling design• Weighted to Grand Rapids population • N = 291 Smokers• N = 78 Former Smokers• N = 89 Never Smokers

Ad Awareness and Receptivity Survey

• Ad awareness among smokers and former/never smokers

• Demographic differences in awareness• Ad receptivity to Phase I• Cessation attitudes among people aware of

the campaign vs. unaware of the campaign

Confirmed Ad Awareness

Respondents Sample size% Confirmed

Awareness (one or more ads)*

Overall N = 159 35%

Smokers N = 105 36%

Former smokers N = 26 33%

Never smokers N = 27 30%

*Confirmed Awareness is our most conservative measure. 56% of the sample had Aided Awareness (unconfirmed) of one or more of the ads or the EX tagline.

Ad Receptivity

% Agree/Strongly Agree with Statement:

Target

(Current Smokers

w/ Conf. Awareness)

These ads said something important to me 67% Seeing these ads has made me think about quitting differently than before.

61%

These ads grabbed my attention 92%

These ads are convincing 73%

I would recommend EX to other people

who are trying to quit smoking.

71%

I talked with my friends and family about these ads.

48%

% Disagree/Strongly disagree with Statement:

These ads were silly 71%

EX Brand Receptivity

% Agree/Strongly Agree with Statement:Target

(Current Smokers w/ Conf. Awareness)

EX offers a new way to look at quitting smoking. 89% EX made me feel like there might be help out there for smokers like me.

86%

EX is coming from someone who knows how I feel 78% EX has information that could be helpful in my next quit attempt

78%

EX feels like it's for smokers like me 62% EX makes me feel more confident that I will succeed in my next quit attempt 54%

EX has inspired me to make a quit attempt 44%

% Disagree/Strongly Disagree with Statement:

EX doesn't seem like something I can relate to 59%

Attitudes about smoking cessation by Awareness of EX

% Current Smokers Agree/Strongly A.

EX Unaware

EX Aware

It is extremely hard for a smoker to quit and stay quit. 85% 96%

A step by step guide on how to quit smoking and stay quit would help me.

57% 65%

% Current Smokers Disagree/Strongly D.

I know why I should quit smoking, but I do not know how. 58% 61%

My willpower is the only thing I need to quit smoking. 30% 44%

I do not need help from anyone to quit smoking. 47% 67%

I doubt that calling a quit line can help me with my real barriers to quitting

38% 37%

**

*

* p<0.05 **p<0.10

*

Summary• Awareness of the campaign

– 36% of smokers in GR were aware of EX after 8 weeks of advertising (175 GRPs/wk)

• Phase 1 Campaign Goal: Push to services– The campaign on average generated an over 3 fold increase in

call volume in GR compared to baseline– Web traffic to www.becomeanex.org was on average over 4

times higher when the media was on the air.

• Phase 1 Campaign Goal: Building EX brand as credible– Smokers were highly receptive to the messages of EX– Cessation attitudes were more favorable among smokers aware

of EX compared to those unaware of EX

Confidential - Do Not Distribute

Limitations

• This data is cross-sectional

• Differences in cessation attitudes by EX awareness cannot necessarily be attributed to the campaign.

Confidential - Do Not Distribute

Start Your Day

Further Evidence• EX Book Efficacy Trial

• Buffalo (Results – July 2007)• Assess Phase 2 awareness and receptivity

• San Antonio (May 2007)• Grand Rapids (July 2007)• Baltimore (July 2007)

• Assess changes in knowledge and attitudes about quitting from pre-campaign to 6 months post-campaign in Grand Rapids• New RDD cross-sectional sample collected at 6 months,

N=1000 (smokers & non-smokers)• Longitudinal follow-up of baseline smoker respondents (N ~

350)