Reach, receptivity, and beliefs associated with the fresh empire campaign to prevent and reduce cigarette use among youth in the United States

Abstract

Purpose To determine the association between exposure to FDA's Fresh Empire tobacco public education campaign and tobacco-related beliefs. Design Repeated cross-sectional data collection design with embedded longitudinal cohort over six data collection waves. Setting 30 US evaluation markets. Sample Hip Hop peer crowd-identified US youth aged 12-18 (N = 5,378). Measures Self-reported brand and video ad awareness (saw any ad at least sometimes) and perceived effectiveness (1-5 scale) to describe campaign awareness and receptivity. Exogenous exposure was measured using population-adjusted broadcast and digital video impressions. Tobacco-related beliefs included beliefs about smoking risks, attitudes towards tobacco-free people and lifestyles, and normative beliefs about smoking. Analysis Descriptive analyses of awareness, receptivity, and agreement with tobacco-related beliefs. Logistic regression models to determine the relationship between broadcast and digital video impressions and beliefs. Intervention Fresh Empire campaign. Results The campaign generated a high level of reach (71% brand and 66% video ad awareness at final wave) and messages were well-received (across waves 3.5-4.1 mean perceived effectiveness scores). Higher broadcast television exposure was associated with increased agreement with five beliefs related to addiction/control, being a bad influence on family/friends, and cosmetic effects of smoking (breath and attractiveness) (ORs = 1.16-1.27, (Ps < .05)). Conclusion Fresh Empire successfully reached and resonated with Hip Hop-identified youth. The campaign was associated with a limited number of targeted beliefs.