VERB: It’s What You Do.
Growing up I watched a lot of television. When thinking about social marketing campaigns that personally affected myself and gave a lasting impression, a certain campaign came to mind. In between one of my frequent Lizzie McGuire marathons, a commercial such as this would come on:
As a child, I did not know who was behind these commercials or what even the purpose was of playing them so periodically. Honestly, the videos bugged me and I wanted the station to get back to the enthralling episode I was watching. I only knew one thing, those kids looked like they were having fun. No matter how often they would run the advertisements, they continued to captivate my attention no matter what.
CDC Youth Media Campaign
Upon recent research, I discovered that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was the group behind the advertisements. The campaign ran from 2002-2006 and its general goal was to increase and maintain physical activity among youths ranging from 9 to 13 specifically. The message was to motivate these tweens to find their “verb” and go out and do it. Whether it was swimming, biking, skateboarding etc., the CDC tried to persuade the audience to get active in something they enjoyed.
Since it was geared toward inactive adolescents, the campaign was designed to be fun and entertaining. It was not lecturing kids on why they should get physically active, yet it still got the message across. There was little said and it mostly let the actions do the talking. It showed just how fun it could be to go outside and play. In fact, it made it seem like physical activity was the “cool” thing to do and you were missing out if you were not doing it too. The campaign did not tell me what physical activity would do for my body; it showed me. They made it look easy.
Social Marketing
The commercials did not promote a specific product, which is why my 9-year-old self was confused at the general purpose. It simply provoked a voluntary behavior change with the “product” being a healthier lifestyle. Fittingly they aired on children’s television stations so it would reach kids such as myself sitting at home on the couch. They also typically did not last very long so attention was able to be kept the entire time.
There is mainly only one downside to social marketing campaigns. Where are the groups getting the funding to make these ads happen? In fact, the reason the campaign ended in 2006 was due to Congress cutting the funding. VERB was a multi-million dollar investment that effectively increased awareness in childhood obesity. Unlike other commercials where the product itself brings in steady revenue, social marketing campaigns rely on funding from a certain place to keep it going.
Social marketing campaigns such as this proved to be very successful and influential. During the time I viewed this as the target audience, I had no idea how much thought and calculation went into forming these advertisements and how they had an impact on me. In the future when attempting to promote activeness and motivate others to voluntarily make a change, I will consider what proved to be affective for myself.
Link to the CDC campaign information: http://www.cdc.gov/youthcampaign/