Case Study: Developing a Teen-friendly Health Database

Client
Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Division of STD Prevention.

The Public Health Challenge
To reduce incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among urban, black and Latino adolescents, aged 15-19 in Massachusetts.

The Strategy
Through formative research with teens, Health Resource in Action's Health Communication Services learned that a campaign around STD screening and prevention was premature, as teens were either not aware of teen-friendly health services or they distrusted them. Thus, formative research with the target audience informed the initial strategy and guided Health Resources in Action in the direction of developing a teen-friendly brand around health services. As there was no existing state-wide hotline or website where such services could be readily found, Health Resources in Action created a "virtual network" of adolescent friendly health services as part of the central tool, www.urhealthstyle.com. Health Resources in Action also developed accompanying print, viral and street campaigns to make the target audience aware of the website and the searchable database. Concept and design were developed by youth artists and street teams were comprised of teens.

Additional outreach via radio, viral and web outlets were also employed. For instance, Massachusetts teens could see their own words on a real-life graffiti mural on-line, watch teen artists at work through video and photography, and access teen-friendly health services and information with the latest URhealthstyle.com campaign. Health Communication Services employed Social Media Optimization via links and content in relevant web portals to enhance website search-ability, digital PR was used to gain the attention of online influencers, and SEM/Paid search on Google and relevant Google search pages in Massachusetts was implemented using key search words and phrases such as health clinics Boston, sexual advice, pregnancy, etc. The goal was to reach as many urban black and Latino adolescents in Massachusetts with the URhealthstyle brand and message, and get them into teen-friendly health centers.

The Impact
For the initial launch in May 2007, transit and street marketing resulted in nearly 100,000 consumer impressions, with over 4500 unique visitors to the website, who conducted 1200 searches. The media buy lasted three months in 22 subway stations/bus routes. For the street outreach specifically, HRiA estimates over 22,000 consumer impressions, and through word-of-mouth, promo card drop-offs, and general visibility of the brand, TMF estimates the indirect buzz to be at least three to five times that amount.

The most recent marketing effort, launched in January 2009 and lasting eight weeks, netted similar results. Unique traffic to the site increased over six-fold during the campaign. Google Adwords netted over 210,000 impressions with over 1500 total clicks. Social media press releases netted over 150 views on various PR web-based sites; over 200 high schools, health centers, and youth serving organizations were targeted via digital pr and community outreach with a more than 15% response rate; while over 200 network connections were contacted via a Facebook Fanpage and over 80 individuals were targeted via a MySpace page. Over 80 relevant links were targeted which generated over 30 link backs including health sites, teen organizations, and schools. Visits to the urhealthstyle website increased by 954% from pre-2009 campaign v. two months later.

The HRiA Advantage
Health Resources in Action's knowledge of youth culture and youth media usage helped to create an statewide youth movement and brand that continues to build in membership and create awareness around tobacco issues. Expertise in formative research, web development, campaign strategy, and multi-media (from street marketing to media buys and online outreach), allowed for a dynamic, integrated and effective campaign that excited young people and drew policy maker and opinion leader attention.