Need for social marketing campaign to combat teen marijuana use
Written Assignment #5
Sara Quale
6/8/14
MPH 588/Marketing in Public Health
Lea Pounds
Core product/core values This campaignencourages parents to speak to their children about the consequences of marijuana use as a teen. The product mustappeal to the parents’ core values. The basic core values most people hold are freedom, independence, autonomy and control over their lives (Resnik & Siegel, 2013). Most parents also want to instill those values in their children.According to the primary socialization theory (PST) people adopt social norms during childhood and adolescence based on the influences from their family, school and peer groups (Nurco & Lerner, 1999).This public health program aims to have parents of middle school-aged children speak with their children about the consequences of using marijuana.
The core product stemming from the adoption of this behavior appeals to the parents’ and children’s sense of freedom, independence and autonomy.It appeals to the parents’ sense of freedom because it allows them to be free from the worry of having children who are naïve to the impacts of drug use. It also allows the parents to potentially raise their children free from the negative consequences that can result from drug use. Those consequences include: potential loss of earning opportunity; potential negative impact on educational attainment; risk of addiction; increased risk of using other drugs; risk of respiratory problems; and impaired judgment (Ringel, Ellickson & Collins, 2006; National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2014).
Noting those risks of marijuana use, the parents and children may see a benefit of independence and economic opportunity if the child ultimately decides not to use marijuana. In addition, the benefits provided by this behavior change appeal to both the parents’ and children’s sense of autonomy because both can make decisions independent of the restrictions they may have faced if a child chose to use marijuana illegally and faced repercussions that impacted school and extracurricular activities. Ultimately, the program will aim to show parents that this behavior changeprovides more benefits than choosing a short-term, easier path of ignoring the problem of drug use in teens.
Goods, services and actionable informationThe program to encourage parents to talk to their children about marijuana use will be supported by a combination of services and information for parents to help them make a decision about whether to and how to talk to their children.The service will include workshops coordinated through athletic and activity departments, school counselors and the Colorado High School Activities Association to reach parents of students in middle school. The workshops will provide information about the consequences of using marijuana as a child and how those consequences can impact the child’s future educational and career opportunities. We also will cover the risk factors that impact a child’s decision and how big of a risk it currently is in the respective communities now that pot is legal for adults in Colorado. The emphasis will be on the consequences and potential limits to freedoms of both children and their parents.
The program will provide written material and online resources to these families in avenues where they are most accessible. Because we want to target this population at a time when the children are most likely to try marijuana for the first time, we will provide written educational materials, posters and online resources through public and private schools including back to school nights, registration sessions and school programs as children and families are making decisions about what activities – and peer groups – the child will join. In addition we will provide information to family physicians to be made available to parents when they have children seen for annual back-to-school physicals. It is important here to provide complete background information about the prevalence and risk of smoking marijuana among teens and the consequences that can result rather than succumb to the “curse of knowledge” and assume those parents already understand the problem (Pound, 2014.)
Positioning statement We want parents and caregivers of middle school-aged children to see that talking to their children now about marijuana use will preserve freedom, independence and autonomy, which is more important than ignoring or minimizing the issue of drug use among teens.
In framing the issue as a choice parents can make to help preserve freedom for themselves and their children, the program uses the metaphor of high hopes. The catch phrase is “You’ve always had high hopes for your children. But not that high.” The imagery is a split screen showing a parent walking and holding hands with a toddler. The second screen shows that toddler as a teen, inhaling from a joint. The messaging will be to encourage parents to talk to their children about marijuana use presenting it as a choice that the children will have to face. By emphasizing this as a choice, they affirm the child’s independence, but they also can show that making the wrong choice can limit the child’s opportunities later on. The program also will position the behavior choice as one the parents must make to ensure preservation of opportunities for their children later on.
References
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Pounds, Lea, (2014). Sendr communication model, [PowerPoint document]. Retrieved from lecture notes online website:
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