The Century Council Public Relations Campaign
By:
Daniel DeMaiolo, Kollin Rupert, Kevin Jubach, Linda Dozier, Phil Walls, & Kyle Jones
Dr. Wang Ying
PREL 3710 Public Relations Campaign
December 3, 2008
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Table of Contents
I. Executive Summary……………………………………………………1
II. Situational Analysis………………………….………………….........3
A. Overview……………………………………………………...........3
B. Defining Binge Drinking…………………………………………..3
C. Psychographics – National Picture on Binge Drinking……………4
D. Denial of Problem………………………………………………….6
E. Consequences of Binge Drinking………………………………….6
F. Failed Campaigns & New Trends in Society…………….……......8
III. Target Publics…………………………………………….…….........9
A. YSU Students – Demographics……………………………………9
B. YSU Student Survey – Demographics & Psychographics……….10
C. Faculty, Staff, Administration……………………………………11
D. University Stakeholders……………………………………….....11
IV. Public Relations Campaign………………………………………...12
A. Objectives & Strategies………………………………………….12
B. Tactics……………………………………………………………14
C. Budget……………………………………………………………21
D. Evaluation………………..………………………………………23
V. Addendum………………...………................................................25
VI. Works Cited…………………………………………………..…….26
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I. Executive Summary
Binge drinking has become a social problem among college students. Each year,
thousands of college students are negatively impacted by binge drinking. In an attempt to
thwart this negative movement, a non-profit organization, The Century Council, was
established. According to the case study, “The Century Council, founded in May
1991…is a national, independent not-for-profit organization dedicated to fighting drunk
driving and underage drinking and to promoting responsible decision making regarding
beverage alcohol” (The Century Council).
The primary purpose of this report is to develop an effective and targeted public
relations campaign to tackle the problem of binge drinking among college students.
Ultimately the practice of public relations will allow for The Century Council to gain
third party endorsements from media attention which enhances the credibility of the
messages among key stakeholders and further allows for The Century Council to send
messages that are well received by those stakeholders as opposed to the failed attempts at
advertising.
The report is organized as follows: first, we conducted both primary and
secondary research to show demographics and psychographics of the key college student
publics at Youngstown State University as an illustration of trends on a national stage.
This report then shows that binge drinking is a serious issue especially among college
students through various secondary research and a survey conducted among Youngstown
State University students. This report cites specific national data, case studies, and a
survey of Youngstown State University students to provide the demographic and
psychographic statistics that highlight specific strategies and tactics our group will use in
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targeting college and other stakeholder publics. Second, upon accumulating the
necessary research, we establish public relations objectives and develop strategies for The
Century Council’s public relations campaign. Third, we develop detailed public relations
programs including: creating monthly events for one year that are hosted on campus
which feature responsible alcohol use, creating a sense of fun in non-alcohol events,
reducing alcohol use in student programming by 2% per year, and establishing
meaningful partnerships with internal and external stakeholders. Finally, the evaluation
will survey YSU students and key stakeholders that both attend and do not attend the
events to discover how they feel about the campaign, gauge the amount of drinking
incidents reported by YSU police, and determine whether our efforts have combated
binge drinking.
This report concludes that increased programming and partnerships will allow us
to establish our goals in promoting alcohol awareness education to the key publics at
YSU. Most importantly, this sample University will allow us to gauge the effectiveness
of our national campaign in educating college students about the perils of binge drinking.
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II. Situation Analysis
A. Overview
Binge drinking, a common recreational trend among college students, is growing
in strength as more and more students engage in “potentially deadly consumption” of
alcohol which is defined “medically by the number of drinks that induces alcohol
poisoning, or brings an individual’s BAC level to .25 or higher” (The Century Council).
As has been explored through numerous studies, binge drinking is extremely prominent
as a cultural experience and is growing due to ineffective anti-drinking ads and legal
drinking ages. Across the United States, colleges are dealing with the problem of
drinking alcohol on campuses. An overwhelming majority of college students (88
percent), some under the legal age, have or will use alcohol beverages
(www.pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications). Many colleges such as The University of
Washington, Southern Florida State University, Iowa State, UCLA, and small colleges
like Alvernia College in Reading, Pa, Hobart and William Smith College are working
with intervention programs to help bring forth the awareness of this problem on
campuses. The Task Force on College Drinking, The Century Council and the National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism are working together to get an perspective on
college drinking. Before exploring specific trends in the area of binge drinking, the
concept much first be defined.
B. Defining Binge Drinking
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and the National Advisory
Council, there are four main types of drinkers: abstainers, extremely infrequent drinkers,
low-risk drinkers, and binge drinkers (the latter of which will be targeted in the public
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relations campaign. Before further research is undertaken, a definition of each of the four
categories is necessary.
First, abstainers are defined as “those who do not consume beverage alcohol” (The
Century Council). Next, extremely infrequent drinkers are defined as “those who
consume between one and 12 drinks per year” (The Century Council). Third, low-risk
drinkers are “defined by the government (for adults over 21) as one drink for females and
no more than two drinks for males per day/occasion” (The Century Council). Finally, the
subject of the campaign, binge drinkers, according to the National Institute on Alcohol
Abuse are “defined by the government as four drinks or more for females and five drinks
or more for males in a row within a two-hour period” while Alcoholism’s National
Advisory Council defines binge drinking as a “pattern of drinking alcohol that brings
blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to .08 or above” (The Century Council).
C. Psychographics – National Picture of Binge Drinking
To give a more explicit description of binge drinking at the national level, “data
reported by the CORE Institute at the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale [shows]
college students are drinking an average of 5.8 drinks per week – 5.3 drinks for freshmen,
5.5 drinks for sophomores, 6.2 drinks for juniors, and 6.8 drinks per week for
seniors…[and] on average, male students overall and by grade level report drinking more
than their female peers” (The Century Council). Freshman students feeling like they are
grown up and away from home are the most susceptible to the on campus drinking.
Fraternity and sorority members drink more alcohol frequently than their peers and
accept more high levels of alcohol consumption and associated problems. Drinking in
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groups and serving oneself may promote higher levels of alcohol consumption and
students at bars drank more when in groups.
According to Campus Activities Programming, a publication of the National
Association for Campus Activities, “many institutions discovered students drank because
seemingly there was ‘nothing else to do’ ” and alcohol served as an only means of
entertainment (Dietz, 7). According to a CORE study, students drink for the following
reasons: “gives people something to do (74%), gives people something to talk about
(69%), allows people to have more fun (62%), facilitates a connection with peers (62%),
facilitates male bonding (59%), facilitates sexual opportunities (54%), facilitates female
bonding (48%)” (The Century Council).
In addition, “individual students typically believe that most other students on
campus drink more heavily than they do…the research clearly suggests that among the
college student community there may be a different perception as to what constitutes
binge drinking or dangerous overconsumption of alcohol” (The Century Council).
Also, factors that can cause binge drinking include personality characteristics, such
as impulsive and psychological behavior such as depression or anxiety. Another
psychological factor that affects binge drinking is the perceptions of college students
which lead to loosened inhibitions and increased relaxation. On many college campuses
alcohol is seen as a rite to passage where tradition is handed down through generations of
college drinkers and this serves to reinforce students expectation that alcohol is a
necessary in social success (http://www.drug-rehabs.org/Ohio -drug -rehab.htm).
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D. Denial of Problem
In many cases negative attitudes and beliefs prevent colleges deal with drug and
alcohol problems effectively. Some schools do not want to acknowledge the problem on
their campus. As President Emeritus Laurence W. Mazzeno stated, “no college in
America is immune from the use of alcohol and drugs.” He believes there are leaders at
many small colleges who are convinced that alcohol is nonexistence or may not be a
major problem on their campuses. (President Emeritus Laurence W. Mazzeno: Alvernia.
Reading, Pa). William DeJong, Ph.D, former director of the U.S. Department of
Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence
Prevention and a professor of social and behavioral sciences at the Boston University
School of Public Health, sees college and universities failing in compiling information
that is needed to evaluate prevention work. He states, “That on a typical campus each
department was too wrapped up in its own affairs to think about alcohol problems in
terms of the campus as a whole.”
E. Consequences of Binge Drinking
The goals of groups like the NIAAA, The Century Council, The Task Force on
College Drinking and colleges is to bring forth the problems and situations that can
happen with the use of alcohol consumption especially under age drinking. Statistics have
shown that alcohol in the hands of those who are not the legal age to consume it, are
involved in car accidents, fights at parties, rapes, and overdoses. Alcohol consumption
has been involved with crimes such as date rapes, fraternity parties, and binge drinking.
Jennifer March wrote an article titled “If you take a drink, you take a chance,”
which was about drinking and date rape and how women wanted to be able to drink
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without the risk of being raped. Even if the choice results from caving into peer pressure,
it is their decision to make their own decision to drink and not be forced or conned into a
situation (http://www.journalism.sfsu.edu//www/pubs/gator/). No woman should become
a target for rape after another student. In this case, the accused perpetrator is often held
accountable for conning or force sex and subsequently was expelled from the campus
because he had been pushing alcohol on women so he could have his way. Either way,
drinking is causing many women to lower their inhibitions and give into a perpetrator’s
temptations.
According to Donna E. Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services, many
college students don’t fully grasp the consequences of alcohol abuse which can lead to a
variety of social and health problems (Shalala, “Message”). Some problems of binge
drinking are outlined by The Century Council:
• 71% had sleep or study interrupted • 57% had to take care of an intoxicated student • 36% had been insulted or humiliated • 23% had experienced an unwanted sexual encounter • 23% had a serious argument • 16% had property damaged • 11% had been pushed, hit or assaulted • 1% had been the victim of a sexual advance, assault or “date rape”
---The Century Council
According to the NIAAA, students living on campuses with a higher proportion of
binge drinkers experience more incidents of assaults and sexual advances as a result of
their peer’s drinking. Irrespective of the alcohol-related problems that college student’s
experience, their degree of social acceptance may be tied to drinking.
Drinking on college campuses is more pervasive and destructive than many people
realize. The extent of the problem of alcohol consumption is linked to at 1,400 student
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deaths and 500,000 unintentional injuries annually. It is also important to note the
criminal activity that takes place due to alcohol. According to the Youngstown State
University Police Department, there were 21 liquor law violations/arrests on campus
property in 2006, 19 in 2005, 14 in 2004, 26 in 2003, and 9 in 2002. In terms of criminal
arrests in the Residence Halls because of liquor law violations, there were 16 in 2006, 9
in 2005, 10 in 2004, 0 in 2003, and 7 in 2002. In terms of student conduct referrals
because of liquor law violations, there was only 1 in 2006. Clearly this data indicates an
increasing trend toward more alcohol abuse. Alcohol consumption by college students is
associated with drinking and driving, diminished academic performance, medical and
legal problems.
F. Failed Campaigns & New Trends in Society
According to Henry Wechsler and a team of researchers at the Harvard School of
Public Health, “social norms campaigns fail to reduce alcohol abuse on college
campuses;” moreover, evidence provides that binge drinking is becoming more
prominent among college students as several anti-drinking advertisements are not only
failing, but further evoking a sense of drinking as a recreational activity (Willig, “Anti-
drinking”). According to Professor Christine Griffin in a recent news release, the ads’
drinking stories depict “extreme inebriation [which] is often seen as a source of personal
esteem and social affirmation amongst young people” and if the viewer is “the subject of
an extreme drinking story [it may] raise esteem within the group” (www.about.com,
“Anti-Drinking”). In addition, “students caught in such embarrassing situations see them
as temporary problems” that have no long term-consequences on their health and
personal lives (www.about.com, “Anti-Drinking”).
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Another issue of consideration regards the drinking age and the legal
ramifications on binge drinking. One proponent of lowering the drinking age, the
Amethyst Initiative, argues that “the current laws encourage binge drinking on campuses”
(Davis, “Colleges”). Because of this argument, it seems that binge drinking is a growing
argument and that an effective NSAC public relations campaign can help counteract
misconceptions that students have.
III. Target Publics
For the purposes of the campaign, data from Youngstown State University will be
taken and analyzed as a representative of the average University. In particular, the target
publics will consist of YSU undergraduate college students, YSU faculty, staff, and
administrators, and University stakeholders.
A. YSU Students – Demographics
According to the Office of Institutional Research at Youngstown State University,
there were 12,275 undergraduate students with 5,611 consisting of males and 6,664
consisting of females, in the age range between 18-25 (average age was 23.9 years old
and median was 21 years old), earning approximately $0-10,000 in occupations for low-
skilled to semi-skilled workers in Fall 2007. In addition, these students developed an
education for approximately 12-15.5 years. Also, according to the University, “YSU also
reported that 1,291 students are living on-campus housing…[which is the] highest
number of students ever to live in on-campus housing at YSU” (Cole, “YSU News”). As
has been previously mentioned, residential students are more susceptible to alcohol abuse
and this trend toward increased housing is a good indicator to increases in binge drinking.
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B. YSU Student Survey – Demographics and Psychographics
According to primary research conducted by our group, we found that of the 25
respondents, the highest age was 27 and the lowest was 19 – with the average age around
20.5 years old. Of these students, 5% were freshman, 45% sophomore, 35% junior, 10%
senior, and 5% graduate level.
The students reported drinking alcohol on the following occasions: 20% never,
10% less than once per month, 30% 1-3 times per month, 30% 1-3 times per week, and
0% more than 4 times per week. In addition, they consume alcohol with the following
frequencies: 10% one drink, 35% 2-4 drinks, 25% 5 or more drinks, and 20% never
drank. When asked, “binge drinking would be any more than,” the lowest opinion was 2
drinks, the high was 12 drinks, and the average response indicated binge drinking was
7.25 drinks; moreover, 60% gave an answer that was higher than 5 drinks and 25% gave
an answer 9 drinks or higher. It should be noted that 10% wrote in something like “it
varies according to the individual.”
The survey results also indicate that respondents drink in the following locations:
45% bars, 50% friends’ homes, 35% sporting events, 50% at parties, and 50% at home.
Please note, respondents could choose more than one answer.
In terms of finding information about problem drinking, 15% consult AA, 10%
seek a counselor/professional, 40% browse the internet, and 10% ask their friends. When
asked about different resources, 75% are familiar with AA, 65% know about SADD, only
5% recognize the Century Council, and 10% have heard of the National Council on
Alcohol Awareness.
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Finally, in terms of recreational activity on campus: 50% attend sporting events,
25% attend Greek events, 50% attend performing arts events and 60% attend off campus
sporting events, 35% participate in community organization events, and 40% attend
performing arts events.
C. Faculty, Staff, Administrators
According to the Youngstown State University Department of Institutional
Research, the average range for faculty, staff, and administrators is 30-60 years old, the
salary for these individuals in 2006 was $66,286 (with a range between $42,450-81,644),
they often have 17-21 years of education, and consist of 1,054 males and 1,091 females.
D. University Stakeholders
The university stakeholders consist of all community members usually in the ages
of 25-50 years old with average incomes of $10,000-$100,000. These stakeholders can
be parents/family of YSU students or community leaders that are interested in the welfare
of the American youth. This report was unable to generate further data on the
stakeholder environment.
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IV. Public Relations Campaign
A. Public Relations Objectives & Strategies:
Programming Objectives:
1. Create monthly events for one year that are hosted on campus. These events will
promote sobriety for underage students, moderation for legal students, and
promote awareness, education, safety and healthy social habits. Further details
are outlined below.
2. More than 50% of the events planned for this campaign will be non-alcoholic and
will feature at least one alcohol education component and one activity component.
The reason for this is because previous research indicates that educational
exercises are often more effective when coupled with activities that promote
social interaction.
3. Less than 50% of the events planned for this campaign will feature alcohol for
those students 21 and over. These events will feature alcohol education that
teaches alcohol in moderation. By excluding alcohol at events, students will
realize that the fun they are having comes without becoming drunk and will
realize that there are alternatives to drinking.
4. Generate an approval rating of non-alcoholic events by 20% of students.
5. Reduce alcohol use in student programming by 2% per year.
6. Create meaningful partnerships with campus officials (i.e. police), student
organizations, the media, alcohol prevention organization, and Housing and
Residence Life. Partnerships will be created through the invitation of all of these
parties to actively participate in the event as a co-sponsor or attendee.
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7. Increase the number of on-campus events by 5% in order to reduce the number of
off-campus alcohol-related incidents by 5%.
8. Raise awareness of binge drinking definition and consequences by 20% of total
student body and 35% of residents.
9. Educate 40% of target publics about binge drinking problem and ways that each
public can help fight the problem. This way buzz is generated and each public
will act as a reference group member in influencing one another not to consume
or at least not over consume alcohol. To illustrate, an administrator, upon
understanding the importance of this campaign, may approach a student and
discuss academic consequences.
10. Change perceptions of 15% of student body that drinking is not a requirement for
fun and entertainment.
Media Objectives & Strategies:
1. Use social networking utilities such as Facebook and MySpace to relate to key
publics and promote events amounting to 15% of total budget. These mediums
are more youthful and will seem more relevant and credible among younger
college students. More details are listed below under tactics.
2. Make events “newsworthy” to where local newspapers such as The Vindicator
and The Jambar cover the events and communicate our messages to our key
stakeholders as well as the main college demographics. Target to reach is
approximately 5% of local headlines. With newsworthiness comes more buy-in
and support for the campaign which will allow us to reach more publics.
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3. Create a “sticky” website that generates approximately 1,000 hits a month to
illustrate success and build community support. By using a website that is
relatively “sticky,” we can keep the community informed and continuously send
messages to our publics.
4. Place 5% more videos on YouTube to generate maximum reach and frequency
among the younger college students that The Century Council targets. This
medium is often in our key publics everyday lifestyle which effectively will
allow us to reach them without creating a lot of noise and clutter.
B. Public Relations Tactics:
In general, our campaign will host a year long series of “dry” events, along with a
few events that do feature alcohol. Though the events will specifically cater to resident
students who are under the age of 21, we also wish to educate those who are of age on the
benefits of moderation. Based on the preceding research, we believe that the best way to
combat the problem of binge drinking on YSU’s campus is through a series of
entertainment and wellness based events that will actively engage students in the alcohol
awareness process.
Campaign Central Theme
The title and overall theme of our campaign is “Get SMASHED”, which is an
acronym for get Sober, get Moderate, get Aware, get Safe, get Healthy, get Educated, and
get Developed. Within the acronym lies all of the goals we wish to achieve in this
campaign which is to promote sobriety amongst underage students, moderation for of age
students, and provide education, promote awareness and healthy behaviors regarding
drinking habits. The phrase “Get Smashed” is a common phrase among younger college
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students who binge drink, and, because of this, will be an appropriate phrase to use in
trying to communicate our overall theme of safety without losing the perceived
“coolness” of “getting smashed” – but in a different way. We hope in the end this will
aide in the overall development of a college student.
It is reported that more underage students (those who are under 21) engage in
more binge drinking behaviors than those who are not (NIAAA). Though YSU has a
small percentage of resident students, it is reported that students living on campuses are
more likely to be binge drinkers than those who live off campus (NIAAA). Subsequently,
students who live on campus are mostly students who are underage; thus the target public
of our campaign. Because our target public resides on campus, it is the strategy of our
campaign to provide healthy activities (tactics) that can be hosted on campus for resident
students.
A side effect of binge drinking is the increased likelihood of students to damage
property, skip classes, and experience problems with the authorities (NIAAA).
Conversely, and noted in the Student Involvement theory, highly involved students spend
a great deal of time and energy on their studies, participate in student organizations, and
intermingle with faculty and other students (NIAAA). In addition to this observation, the
theory concludes that in order to inspire involvement in campus activities, campus
activities must elicit energy from students. In order to elicit energy, campus activities
must expose students to activities that appeal to their interests effectively (NIAAA). In
our campaign, we will aim at creating activities on campus that will meet the interests of
students. The more students we can inspire to get involved with campus activities, the
more positive and healthy their extracurricular activities will be.
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An objective of this campaign is to directly combat the factors associated with
binge drinking. Again, we hope to achieve this through active entertainment and
wellness-based events. Factors that can cause binge drinking include personality
characteristics, such as impulsive behavior. In addition, psychological behavior such as
depression or anxiety can also compound a binge drinking habit (NIAAA). As previously
mentioned, another psychological factor that affects binge drinking is the perceptions of
college students. Also, as mentioned before, generally, students perceive their peers’
drinking habits to be higher than their own. In addition, students perceive their peers’
drinking habits to be greater than they are in reality (NIAAA). Perceptions of loosened
inhibitions and increased relaxation are also perceptions that factor into college students’
binge drinking (NIAAA). Based on this research, it is clear that student perceptions are
skewed surrounding binge drinking. Our events will be direct interaction with students
that inspire healthy and sober behavior.
However, there has been some progress made with studies that target specific
aspects of binge drinking behavior. For example, one study found that college students
are more likely to binge drink when in groups. According to this study, drinking habits
are influenced by the behaviors of those around them (NIAAA). With our campaign, we
hope to reverse this trend by creating an environment with positive influences. Because
our events will not serve alcohol, students will be surrounded by other students who are
sober and engaged in fun activities that peak their interests. This will influence
responsible behaviors, considering the fact that drinking habits are influenced by
students’ peers.
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Finally, we aim to create events revolving around things that students find
important and interesting. For example, studies have confirmed that students who
consider athletic events or parties to be important are more likely to engage in binge
drinking (NIAAA). Furthermore, researchers attended 66 college parties in Southern
California and found that themed parties and drinking games will cause binge drinking.
Researchers surmised that these types of events create an environment of intoxication and
because students have come to expect this environment, they are more likely to binge
drink when they attend these events (NIAAA). In our campaign we won’t stray from
these types of events; we will include them. We will attempt to reverse the expectation
that students have about themed parties. The majority of students find themed parties and
athletic events to be fun and interesting and this is something we won’t change. Instead,
we will host themed parties and athletic events that will not have alcohol at them. It is our
goal to show students that they may engage in these parties and activities and achieve the
same level of satisfaction without alcohol.
We have also found that alcohol awareness advertisements are not enough to
combat these skewed perceptions or even increase awareness, which is why our
campaign will be more aggressive than an advertising campaign. Rather than advertise,
we hope to harness the power of currently untapped (but very popular) mediums to relate
to the college student and stakeholder key publics. In particular, our focus on more
contemporary channels such as YouTube, MySpace, Facebook to include profile pages
and videos will allow us to communicate with our younger target publics while our focus
on more traditional channels such as our own website and local newspapers such as The
Jambar and The Vindicator will allow us to reach more conservative and older publics
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such as faculty, administration, and key stakeholders. Combining both approaches,
however, will result in the same generation of buzz, the same third-party endorsements,
and the same conversion of publicity into a newsworthy story that is credible and
interesting.
Events Fall Semester
Have Fun with Just One
This event will kick off the year long campaign. It will be a large, outdoor concert and
hosted behind Stambaugh Stadium. The concert will feature a major artist for the purpose
of drawing attendance and attention to the cause. This particular event will serve alcohol
to those of age students. The goal of this event is to teach moderation, therefore we will
partner with the International Institute for Alcohol Awareness. The IIAA will host their
special “Not in Our House” program simultaneously to the event. The “Not in Our
House” program educates adults 21 and over on the dangers of providing alcohol to
underage students. In addition, the program prevents students who are underage from
drinking. This event will allow students to learn moderation and the fun that can still be
had sober (http://www.beawarenow.org/programs.php).
Message in a Bottle
This wellness and education based event will promote awareness of binge drinking.
Hosted on the first floor of Kilcawley Center on a Monday and Tuesday afternoon, a
table full of beer bottles will be set up. Inside the beer bottles, will be facts and figures
about binge drinking and its consequences. This campaign will partner with Andrew
Wellness Center to also provide activities for students to engage in while visiting the
table. The Wellness Center will provide drunk goggles, which are tools to simulate what
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your vision looks like with different blood alcohol levels. Using these goggles, students
may participate in activities such as tricycle races, cornhole tournaments, and attempt to
walk a straight line.
Sober and Chic
Sober and Chic will be primarily for resident students and will give residents an
opportunity to participate in a formal dance and dinner. Students will be encouraged to
break out their old prom or homecoming wear and attend an elegant evening. This will be
a completely dry event, but will feature “mock tails” as a reminder that an event can be
fun without alcohol. The event will also feature high end food, decorations, and dinner
and dance entertainment from a live DJ. This event will be co-sponsored by Housing and
Residence Life.
SOS: Sober On Saturdays
Every Saturday throughout the fall semester will feature free live entertainment hosted in
Peaberry’s. Every Saturday will have a new educational topic or theme. For example, the
first Saturday of the campaign will discuss “How Much is Too Much?”. For this
particular event, we will provide the free entertainment of several comedians while also
hosting a local radio station’s live remote. The DJ from the radio station will drink live
and on air. The OVI Task force will periodically test the DJ’s BAC. Students will be able
to see the effects of alcohol first hand. They will also be able to have their alcohol
questions answered from the experts from the OVI Task Force. This event will
systematically educate students on how to drink, while entertaining them at the same
time.
Spring Semester
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Operation Moderation with Karen Gregg Price
This will be a special presentation to kick off Spring semester by highly renowned
inspirational speaker, Karen Gregg Price. Students will learn about Karen’s first hand
experience with alcohol abuse and how finding moderation with drinking changed her
life. As an extra incentive, health and science professors will be invited to offer students
extra credit for this lecture. The presentation will be an hour long and hosted in
Kilcawley.
Campus Night Out
As an alternative to going out and being exposed to the temptations of alcohol, the rec
center and Peaberry’s will host a special Friday night program. The event will begin at 10
p.m., when most students go out for the night, and will last until 3 a.m. Located in
Peaberry’s, there will be a series of live bands and free food from 10-12 a.m. Following
the mini-concert, students will be encouraged to go to the Rec for late night activities
with the bands. Activities will include laser tag, dodgeball, basketball, ping-pong, floor
hockey, and free massages. There will be prizes awarded for all activities and gift bags
promoting safe drink habits given to all students.
Snow on the Rocks
This event will be an organized campus-wide snow ball fight located in and around the
Campus Core during the peak traffic hours of 12-2 p.m. The goal of this event is to bring
awareness to the cause of stopping binge drinking and unite the campus as a community.
In order to accomplish this, we will invite student organizations, campus Greek Life, and
noted professors to form teams and participate. The format of the snow ball fight will
mimic a paintball tournament and will require teams to be assembled ahead of time.
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Teams will be required to sign a “Safe Drinking Promise” in which they will promise to
practice moderation in drinking. These signs will then be placed in Kilcawley Center as a
display. Local media stations will broadcast their mid-day reports from the Campus Core.
DD for Me
Drinking games and theme parties encourage binge drinking and the purpose of this event
will be to spin games in a positive way. Hosted in the Recreation Center, this will be a
day long event with non-alcoholic drinking games. Students will be encouraged to
participate in an apple juice chug, water pong, and will be invited to take non-alcoholic
jello shots. The event will culminate with a drunken driving simulation, provided by the
State Highway Patrol, who will also be on hand to answer students’ questions.
C. Estimated Campaign Budget:
Have Fun with Just One:
Concert-$100,000
IIAA “Not in Our House” Program- $10,000
Marketing- $500
Subtotal: $110,500
Message in a Bottle:
Bottles-$500
Messages-$150
Marketing-$200
Subtotal:$850
Sober and Chic:
Dinner Entertainment- $850
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Dance Entertainment- $1500
Food and beverage- $1500
Decorations- $1500
Favors- $2000
Lighting- $2000
Marketing- $800
Subtotal: $9,150
SOS: Sober on Saturdays
*15 Saturday Events
Entertainment budget for each event- $3000 ($45,000 total)
Food per event- $1000 ($15,000 total)
Educational material per event- $1000 ($15,000 total)
Subtotal: $75,000
Operation Moderation with Karen Gregg Price
Speaker’s fee- $3000
Marketing- $200
Subtotal: $3,200
Campus Night Out
Activities- $1000
Food-$2000
Entertainment-$5000
Marketing- $500
Subtotal:$8,500
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Snow on the Rocks
Signage- $300
Marketing- $300
Subtotal: $600
DD For Me
Non-Alcoholic Supplies- $1000
Marketing-$200
Subtotal: $1,200
Estimated Campaign Grand Total (plus $10,000 miscellaneous expenses): $209,000
D. Evaluation Objectives and Strategy:
Our evaluation will conduct a number of surveys and data to gauge the
campaign’s effectiveness as follows:
• Check with YSU police force to determine whether the number of alcohol
related crimes as decreased over the last three years. If significant
decreases are reported, we can determine that our campaign was effective
in eliminating amount of crimes caused by binge drinking.
• Survey YSU students at campus events to determine whether or not their
attitude has changed regarding alcohol consumption. If students convey
that they enjoy the events and have now started to eliminate alcohol
consumption in their daily lives, we will know that our campaign was
effective in providing the entertainment requisite to communicate with
students on a national level.
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• Survey non-participants of alcohol awareness events to determine what
causes prevented them from participating. Also determine that amount of
exposure our media relations had upon them. If they were completely
unaware of the event, the campaign will need to be fixed before targeting a
national audience.
• Conduct focus groups of key stakeholders such as community leaders,
professors, faculty, and administrators to see if they believe students have
reduced alcohol consumption. Also, investigate whether our media
relations were effective in communicating an unbiased, third-party
endorsement of our campaign that allowed for them to learn about the
social problems of binge drinking.
• Determine the number of fatal alcohol related deaths from the Mahoning
County Coroner’s office from the past three years to decide whether or not
the campaign was successful in curbing the growing rate of fatalities
caused by alcohol in this area.
• Post a feedback form on the website to allow for participants and non-
participants to voice how the community would like future campaigns to
respond.
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V. Addendum
Survey Results of Youngstown State University Students
By: Phil Walls
question 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
32 E E c 10 e internet a,b c c 20 B D c 10 abcde abd b a 27 D D c 8 a internet a c a 19 A D b 8 abd ab abc abc 19 B C a 12 de wikipedia ab ac c 21 B D b 7 abcde internet ac abd
21 C C b 4 b campus counseling ab
abd speeches ab school elections
22 C A d 6 aa 20 C D c 10 bde internet abcd ab abd private clubs 20 C A d 9 internet ab ac ac 19 B C a 2 e aa ab abc abc movies 20 B C b 10 abd professional a ac 20 C a d counselor b a a
21 C b b 6 varies abcdef camping int friends ab abc
20 C d b 3 abcde aa ab c ac 19 B b b varies b peers a ac acd volunteering
20 B a d 5 e books ab cd clubs bcd clubs festival arts
20 B c c 8 abcde internet ab a 21 B c c 8 abcde internet ab a
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VI. Works Cited
About.com. “Anti-Drinking Campaign Ads May Backfire.” 22 Jan 2008. About.com.
24 Sept 2008. http://alcoholism.about.com/b/2008/01/22/anti-drinking-
campaign-ads-may-backfire.htm
Alcohol Alert. July 1995. National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. 20 Oct.
2008 <http://www.pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications//aa29.htm>.
Catalyst Winter 2008 Vol.9 No.3. Laurence W. Mazzeno. 2008. Publication of the U.S.
department of Education's Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug
abuse and Violence Prevention. 20 Oct. 2008 <http://Http://www.edgov/OSDFS>.
The Century Council. “Case Study on Binge Drinking Developed for the 2009 NSAC
Campaign.” 18 Feb 2008. The Century Council. 30 Sept 2008.
Cole, Ronald. “YSU News – Enrollment Hits 14-Year High.” 11 September 2008.
Youngstown State University Office of Marketing and Communications. 30
September 2008.
Davis, Aly. “Colleges Campaign to Lower Drinking Age through Initiative.” 18 Sept
2008. The Seahawk Online. 24 Sept 2008.
http://media.www.theseahawk.org/media/storage/paper287/news/2008/09/18/New
s/College
Dejong, William. "Evaluation for Prevention Programs." Catalyst 9.3 (2008): 1-2. . ..
2008 <http://Http://www.edgov/OSDFS>.
Drug Rehabs.org. 2005. Ohio Drug Rehab Alcohol Treatment. 7 Oct. 2008
<http://www.drug-rehabs.org/Ohio-drug-rehab-treatment.htm>.
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Golden Gater Online. Jennifer March. 16 Feb. 1995. 18 Oct. 2008
<http://www.journalism.sfsu.edu/pbus/gater/spring>.
International Institute for Alcohol Awareness. “Not in Our House.”
International Institute for Alcohol Awareness. Accessed 18 Oct. 2008.
http://www.beawarenow.org/programs.php
National Association for Campus Programming. “Late Night Programming.” Campus
Activities ProgrammingCampus Activities Programming. National Association
for Campus Programming. July 2007. Accessed 20 Oct. 2008.
Parties, Police and Panderenonium:an Exploratory Study of Mixed Issue Campus
Disturbances. Cythia K. Buettner & Andrews, David W. 2004. 11 Nov. 2008
<http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=os10856778927>.
Shalala, Donna E. "Message from Secretary of Health and Human Service." Alcohol
Alert: 1. July 1995. 20 Oct. 2008
<http://www.pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications//aa29.htm>.
Willig, Spencer. “Anti-Drinking Ads Fail, Study Says.” 31 July 2003. The Daily
Pennsylvanian. Accessed 28 November 2008.
http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2003/0
7/31/News/AntiDrinking.Ads.Fail.Study.Says-2154249.shtml
Youngstown State University. “2007-2008 Institutional Research.” 28 Jan 2008.
Youngstown State University Office of Institutional Research. 30 Sept 2008.
http://www.ysu.edu/institutional-research/
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----------------------------------. “Alcohol Abuse Data.” 1 Jan 2008. Youngstown State
University Police Department. 30 Sept 2008.
http://www.ysu.edu/police/stats.htm