SAYING “NO” IS COOL, TOO
Underage Substance Use
Saying “No” Is Cool, Too increased awareness of the risks of underage vaping, alcohol use, and marijuana use to two primary audiences: Laramie County youth (under 18) and parents of Laramie County youth. For the youth campaign, messaging centered around the idea that “saying no is cool, too” and shared ways for youth to stand strong in their choice not to drink, smoke, or vape. For the parent campaign, messaging focused on conversation starters parents could use when talking to their children about the risks (and consequences) of underage substance use. Campaign collateral was unique to each audience and substance.
Role
Graphic Design
Client
Wyoming Institute
of Population health
Agency
West Edge
CHALLENGE
The Wyoming Institute of Population Health came to West Edge to help inform each audience of ways teens can say “no” and stand strong against peer pressure to use substances, and to provide information to parents about ways they can talk to their teenagers about substance use. We made a point to steer clear of the guilt-based tactics often used in similar campaigns and instead crafted messaging that felt positive and empowering for Laramie County teens.
APPROACH
We know teens care about what their peers think, so really emphasizing that you can be cool not doing substances was our main message. Landing pages, infographics, and a presentation document used statistics that were local to Laramie County about each specific substance to help educate the audience further. Given the constant stream of media teens take in nowadays, we knew we needed graphics that would capture their attention and rise above the noise of their saturated feeds. Bright, bold colors with fun, interesting graphics were created to make sure the campaign felt approachable to the younger audience.
IMPACT
Over a 4 month period, we successfully increased underage substance use awareness in Laramie County with the use of digital ads, social ads, and a landing page filled with information and resources. Posters were printed and distributed to schools across the county, as well as a presentation document was created to help the client’s team with presentations they do for the high schools around the county. The media campaign saw 2,814,087 impressions with an average of visitors spending 5 minutes and 41 seconds on the landing page.