Maximizing the Impact of Digital Media Campaigns to Promote

Smoking Cessation: A Case Study of the California Tobacco

Control Program and the California Smokers' Helpline

Kristin Harms

Communications Manager

June 18, 2015

• About Us

• Background

• Why Target Behavioral Health

Professionals?

• Behavioral Health Professional

Advertising Campaign

• Lessons Learned

Agenda

• Free, evidence-based tobacco cessation

program accessible by phone

• Established in1992 by University of California,

San Diego (UCSD) researchers

• Operated by UCSD Moores Cancer Center

• Has served over 700,000 Californians

About Us

• Up to five, one on one, telephone counseling sessions

with a trained counselor

• Self-help materials

• Referral to local cessation programs

• Texting program

• Special counseling protocols for pregnant smokers,

teens, and tobacco chewers

• Available in English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin,

Korean, Vietnamese

• Free nicotine patches for some eligible callers

Services

Helpline Funding

• Proposition 99: The Tobacco Tax &

Health Protection Act of 1988

• Passed in 1988 by 58% of the voters

• Raised the cigarette tax by 25¢ a pack

• 5¢ goes to the California Tobacco Control

Program and the California Department

of Education

State of California Tobacco Control

• California one of two states meeting Healthy

People 2020 goal of 12% prevalence or less

• Prevalence of smoking among adults fell from

23.7% in 1988 to 12.7% in 20121

• Per capita tobacco consumption fell from 123

packs per adult per year in 1988 to 34 packs in

2011, a decrease of more than 72%2

1. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 1984-2012

2. CDPH, 2012. State Health Officer’s Report on Tobacco Use and Promotion in

California.

Tobacco Control Challenges

• 3.6 million smokers

• Helpline serves about 1% of the smoking

population in California annually

• Average reach of all U.S. quitlines is 1.35%

• Centers for Disease Control (CDC) goal is

at least 6% reach

• Helpline receives about 16% of the funding

recommended by CDC

Helpline Promotion

• 1993: Consumer

advertising by California

Tobacco Control Program

(CTCP)

• 2005: Provider outreach by

California Smokers’

Helpline (CSH)

• 2009: Provider advertising

by CSH

Provider Advertising Campaigns

• Smokers with behavioral health conditions

have smoking rates 2-4 times higher than the

general population1

• The majority of persons with mental illness

and substance use disorders want to quit

smoking and want information on cessation

services and resources2

• Persons with mental illness and substance

use disorders can successfully quit tobacco3

1. Kalman, 2005; 2. Prochaska et.al., 2004, Prochaska et al,,2009, Joseph et.al., 2004 ; 3. el-Guebaly, Cathcart, Currie,

Brown, & Gloster, 2002;

Why Target Behavioral Health Professionals?

• Drug and alcohol counselors

• Psychiatric nurses

• Clinical social workers

• Marriage and family therapists

• Clinical psychologists

• Physicians: family practice, internal medicine,

psychiatry

Target Audience

"People with mental illness and substance

use disorders want to quit smoking, can

quit successfully, and you can help them."

Core Message

• Talk to your patients/clients about quitting

smoking

• For more help, refer your patients/clients

to 1-800-NO-BUTTS for free help quitting

smoking

• Visit www.nobutts.org for free training,

information, and patient materials

Call to Action

Print Creative

Digital Ads

Digital Ads

Digital Ads

Digital Ads

• Print Ads: Addiction Professional, California Psychologist

• Website Banner Ads: American Psychological Association, Medscape, Wiley Online Library

• Email: Addiction Professional e-Blasts, Advance for Nurses e-Blasts, National Association of Social Workers (NASW) e-Newsletter, Nurse.com e-Blast

• Direct Mail: National Association of Social Workers members in California, American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists members in California

• Added Value Placements

Campaign Channels

• Print and digital advertising: February through

September 2012

• Direct mail: February, April, June, and August

2012

Schedule

Campaign Offers

• Provider Tool Kit

– Tobacco Cessation for Persons with Mental

Illness or Substance Use Disorders fact sheet

– Ready to Quit Smoking? patient flyer

– Helpline materials order form

Campaign Offers

• Three Webinars

– Smoking and Behavioral Health

– Latest Research and Promising Practices for

Treating Tobacco in Smokers with

Co-Occurring Mental Disorders

– Treating Tobacco Dependence in Smokers

with Substance Use Disorders

Marketing Automation

Lead Capture Form

http://info.nobutts.org/help-your-patients-quit-kit

Process Measures

• Number of new contacts or leads

• Number of orders of Helpline promotional

materials

• Number of webinar registrants

e-Mail 46.5%

Direct Mail 14.7%

Web Banner Ads 33.7%

Print 5.1%

e-Mail

Direct Mail

Web Banner Ads

Print

New Leads: 901

e-Mail, $51.55

Digital Ads, $177.14

Direct Mail, $177.76

Print, $241.30 e-Mail

Digital Ads

Direct Mail

Print

Average Cost Per Lead: $122

Provider Kit, 28.9%

Webinar #1, 21.5%

Webinar #2, 18.1%

Webinar #3, 26.4%

Webinar Recordings, 5.1%

Provider Kit

Webinar #1

Webinar #2

Webinar #3

Webinar Recordings

Effectiveness of Offers

949

50

1068

99

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Total Orders of PromotionalMaterials

Orders by Behavioral HealthProviders

1-11 to 9-11

1-12 to 9-12

New Customers

Lessons Learned

• Target a specific audience with a relevant

message

• Utilize specialized publishers that reach your

target audience

• Combine a variety of media with more

emphasis on online advertising and less on

print

• Field test creative

• Rotate creative frequently

Lessons Learned

• Keep campaigns short and impactful

(6 months or less)

• Offer a few relevant, compelling offers

• Develop measurable objectives and evaluation

criteria

• Identify appropriate metrics and data sources

at the outset

• Set up analytics tracking

• Consider hiring a digital media consultant

Future Implications for Helpline

• Redesign Helpline website to improve visitor

experience and increase search engine

optimization

• Develop an e-commerce site for processing orders

of print materials and integrate with HubSpot

• Purchase a new webinar platform and integrate

with HubSpot

• Purchase a customer relationship management

program and integrate with HubSpot

• Test increased use of social media

Californian Journal of Health Promotion

http://www.cjhp.org/Volume12Issue3_2014/vol12_issue3.htm

Kristin Harms

Communications Manager

California Smokers’ Helpline

kharms@ucsd.edu

(858) 300-1011

Contact Information