CLIENT: Kaiser Family Foundation
PR:
MTV Public Relations
BUDGET: N/A
TIMEFRAME: 1997-today
"If I had a rash downstairs, I think I'd know," says one
dreadlocked, camouflage-clad youth directly to camera. "Most STDs
(sexually transmitted diseases) have no symptoms at all,"
contradicts the voice-over in the latest PSA in the "Fight For Your
Rights: Protect Yourself" campaign produced by MTV: Music
Television and the Kaiser Family Foundation, a private
non-profit that provides information and analysis on health issues
to policy makers, the media and the general public.
The spot is part of a nine-year-long joint Emmy and Peabody
Award-winning campaign that includes PSAs, programming, Web sites,
grassroots events, advocacy groups and toll- free hotlines manned
with special health advisers aimed at informing and empowering
young people on sexual health issues. It has resulted during the
past few years in more than one million viewers calling the
campaign's hotline and nearly 100 million watching the
sexual-health programming.
With so many increasingly risqué TV programs and movies
taking over where Hustler left off, plus the rise of the Web
facilitating the video sexploits of Paris, Pamela et al,
young people are being confronted with sex at an earlier and
earlier age. Throw into the mix a new, more aggressive strain of
AIDS and the fact that more than one in two new HIV infections
occur among young people, and you have a potential epidemic waiting
to happen.
It was the growing awareness of such issues that prompted Kaiser
to approach MTV back in 1997. "We had tried different strategies to
get out information, including sending the media traditional PSAs
in the hope somebody airs them," says Tina Hoff, vp/director of
Kaiser's entertainment media partnership. But that approach was not
working. "We thought MTV would be a great partner in reaching young
people about such issues. So our strategy became to go to the
places where young people were," she says.
Kaiser already had a long history of doing research and work on
AIDS and related issues with such partners as the Washington
Post and National Public Radio. What was new was trying
to find a way to communicate it publicly. "Public-health statistics
showed a growing level of STDs and teen pregnancies in 1997," Hoff
says. "HIV was so disproportionately affecting young people that
there was a need for someone to address these issues, so we
proposed to MTV that we work together on a public-information
effort."
MTV, which has a number of similar relationships with other
non-profits, including Rock the Vote, proved receptive.
According to Ian Rowe, vp of strategic partnerships and public
affairs at MTV, "These kind of programs and PSAs help reinforce the
message that we're the one place our audience can find good
information about issues they care about. Very few other networks
can even produce this kind of programming and get a credible
response from their audience. We engage young people by being
funny, interesting and creative. No one else is out there doing
it."
It all began with a few public-service messages, and some joint
programming and original shows, evolving into a highly successful
and effective partnership and producing some two dozen
public-service messages a year along with 20 original shows.
There's also a toll-free hotline (1-888-BE SAFE1) and
thousands of information guides based on comprehensive original
research by both Kaiser and MTV.
"We try to present this information in a way that's fun and
compelling to watch so it doesn't feel like taking medicine," Hoff
says. "Preachy messages don't work, so we're trying to empower
young people with information by talking to them in a voice they
recognize. The MTV brand has tremendous credibility with
people."
What's distinguished this campaign from other public- service
efforts is the level of creativity involved. "Over the years, we've
learned what works," Rowe says. "Scare tactics typically don't, on
a sustained basis. What does is first-person storytelling, where
young people share real stories of individuals. It's incredibly
powerful and makes individuals feel they are not alone."
In order to stand out from the clutter, issues have to resonate.
"We want to be seen as a trusted, credible resource to the
18-or-19-year-old kid trying to make decisions," Rowe says. "One of
the advantages of working at MTV is that because we know how to
engage young people through pure entertainment, we can bring the
same quality of creative thinking to other issues."
In addition to on-air promos and programming, MTV and Kaiser do
joint events; Kaiser also has an extensive presence on the MTV Web
site. "We're both interested in finding new ways to break through,
so the campaign looks very different from when we launched," Hoff
says. "Its success lies with the way we work with media, and our
ability to target and speak directly to the audience. Key is
keeping up with technology and new advances in the issues."
The nature of the partnership also has proved important. While
MTV provides media space, assets, and the creative and
communications expertise, Kaiser provides an understanding of the
issues and a large body of existing public-health communication
work. "It's how we fit those two together that makes this work,"
Hoff says.
Not that MTV's interests are solely altruistic. "We do like to
let people know that MTV is very concerned with the audience on
many levels," Rowe says. "But we don't do it just for that purpose.
If we did, our audience would see through it in a heartbeat."
As for results, frequent research shows not just that most of
the audience is familiar with the campaign and is taking more
responsibility in their sexual relationships, but it also is doing
things like getting tested and going to a doctor. "For nine years,
we've been able to keep a high level of retention and interest,"
Hoff says. "Our view is that there's no silver bullet here with the
media, and that media alone isn't going to solve all of these
problems. We think it's a piece of the bigger picture, and what's
important is that younger people are getting information."
She adds: "Teen sexual activity has decreased in recent years.
Condom use has gone up, and many people are waiting longer to have
sex. On issues like pregnancy and disease, we've seen upticks in
young people getting tested. We're reaching the people who need to
be reached."
Contacts: Tina Hoff, 650.854.9400 x 210, [email protected]; Ian Rowe, 212. 846.6992,
[email protected]