public relations final project - memphis healthy u

MEMPHIS HEALTHY U move more • eat healthier • be tobacco free

PR Campaigns 4440 • Dr. Willis • Spring 2012

Preston McClellan • Kristina Bran • Stephanie Beliles • Jordan Johnson

Move more. Eat healthier. Be tobacco free.

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary .............................................................................. 3

Company Background .......................................................................... 4

SWOT Analysis ..................................................................................... 6

Secondary Research .............................................................................. 7

Primary Research ..................................................................................9

Key Publics ........................................................................................... 12

Objectives, Strategies, Tactics and Messages ..................................... 13

Evaluation ............................................................................................. 17

Budget/Timeline ..................................................................................18

Recommendations ...............................................................................19

Tactics .................................................................................................. 20


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As of April 1, there are over 700 colleges that have 100 percent smoke-free campuses, and only six of those universities are in Tennessee. Worldwide, cigarettes kill more than 5 million people a year. 21 About 500,000 of those deaths are in the United States. That means the smoking accounts for nearly 20 percent of all deaths in America.

The Center for Disease Control says, “Policies establishing smoke-free environments are the most effective way to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke.” 3

Memphis residents who identify themselves as smokers tend to smoke, on average, 15 cigarettes a day. Having a smoke-free policy would challenge these statistics and bring a healthier lifestyle to the University of Memphis students.

The School of Public Health’s “Memphis Healthy U” Campaign has taken these numbers and put them into effect. Their slogan, “Move more. Eat healthier. Be tobacco free,” is a testament to the changing culture at the University of Memphis. The health and lifestyle of students have been placed at a premium, and it is this campaign’s goal to work with this already existing movement in implementing the smoke-free initiative.

For the past year, the Hudson Health Center has done extensive research to help the student body move toward a smoke-free campus. The plan has not gone into effect but the Student Government Association and the Hudson Health Center have worked with the university to petition the smoke-free bill.

In the fall, we gathered information through secondary research, focus groups, and surveys to help us better understand where the Hudson Health Center could improve their message strategy. To address these issues, we came up with three objectives along with tactics to help better penetrate students of the University of Memphis.

We created a marketing strategy to access the student body through various forums: Public Service Announcement, clips in the Helmsman, and a special event. Through this we will increase student knowledge of the smoke-free initiative, the dangers of smoking, and the “Go Green” campaign.

Executive Summary


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Company Background

The Hudson Health Center is the only comprehensive health center at the University of Memphis and services more than 20,000 undergraduate and graduate students in addition to faculty and staff. 16 Taken from the center’s website, its mission statement is:

The mission of the University of Memphis Student Health Services is to empower students to make informed healthier choices, take responsibility for their lifelong wellness. The center aims to do this by providing personalized health services, education, and prevention to a diverse student population to enhance academic achievement, personal growth, and out of the classroom learning.

The Hudson Health Center, in conjunction with the Student Government Association, staff senate and faculty senate, has recommended a smoke-free initiative that would move the UofM to become a smoke-free campus on or before July 2012. The smoke-free initiative is part of a larger campaign undertaken by the University as a whole called “Memphis Healthy U,” which began at the start of the Spring 2012 semester.

The program, Memphis Healthy U, cohesively organizes 12 departments and colleges to promote one goal: “Move more. Eat healthier. Be tobacco free.” As mentioned earlier, the campus-wide campaign started with a 2010 SGA resolution for the campus to be tobacco free.

The Hudson Health Center is seen as the mainframe for the campaign since it organizes all campus-related activities dealing with Memphis Healthy U. Working with the Student Government Association, the Hudson Health Center is enlisting the support of administrators across the campus. Vice President of Student Affairs Rosie Bingham, Provost Ralph Faudree, Chief HR Offcer Maria Alam, and Vice President of Busines/Finance David Zettigren. The campaign is transforming into the largest coordinated health effort in the history of UofM.


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Company Background

Through promoting healthier eating, better lifestyle choices such as being smoke free, and enrolling in fitness classes, the campaign intends to decrease the estimated 47.3 percent of overweight individuals on campus, a statistic determined from a survey disseminated at the 2011 Student Health Fair. Each student that chooses to participate in the program signs a pledge card agreeing to eat healthier and consciously choose to be tobacco free.

In conclusion, the Hudson Health Center is the epicenter for a better lifestyle at the University of Memphis. Its mission has helped spawn a series of movements, including the smoke- free initiative, which will help Memphis become a healthier campus.

By teaming with the weight management group, which is another subsection of the Memphis Healthy U campaign, we will work via three main strategies that will carry our messages.

• Create a “Clean Air” message that will not only inform the UofM community of the dangers of second hand smoke, but also of the positive health effects of having a smoke free campus.

• Team with the “Green Movement” at Memphis to inform the student community of the correlation between smoking and litter/pollution/harmful environment backlash.

• Execute our messages in conjunction with the “Tigers Feel Great” campaign in order to pull in students who are already involved with healthy initiatives. This message will include statistics and data on smoking and its negative health impacts as well as personal testimonials of individuals who have been personally affected by smoking.


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SWOT Analysis


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Secondary Research

The secondary research that has been compiled on the smoke-free initiative at the University of Memphis provided valuable insight into key issues associated with students’ attitudes, as well as potential opposition to the smoke free initiative moving forward. The insights gained through our research and subsequent findings were used to develop our campaign goals, including the following areas of concentration:

1. General Campus and Student Health

• According to the Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium, college health center directors identify smoking “as a major health problem that needs to be addressed on their campuses” (TTAC, 2011).• The health center directors also indicated that many students falsely think tobacco use is more normal on campuses than it actually is. • They point to high visibility of smoking, media portrayal of smoking and heavy marketing practices by tobacco companies as reasons for this perception.

2. Popularity and Success of Similar Initiatives at Universities around the Country

• According to a Sept. 1, 2011 CNN article, the University of Kentucky and University of Michigan were the “latest universities to follow the smoke-free trend” (Lazear, 2011). These universities followed in the footsteps of others such as Towson, Montana State and Tulane Universities. • According to data collected by Salem State University during the transition to a smoke-free campus, ¾ of students said they were exposed to smoking on campus at least once a month and 1/4 of those respondents reported having adverse respiratory reactions to the second-hand smoke exposure (Kotz, 2011).• After the smoke-free initiative was implemented at Salem State, 60 percent of students indicated better conditions on campus with less exposure to second-hand smoke (Kotz, 2011).• Salem State is a much smaller university in comparison to the University of Memphis. However, Montana State is similar in size and in March 2011, the students of MSU voted to support a tobacco free campus with 61 percent of students in favor of the policy (Montana State University, 2011). Because of these universities similarity in size to the U of M, it is reasonable to conclude that similar policies would work the same at Memphis.


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3. Increased Awareness of Programs to Help Students Quit Smoking

• The University of Kentucky officially became smoke free in November 2009 (Steinberg, 2011). During that year, the state of Kentucky had one of the nation’s highest smoking rates among its students at 25.6 percent, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC, 2011) • After the smoke free policy went into effect, the university saw positive health changes in student, faculty and staff smoking trends. Enrollment in tobacco-quitting services jumped from 33 enrollees in 2008 to 146 after the first year of the smoke free policy (Steinberg, 2011). • Likewise, nicotine replacement coupons redeemed rose from 124 to 470 on campus.

The secondary research led us to a few important conclusions around which to build our campaign goals:

• Despite initial resistance, universities around the country have been overwhelmingly successful in implementing smoke and tobacco free policies (Montana State University, 2011 & Steinberg, 2011) • Once the policies are implemented, students, faculty and staff alike seem to take to the culture. This is shown by the increase in quitting initiatives at the University of Kentucky and students at Montana State choosing to become tobacco free.• The smoke and tobacco free policies lead to a general increase in campus air quality, evidenced by the number of students at Salem State that indicated such in a survey conducted before and after a smoke free initiative (Kotz, 2011)• Directors of health centers at universities around the country acknowledge that perception of smoking is misconstrued in campus life. o Most students think tobacco is far more prevalent than it actually is, which leads to an attitude of acceptance. o These directors feel that smoke and tobacco free policies help to cut down on those false perceptions and bring the problems associated with tobacco to the forefront of campus debates.

Secondary Research


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Primary Research

1. Surveys

In order to gather first-hand information to assist with our campaign efforts, we distributed quantitative surveys about the proposed tobacco-free policy change. We conducted research with publics in concerned demographics, including undergraduate and graduate classifications, smokers and nonsmokers. The survey was designed and distributed through Surveymonkey.com and controlled to meet the overall demographics of the University of Memphis. More than 100 participants responded. We asked respondents for personal background information, knowledge of the upcoming smoking cessation and current attitudes toward tobacco use.

Survey Statistics

• Nearly half (47.8 percent) of students reported that they believed people were routinely negatively affected by smoking on campus. • Roughly 36 percent of smokers that responded reported that it was difficult to find an appropriate and environmentally-friendly place to dispose their cigarette butts. • About 36 percent of students said they notice improperly disposed cigarette butts daily on campus. • About 51 percent of survey respondents indicated they believed that smokers should only be allowed to smoke in designated areas on campus. • About 71 percent of respondents reported never using tobacco. • Almost nine percent of respondents identified themselves as current smokers.• Nearly 13 percent of respondents identified themselves as former smokers.• More than 98 percent of respondents indicated they were already aware of the negative health effects of second-hand smoke. • Just fewer than 40 percent of respondents indicated they believed second-hand smoke to be a health risk to people on campus. • More than 54 percent of respondents indicated they would be in favor of a tobacco-free policy at the University of Memphis.


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2. Focus Group

We conducted an on-campus focus group with students (n=10) at the University of Memphis in order to better gain an in-depth understanding of their attitudes regarding the potential policy change.

Key Responses from Focus Group

“Smokers are their own community within each school. By changing smoking regulations, this community will be lost and smokers on campus will appear more stressed, anxious and angry.” – Junior, smoker

“Whenever I am exiting out of a building on campus, smokers are almost always standing outside the doorway, and I have to walk through second-hand smoke.” – Sophomore, nonsmoker

“ I feel it infringes on the right of choice by smokers.” – Graduate Student, smoker

“… it’s a person’s choice to smoke or not, that choice shouldn’t be taken away.” – Junior, nonsmoker

“No one even enforces the current policy.” – Sophomore, nonsmoker

3. In-depth Interviews

To supplement our qualitative research, we conducted 10 in-depth interviews with undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty and alumni. Our goal was to understand the attitude on a deeper level.

Key Questions and Responses

Q: Once enacted, do you believe that there should be enforcement approaches that should be avoided?

A: Fines should be avoided at all costs. There’s going to be no good way of enforcing this, but giving out fines is ludicrous.

Q: How do you feel the University should go about letting students know about the policy change?

A: Signs, more warnings with the Helmsman emails.

Primary Research


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Q: What else would you like to say to the Hudson Health Center?

A: That banning something outright is wrong. There are steps you have to take. For example, look at when all the restaurants slowly turned from smoking to non-smoking. First there were smoking and non-smoking sections. You can’t just quit cold turkey – pun intended.

Primary Research


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Key Publics

Our team’s proposed primary target: University of Memphis community (faculty staff, students, administration, etc).

Rationale: These people work in various roles across the campus community and all have a voice in policy changes.

Student Demographics:

- About 72 percent of students have never used tobacco- About 13 percent of Memphis students are current smokers- Nearly 50 percent of students would be in favor of designated smoking areas on campus

Secondary publics:

Student Government Association

- The SGA at Memphis is an organization that originally proposed and passed a student-lead imitative for a tobacco-free campus. For this reason, we already know they will be supportive. Therefore, we need to get them involved.

Fraternities and Sororities

- Fraternities and sororities often have large influences on campus life, making them opinion leaders of sorts. They also hold fundraising and activist events. We need to reach out to these groups and see if we can convince them to hold events on our campaign’s behalf.

Daily Helmsman

- The student newspaper has the potential to reach thousands of students on a daily basis at Memphis. We need to educate the editors on the tobacco-free initiative and the details of it in hopes of getting coverage.

Local Television Stations and Media Outlets

- These media outlets reach thousands of people on a daily basis. If we can get them to run a story about our campaign, it could help spur others in the community to take an interest in the initiative.


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Objectives, Strategies and Tactics

General Goal:It is the goal of this campaign to get students, faculty, staff and everyone involved with the University of Memphis to support and back a smoke free initiative.

Objectives, Strategies and Tactics:

- Objective 1: To increase student knowledge of the tobacco-free initiative by 10 percent in the next three months- Strategy 1: To inform college students of the SGA passed smoke free initiative at the University of Memphis- Message 1: The “Tigers Feel Great” campaign tie-in will let those students who are interested in improving their health through the already-established “Tigers Feel Great” program at the University of Memphis see the health repercussions of smoking cigarettes.• This message will include statistics and data on smoking and its health related issues.• This message will also include statistics and data on physical appearance and the negative impact of cigarette smoking.• This message will also include personal accounts and testimonials of people who have had cigarette smoke affect their health adversely. Rationale: Our research group conducted a survey of Memphis students that indicated less than 50 percent of the student body even knew about the smoke free initiative. The same group of students, however, indicated they recognized the Memphis Healthy U movement. For this reason, it is our suggestion that the smoke free campaign harness the marketability of the Memphis Healthy U campaign in order to get the smoke free message out. - Message 2: The “Big Blue: Go Green” campaign will inform the University of Memphis community of the correlation between smoking and litter/pollution/harmful environmental backlash.• This message will include data and statistics on cigarette butts and their environmental impact. • This message will also include data on the amount of waste produced on campuses annually by cigarette butts, packs, etc. Tactic 1: To place 90 biodegradable candy cigarettes half in-ground to


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represent 9,000 cigarette butts littered by smokers at the University of Memphis and surrounding area per day. This will include literature in front with smoking-related litter facts. The guerilla marketing display will be set up in front of the University Center in the quad area. The campaign will run during homecoming weekend, and has been approved by the Hudson Health Center and the University of Memphis. The literature will read as follows:Smokers at the University of Memphis contribute to littering roughly 9,000 cigarette butts daily on campus. These 90 candy cigarette butts represent one percent of the amount of litter people created on our campus. Save our plant and support the “Memphis Healthy U” Smoke Free Campus initiative and keep smoking off of our campus.The candy cigarettes are biodegradable and cost $20 plus tax for four boxes of 24 candies. The Hudson Health Center is providing volunteers that will provide free labor in putting the candies into the ground and in rows in the quad. The signage will be printed on 3’ x 5’ for $69.99 plus tax at FedEx Office. The signs have grommets for hanging. This banner will be hung between the two trees next to the quad. Tactic 2: An official kick-off party for the University of Memphis’ Healthy U campaign to enforce the smoke-free initiative, and shine more light on the program and it’s benefits. Free “healthy” foods along with a three guest speakers on health and the dangers of smoking will be a strong incentive for student’s to join. We could promote the event with this tactic as well as sending out a mass email through the Hudson Health Center’s database. Social Media would be an effective way to reach the student’s of Memphis. Statics say that over 96 percent of college students use Facebook, while only 14 percent use Twitter. In this case, we will focus more on creating a communication line with Facebook. Posting a video on either sites will be effective as well.

- Objective 2: To get three clips/placements in The Daily Helmsman and other local media outlets in the next three months.

- Strategy 2: To make local newspapers aware of the smoke free campaign and convince the editors to run an article detailing the initiative. Rationale: Getting media coverage is the public relations working at its finest. It is exposure for your messages. Therefore, it should be the goal of this campaign to get the local media to give the smoke free initiative some attention in the local papers. The most important public here is the student newspaper. It is crucial that The Daily


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Helmsman run articles that detail what is going on with the Hudson Health Center and the campaign. It would be even better to get the paper to run an editorial piece in support of the movement. Tactic 1: Issue specifically tailored press releases to local media outlets. Each press release sent to media outlets will be tailored to fit that organizations needs. For example, a press release sent to the student newspaper, The Daily Helmsman, will want to have information that pertains directly to the campus, i.e. students, faculty, staff, etc. However, a press release sent to the city newspaper (The Commercial Appeal) should contain information that is more suited to an entire city. Tactic 2: Issue a video news release to local television stations. The Commercial Appeal’s new paywall prevents most people from getting their news from that outlet. Therefore, the campaign should target local television stations. Even if the station does not run the VNR on air, it is likely that the video could be posted on the station’s website. These websites are experiencing increased traffic due to The Commercial Appeal’s paywall, and this campaign should take advantage of that.

- Objective 3: To increase student knowledge of the dangers of smoking by 10 percent in the next three months

- Strategy 3: To provide as much information as possible about smoking dangers to students at the University of Memphis.

- Message 3: The “Clean Air” message will not only inform the University of Memphis of the dangers of second hand smoke, but of the positive health effects of having a smoke free campus.• This message will include data and statistics on secondary smoke and its health-related issues• This message will also include testimonials and/or specific cases where second hand smoke has been detrimental to someone’s health.• This message will also include statistics on the general health of students in a smoke free environment versus the health of students that learn on campus that allow smoking. Rationale: Understanding and accepting the dangers of smoking is key to people supporting the smoke free initiative. Research shows that students often think smoking use is much more prevalent than it actually is due to media perception and



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aggressive marketing campaigns by tobacco companies. Therefore, it should be the goal of the campaign to make sure students at Memphis properly understand the dangers. Once the dangers are understood, it is more likely people will support the smoke-free movement. Tactic 1: Design an infographic that will garner student interest and attention. It can be hard to garner student attention in this day and age due to constant information bombardment. For this reason, infographics are a unique way to display information in an easy-to-consume fashion. This campaign will develop an infographic that details the dangers of smoking in a way that directly relates to students at Memphis. Tactic 2: Produce a video with testimonials about the dangers of smoking. Combining a video with the infographic is another way to ensure the message is out. The video should contain powerful testimonials from older people suffering from the effects of smoking as well as young people that were able to successfully kick the habit. Tactic 3: Social Networking is the fastest way to send a message out to your public. Promoting the event, supporting the “Go Green” effort and posting any news release article would be make the issue more widely known. Posting videos and using hashtags for special events in the Memphis Healthy U is an easy way to keep up with how your potential clients (the students) will look at the proposal. It is also going to be a lot easier to measure the success or failure of the social networking route. An easy way to get students to participate in the party with the speaker would be live tweeting through out the event. This way they would be communicating the message with other people about what the event is even about.



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Overall Evaluation of Objective No. 1:“1. To increase student knowledge of the smoke-free initiative by 10 percent in the next three months”We will conduct a benchmark study (pretest/posttest design) to measure the aware of students as it relates to the smoke free initiative. This will allow to see a more specific number of people that were reached by the campaign’s efforts. Evaluation measure of tactic 1: We will distribute a survey to students that participated in the “Kick Butts” day and ask they give comments and criticisms about the day’s events and information sessions. Evaluation measure of tactic 3: We will conduct brief, yet thorough, focus group to gauge peoples’ reaction to the PSA video as well as the anti-smoking event.

Overall Evaluation of Objective No. 2: “2. To get three clips/placements in the Daily Helmsman and other local media outlets in the next three months”We will conduct content analysis of the subsequent news coverage to monitor and observe quantity and quality of news coverage smoke free initiative.

Evaluation measure of tactic 1: Just as said above, a content analysis of The Daily Helmsman will be conducted to evaluate Evaluation measure of tactic 2: We will monitor local news to see if the VNR was picked up and successfully used.

Overall Evaluation of Objective No. 3“3. To increase student knowledge of the dangers of smoking by 10 percent in the next three months.” Evaluation of tactic 1: Conduct focus group to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the infographic. Evaluation of tactic 2: Post the video on YouTube and track hits in addition to monitoring the comments for feedback. Evaluation of tactic 3: Distribute a link to an online survey after the speaker is done talking and ask people to respond in exchange for a chance to win a prize.

Evaluation


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Budget/Timeline

Production costs/PSA Video $3,000 Filming $1,000 Post production/editing $1,000 Graphics $1,000Printing costs $2,500 Infographics $2,000 Misc. other printing $500Events, food, etc. $1,400

• Monday, Aug. 27 Launch Event - PSA Video shown at this event - Infographics distributed - Press releases sent to Helmsman

• Continue social media cam-paign in attempt to further reach target audience - Example: Post pictures from smoke free events - Continue showing PSA in health center

• Homecoming week/Mid-October: Kick Butts event - Infographics distributed - Continue social media campaign and showing PSA• Start guerilla marketing

• Continue social media cam-paign in attempt to further reach target audience - Example: Post pictures from smoke free events - Continue showing PSA in health center

• Hudson Health Speaker • Continue social media cam-paign in attempt to further reach target audience - Example: Post pictures from smoke free events - Continue showing PSA in health center

August September October

November December

Below is a visual calendar of our proposed scheduling of events as it relates to the campaign during the fall 2012 semester. The social media portion of the campaign.


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Conclusion

The University of Memphis is an institution that prides itself on being dreamers, thinkers and doers. It is a collection of students, faculty and staff that share a common goal of taking higher education to the next level and being an example for the state of Tennessee. Adopting a smoke free initiative coincides perfectly with this vision. While more than 700 colleges nationwide have adopted similar smoke free policies, less than 10 schools in Tennessee have followed suit. Based on our research, the onus, need and desire is there among students, faculty and staff to support and successfully implement a smoke free policy at the University of Memphis. The key is getting the message out there and explaining to students with viable facts the reasons this policy is being implemented. It is our group’s recommendation that you focus on these three key areas as you move forward with the smoke free initiative: 1. Communication - College students these days have access to a variety of communications tools: phone, text messaging, email, Twitter, Facebook, etc. It is key that your campaign seeks to reach them on various platforms. 2. Information - Based on our research, the biggest hurdle in gaining for support for the initiative is simply knowledge that it exists. The Hudson Health Center has to focus on getting the word out to students. 3. Implementation - We have given you a timeline which depicts when each phase of the plan should be put in place. It is imperative this timeline be followed because the campaign is set up sequentially with each tactic relating to the next.


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Works Cited

1. American College Health Association. National College Health Assessment. (2011). Reference Group. Executive Summary Fall 2010. Retrieved October 12, 2011. http://www.achancha.org/docs/ACHA-NCHA-IL_ReferenceGroup_ExecutiveSummary_Fall2010.pdf2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Adult Cigarette Smoking in the United States: Current Estimate.” March 9, 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2011. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/adult_data/cig_smoking/index.htm3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (December 2009). Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2008. Vital and Health Statistics, Series 10, number 242, page 10-11. Retrieved October 8, 2011.4. Indiana University. “Study: Campus smoking ban reduced students’ smoking, changed attitudes.” September 14, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2011.5. Kotz, Deborah (2011, August 31). “New smoke-free rules on college campuses.” Daily dose. Retrieved October 11, 2011. http://www.boston.com/Boston/dailydose/2011/08/new-smoke-free-rules-college-campuses/csvdui8neb52yZKA2mo5yK/index.html6. Lazear, Jenn. (2011, September 6). “More college campuses going smoke-free.” TCU Daily Skiff. Retrieved October 11, 2011. http://tcu360.com/campus/2011/09/13209.more-college-campuses-going-smoke-free7. Montana State University (2011). Tobacco Free MSU. Retrieved October 6, 2011. http://www.montana.edu/health/healthpromo/tobacco.php8. New York State Tobacco-Free School Partnership. (2011). We’re Watching. Tips for Enforcement of Tobacco-Free Policies. Retrieved October 10, 2011. http://www.tobaccofreepolicy.org/content/tips-enforcement9. North Carolina Health Wellness Truss Fund (n.d.) Tobacco-Free Colleges. “What are the steps in tobacco-free policy implementation?” Retrieved October 8, 2011. http://www.tobaccofreecollegesnc.com/implementation10. Office of Institutional Research. (August 2010) [faculty and staff information collected and put in spreadsheet for review]. Faculty and Staff Occupational Category and Employment Status- Fall 2010. Retrieved on October 7, 2011. http://oir.memphis.edu/Maps/PublishedMaps/CommuteDistances/2008_FacStaffCommute.ong11. Seo, D.-C., et al., he effect of a smoke-free campus policy on college students’ smoking behaviors and attitudes, Prev. Med. (2011).12. Steinberg, Stephanie. “Colleges tell smokers, ‘You’re not welcome here.’” September 1, 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2011. http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/08/31/smokefree.college.campus/index.html13. Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium. (October 8, 2011). Technical Assistance. Retrieved October 10, 2011. http://www.ttac.org/services/tech_assistance.html14. University of Kentucky. “University of Kentucky Tobacco-Free Policy.” August 18, 2011. Retrieved October 2011. http://www.uky.edu/TobaccoFree


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Works Cited

15. University of Memphis (2011). Empowering the Dream: The Centennial Campaign for the University of Memphis. Retrieved on October 9, 2011. http://www.memphis.edu/development16. University of Memphis (2011). Facts at a Glance. Retrieved October 7, 2011. http://www.memphis.edu/facts.htm17. University of Memphis (October 2, 2006). Policy Statement. Retrieved October 4, 2011. http://www.memphis.edu/stratplan18. University of Memphis (2011). Student Organization Information. Retrieved October 7, 2011. http://saweb.memphis.edu/rsoreg/index.asp19. University of Michigan. “Information about the Smoke-Free University Initiative.” July 4, 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2011. http://www.hr.umich,edu/smokefree/letter.htm20. Wellness Proposals (n.n.) The Keys to Successful Tobacco-Free Policy Implementation. Retrieved October 2, 2011. http://www.wellnessproposals.com/employee_health_wellness_and_policy/successful_tobacco_free_policy_implementation.htm21. Trueswell, J. (1994). Semantic influences on parsing: Use of thematic role information in syntactic ambiguity resolution. Memory and Language, 33, 285-318.


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“MEMPHIS HEALTHY U” TO ENDORSE SMOKE-FREE INITIATIVECampus-wide health initiative to support SGA-passed smoke-free

initiative on campus

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(INSERT DATE HERE)

(INSERT CONTACT INFORMATION HERE)

(Insert Dateline Here)- The University of Memphis is proud to announce that Memphis Healthy U has teamed with the Student Government Association to endorse and support the SGA-passed and student-supported smoke-free initiative on campus. The initiative will seek to make Memphis one of more than 600 college campuses in the United States to become some free.

The smoke-free initiative was passed in the SGA meetings during the fall of 2010, and the University has continued to throw support behind it. The Hudson Health Center - Memphis’ on campus wellness clinic for students, faculty and staff - has been placed at the forefront of the initiative with Jacqueline De Fouw, R.N. at the helm.

“The University of Memphis has always demonstrated a desire to improve the quality of life for its students,” De Fouw said. “I think this is another piece in that puzzle. It’s nice to see Memphis take the lead and be one of the first smoke free campuses in the state of Tennessee.”

Statistics from a campus wide survey conducted in the fall of 2011 show that 71.9 percent of students at the U of M have never tried tobacco. Only about eight percent of the student body identified them-selves as smokers, while 13 percent said they were former smokers.

By joining the smoke free initiative with the Memphis Healthy U movement, Memphis will cohesively organize 12 departments and colleges to promote the Mem-phis Healthy U slogan: “Move more. Eat Healthier. Be Tobacco Free.”

Currently, it is forbidden to smoke within 20 feet of a door or a window on campus, which complies with Tennessee State law. This policy would take things a step further, but the University does not plan to go around policing smokers across campus.

“This is not the Gestapo,” dean of students Stephen Peterson said.

De Fouw cites hard numbers when asked why she supports the smoke free initiative, including that studies found that students who smoke are 3.6 times more likely for “high risk drinking,” five times more likely for suicidal thoughts, and seven times more likely to use illicit drugs.


Move more. Eat Healthier. Be Tobacco Free

“IT’S NICE TO SEE MEMPHIS TAKE THE LEAD AND BE ONE OF THE FIRST SMOKE FREE CAMPUSES IN THE STATE OF TENNESSEE.” - JACQUELINE DE FOUW, R.N.

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University of Memphis to Go “Smoke Free”Campus seeks to become smoke free example for the state of Tennessee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(INSERT DATE HERE)

(INSERT CONTACT INFORMATION HERE)

(Insert Dateline Here)- The University of Memphis is proud to announce that it will become one of more than 700 colleges nationwide to adopt a “smoke free” campus policy. The new policy will go into effect in the fall of 2012 and make Memphis a model for smoke free excellence in the state of Tennessee.

The smoke-free initiative was passed in the SGA meetings during the fall of 2010, and the University has continued to throw support behind it. The Hudson Health Center - Memphis’ on campus wellness clinic for students, faculty and staff - has been placed at the forefront of the initiative with Jacqueline De Fouw, R.N. at the helm.

“The University of Memphis has always demonstrated a desire to improve the quality of life for its students,” De Fouw said. “I think this is another piece in that puzzle. It’s nice to see Memphis take the lead and be one of the first smoke free campuses in the state of Tennessee.”

The state of Tennessee is severely behind in the movement to make college campuses smoke free. While more than 700 colleges have gone smoke free nationwide, less than 10 public institutions in Tennessee have done such. The University of Memphis hopes to set an example for the rest of the colleges in Tennessee.

By joining the smoke free initiative with the Memphis Healthy U movement, Memphis will cohesively organize 12 departments and colleges to promote the Memphis Healthy U slogan: “Move more. Eat Healthier. Be Tobacco Free.”

Currently, it is forbidden to smoke within 20 feet of a door or a window on campus, which complies with Tennessee State law. This policy would take things a step further, but the University does not plan to go around policing smokers across campus.

“This is not the Gestapo,” dean of students Stephen Peterson said.

De Fouw cites hard numbers when asked why she supports the smoke free initiative, including that studies found that students who smoke are 3.6 times more likely for “high risk drinking,” five times more likely for suicidal thoughts, and seven times more likely to use illicit drugs.


Move more. Eat Healthier. Be Tobacco Free

“IT’S NICE TO SEE MEMPHIS TAKE THE LEAD AND BE ONE OF THE FIRST SMOKE FREE CAMPUSES IN THE STATE OF TENNESSEE.” - JACQUELINE DE FOUW, R.N.


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We will shoot a Public Service Announcement for the Hudson Health Center to use in conjunction with a number of the other tactics. This video will consist of a series of shots taken around campus including a singer, musician, ROTC and student athletes. Each person or group of people is showing their talent in front of the camera.

The video will last approximately 30 seconds and encompass quick scenes with each type of person mentioned above. At the end of the serious of quick, action shots, a tagline will read “Smokers Can’t Do This.” The PSA will not only support the smoke free initiative, but it will also showcase other talents and programs associated with the University of Memphis.

Because the video provides such a positive perception of the University, it can be used across campus and broadcast on the televisions that are in buildings all over the place. In addition, it can be sent to local television stations as a Video News Release.

The video will tie in with the other tactics by being used in conjunction with Kick Butts day. Right before the speaker - we suggested Josh Pastner - comes on stage, this video can be shown. It can also tie in with our social networking campaign. It will be uploaded to YouTube and posted on the Hudson Health Center’s Facebook and Twitter pages in attempt for it to go viral.


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According to Carlisle Jasper, Panhellenic Recruitment Chair, sororities and fraternities on campus are responsible to have each individual chapter is responsible to have a speaker come speak on “Student Responsibility” once a semester. The Hudson Health Center will have a designated representative speak about the Smoke Free Initiative and utilize “Memphis Healthy U” info graph.

The Smoke Free Initiative is pertinent to the subject of “Student Responsibility.” As previously stated, cigarettes are a major source of litter, and University of Memphis students are responsible for close to 9000 butts and cigarette litter every day. Students are personally held responsible littering on campus, according to the Hudson Health Center. Students are responsible for breaking litter regulation while not following the Smoke Free Initiative and its policies. Also, according to previously stated research, second hand smoke is dangerous to one’s health. Students should be held responsible for their peers’ health when it is affected due to not following regulations set by the Smoke Free Initiative.

The spokesperson will start by speaking about specific and emotional cases in which smoking on campuses and its negative effects. According to research done at Harvard University, “cues not only influence initial parsing but can also be used to predict material which has yet to be spoken,” meaning that initiating the lecture with an emotional and personal tone directly influences the retention of the message. 21


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To place 90 biodegradable candy cigarettes half in-ground to represent 9,000 cigarette butts littered by smokers at the University of Memphis and surrounding area per day. This will include literature in front with smoking-related litter facts. The guerilla marketing display will be set up in front of the University Center in the quad area. The campaign will run during homecoming weekend, and has been approved by the Hudson Health Center and the University of Memphis. This will be effective because there is a large amount of people traffic on campus and especially in and around the University Center during this time. The literature will read as follows:Smokers at the University of Memphis contribute to littering roughly 9,000 cigarette butts daily on campus. These 90 candy cigarette butts represent one percent of the amount of litter people created on our campus. Save our plant and support the “Memphis Healthy U” Smoke Free Campus initiative and keep smoking off of our campus.The candy cigarettes are biodegradable and cost $20 plus tax for 4 boxes of 24 candies. The Hudson Health Center is providing volunteers that will provide free labor in putting the candies into the ground and in rows in the quad. The signage will be

printed on 3’ x 5’ for $69.99 plus tax at FedEx Office. The signs have grommets for hanging. This banner will be hung between the two trees next to the quad.Guerilla marketing as a tactic will be successful because it is a marketing strategy that focuses more on nurturing and following up with existing publics, not new publics (Levinson, 1999). In addition, people respond more to aggressive and heartfelt marketing done by peer groups

(Levinson, 1999). As a peer group to students as the University of Memphis, the students involved in “Memphis Healthy U” and the guerrilla marketing “Go Green” is an influential peer group giving a powerful visual message. Levinson, J. C. (1999). Mastering guerilla marketing: 100 profit- producing insights you can take to the bank. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

28Move more. Eat healthier. Be tobacco free.

Tactic 1: An official kick-off party, “Kick Butts” for the University of Memphis’ Healthy U campaign to enforce the smoke-free initiative, and shine more light on the program and it’s benefits. Free “healthy” foods along with a 3 guest speakers on health and the dangers of smoking will be a strong incentive for student’s to join.

Having the event in the UC would mean that we could incorporate the Public Service Announcement. We would be able to show a video on the dangers of smoking on a projector or on the televisions.

It is suggested that the Hudson Health Center teams up with the university’s “Tiger Catering.” There are many options at the Hudson Health Center’s disposal. The University Center has a reservation request form for any event in the University Center, Rose Theatre and Field House. They will set up the entire event. They also work with the Tiger Dining for the catering menu. You can find the form on the university’s website at: http://saweb.memphis.edu/uc/forms.htm

A way to fully incorporate the PSA in the event is through sharing the video. Once you “share” the video, you are tweeted back with a special code that allows you to get a free T-shirt. There is an app now to track that retweeted any of the Hudson Health Center’s tweets. This could also work if you “like” the Facebook page or follow the “smoke-free initiative.” There are many online sources that you can design one that fit to the Hudson Health Center’s “smoke free initiative”. T- shirts are budget friendly, and they maximize student activity. To gain success, the Hudson Health Center should promote as much public exposure as they can. Here is one we designed:

We could promote the even with tactic two as well as sending out a mass email through the Hudson Health Center’s forwards. Social Media would be an effective way to reach the student’s of Memphis. Statics say that over 96% of college students use Facebook, while only 14% use Twitter. In this case, we should focus more on creating a communication line with Facebook. Posting a video on either site would be effective as well.


Social Networking is the fastest way to send a message out to your public. Promoting the event, supporting the “Go Green” effort, posting any news release article would be make the issue more widely known.

Posting videos and using hashtags for special events in the Memphis Healthy U is an easy way to keep up with how your potential clients (the students) will look at the proposal. It is also going to be a lot easier to measure the success or failure of the social networking route.

Facebook:By posting the PSA, we are educating our audience about the dangers of smoking while promoting a “smoke-free” campus.

Adding the video the your Facebook page will promote communication with the students and the Hudson Health Center.

“Join the #uomkickbutts event Monday, August 27 in the UC from 1-3 pm. There will be a special guest speaker as well as an airing of our special PSA. Come join UoM to be smoke-free.” Sharing medical articles via Facebook will also increase the chance that students will read the information.

“Smoking DOES kill. Don’t be the reason for your own death. Come to the UC on Monday, August 27 1-3pm to “Kick Butts”. It’s up to you.”

Add article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155038.php

Create a Facebook event. This should contain the entire lowdown on the event. The page means you can easily invite your fans and make it easy for them to share with their friends. You can create a Facebook Event from your fan Page for any business-related events. Alternatively, creating an Event from your personal profile enables you to message all invitees directly into their inbox.


Twitter: #uomkickbuttsWhile our research has shown that Facebook will the best way to communicate to the student body, twitter is an effective tool in two-way communication so you can see what people are saying about the event weeks before, during, and weeks after.

It is also important to keep the same hashtag before, up to, and after the event. This way people will be familiar with the event and what it is going to mean for students on campus.

You can link your Facebook and twitter page together to knock two things out at once. There is also an online source to execute your tweets at your desired time without you actually doing it. http://timely.is/#/ is an effective way to schedule your tweets for maximum impact.

Weeks coming up to the event, Twitter is going to be a valuable tool to engage not only your current student, but also the ones starting out in their freshman year.

But how can you penetrate the ENTIRE student body? Well choosing opinion leaders can be one of the most effective ways to send messages out.

Example:Pairing with an athletic department like Tiger Basketball will draw in a large crowd. People are more inclined to read a bulletin or flyer when the Tiger’s basketball team is involved.

By partnering with the Memphis Tigers for the event, we would have access to communication with their publics. As you can see, they have over 19,000 followers on Twitter. People want to read the basketball team’s tweets and what they are doing.


Recruiting the basketball team would not only be beneficial to the Hudson Health Center and the “Kick Butts” event, but it would be an opportunity to show off the team and boast moral throughout the entire campus.

Another way to engage our audience is to encourage live tweeting throughout the event. This is a very popular way to see why things like #uomkickbutts is trending on your friends twitter page and what people are saying about the initiative.

Add social share buttons to your event registration page including TweetMeme Retweet Button, Facebook Like Button and LinkedIn Share Button. This will increase your popularity perception, encouraging others to share. Capitalize on this by positioning your social share buttons at the top right “above the fold”.

EmailThe university sends out emails about the Tiger Blue, Goes Green initiative frequently. By sending out a campus-wide email, we are able to reach our audience in an effective way. Students are more likely to open an email from their school than they are for shopping. It is necessary to create a subject line that will not be overlooked by the occasional passers eye.


Flyer:This is a “Go Green” initiative so handing out flyers to the entire student body would probably contradict the cause. But by placing the flyers in “hot spots” all over campus, it will promote the event either way.

Print 100 flyers and place them all over campus.

Putting more flyers up in a place that is more occupied by smokers would be beneficial as well. Even though you are trying to educate people on the dangers of smoking, promoting the event to all students will cause for a greater turnout. By always making sure the #uomkickbutts is on every piece of information handed out and promoted, we are creating a brand for the event.

public relations final project - memphis healthy u

Documents

smokefree environments

smokefree policy

smokefree initiative

smokefree bill

percent smokefree campuses

secondhand smoke

university of memphis

hudson health center