The University of Arizona social norms media campaign addresses misperceptions about college student alcohol use (as well as other college health issues such as tobacco use and sexual behaviors) through a series of social normative advertisements, posters and newsletters appearing regularly throughout the academic year. Below is a brief step-by-step account of how these media are created and produced by UA Campus Health staff.

Special Note: Higher education professionals who are just beginning to consider the viability and practicality of a social norms media campaign for their campuses are encouraged to read the following publications:

Is Your Campus Ready for a Social Norms Marketing Campaign?

Report on Social Norms: www.socialnormslink.com

Collect and analyze data, and select at least five or six preliminary campaign messages designed to correct key misperceptions in your target population.

The social norms approach for alcohol use involves presenting accurate majority (normative) information that addresses campus drinking misperceptions. Use a standardized survey, or develop a survey, that allows you to measure behavior, protection, attitudes and beliefs regarding alcohol use. Analyze the data in such a way that you will be able to create positive messages about alcohol-related behaviors, beliefs and attitudes that represent the majority of the target population.

Create a variety of different messages so that materials do not become stale, and so the target population gets the information from several different angles. For example, a campus-wide misperception that most students are frequent heavy drinkers can be corrected not only by messages about how much and often the majority of students drink, but also by where students draw the line between drinking and school responsibilities, drinking and driving, and – if they drink – what they do to stay safe or lower their level of intoxication.

Choose the campaign format, placement and overall design.

Campus Health staff rely heavily on student input when making decisions about format and placement of the UA social norms media campaign. UA surveys ask students where they typically get their information, and in what form they prefer to receive it.

Using information you have collected about where the target population gets its information – which channels are most/least believable – consider it in light of what your budget will support, and what will provide adequate “dosage” of the messages on a regular basis. The UA social norms media campaign uses ¼ page advertisements that are placed weekly in the Arizona Daily Wildcat (campus newspaper); 11x17 inch posters that are hung regularly in residence halls, classrooms and student service buildings; and single page newsletters about college health issues that are published and distributed directly to students’ mailboxes on a monthly basis.

Media design is heavily influenced by continual review of magazines, design books and stock photography to see how commercial advertisers design for a college population. It is also influenced by student feedback gathered in previous years about what they liked and didn’t like about past media campaigns.

Produce pilot materials and begin market-testing.

Pilot material production involves developing 3-4 pilot designs of ads/posters/ newsletters that could potentially be used in your campaign. If you plan to have photos of students featured on your ads/posters, it will also involve conducting a photo shoot and selecting images to be used in the media campaign. At the UA, we ensure that every poster or ad contains these five standard elements: a normative message, a photo of students in a familiar campus location, a credible data source, drink equivalency information, and a recognizable logo.

To market-test your pilot materials, use a variety of techniques such as one-on-one interviews, small focus group interviews, and paper and pencil opinion polls. Ask questions that will give you student feedback about visibility and credibility of the messages, understandability and impact of the messages, and their reactions to the design and layout of the media.

Make sure to market-test your pilot materials with as many of the major sub-groups represented in your target population as possible. For example, a campus social norms alcohol campaign should test materials with those who are under 21 and over 21; freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors; men and women; drinkers and non-drinkers; commuter students and residential students; members of a social fraternity and non-members; etcetera. Campaign materials should also be tested with secondary targets – those who may be carriers of the misperception, and/or who may be exposed to the campaign (e.g., campus administrators, campus visitors, parents).

Incorporate market-test feedback, and produce and distribute finished materials.

Feedback from the target population should guide the direction of the campaign, and the production and placement of all materials. Small changes in the way a message is worded, or how the data is referenced, or how a poster is designed can make a big difference in the credibility, visibility and interpretation of the information.

Once feedback is incorporated into your campaign and you have a final media product, you are ready for distribution. Regular and frequent exposure of the campus to the media campaign is, perhaps, the greatest contributor to overall success of a social norms media campaign. Try to use as many vehicles as possible to deliver your campaign messages – campus newspapers, classroom bulletin boards, student mailboxes, residence hall cable television channels, presentations, the student union, etcetera.

Conduct ongoing evaluation.

Through ongoing focus group and key informant interviews, you will be able to stay alert as to whether your social norms messages and supporting materials are being seen, are perceived to be credible and plausible, and are correcting key misperceptions. Expect that believability of the messages will be low in the beginning, but should increase over time.

Also, listen to and document anecdotes about what people are saying about the campaign. Watch for outside influences that may alter the meaning of the norms messages, or may cast suspicion on the campaign or campaign sponsors. Be ready to make adjustments in message placement and scheduling as issues arise.

For more detailed information about the University of Arizona’s Alcohol Abuse Prevention Program, call (520) 621-5700 for a copy of the booklet, A Practical Guide to Alcohol Abuse Prevention: A Campus Case Study in Implementing Social Norms and Environmental Management Approaches, or download a copy (.pdf format) from the guidebook section of this website.