Effects of a Mass Media Campaign to Increase Physical Activity Among Children: Year-1 Results of the VERB Campaign

Published in the journal Pediatrics, this 10-page evaluation shares the results of the first year of VERB, a multi-ethnic national campaign that combines paid advertisements with school and community promotions and internet activities to encourage children 9 to 13 years of age living in the United States to be physically active every day. In short, the evaluation found that the strategy of promoting physical activity with child-focused commercial advertising shows promise.

Evaluators used 2 primary approaches to determine the impact of the VERB campaign, by examining: (1) the relationship between increasing levels of campaign awareness/understanding and levels of reported physical activity sessions and (2) the campaign's overall effect on the nation's 9- to 13-year-old youth or a subgroup of them. A baseline survey was conducted in April to June 2002, before the launch of VERB advertising; the follow-up survey was repeated with the same cohort of children and parents (a total of 3120 parent-child dyads) in April to June 2003.

The campaign's first-year goal was to establish the VERB brand and achieve 50% awareness of VERB among 9- to 13-year-old youth; the evaluation found that this goal was exceeded by 24 percentage points (74% awareness), which "reflects the campaign's significant mass media efforts in establishing an identity and a clear message. Achieving awareness and understanding of a campaign brand and message is an essential first step in influencing children's attitudes and behaviors."

Further, a significant positive relationship was detected between the level of awareness of VERB and weekly median sessions of free-time physical activity among several sub-populations of 9- to 13-year-old
youth, meaning that, as VERB awareness increased, levels of physical activity increased. This effect was observed among 9- to 10-year-old children, girls, children whose parent had less than a high school education, children in urban areas, and children engaging in low levels of physical activity at baseline. The subgroup of 9- to 10-year-old children overall engaged in 1.1 more sessions of activity in their free time than did those not exposed to the campaign, which means that the VERB campaign resulted in 34% more free-time physical activity sessions among all 9- to 10-year-old children, compared with children who were not aware of the campaign.

Reflecting strategically on the impacts on several subgroups, evaluators note that VERB's influence with 9- to 10-year-old children might be linked to the fact that the campaign's key message in the first year ("getting active is fun") and the campaign's emphasis on the social and friendship aspects of physical activity were motivating to younger children. Evaluators note that influencing girls was an important campaign effect, speculating that VERB's emphasis on the social benefits of physical activity likely appealed to girls. Finally, the effects reported for children in urban settings and children whose surveyed parent had less than a high school education suggest that the VERB advertisements connected with these youth by portraying activities that were realistic and accurate for their neighbourhoods and life experiences.

Based on these findings, the evaluators suggest that, "With careful planning and the resources to purchase media time during children's prime viewing times, the VERB campaign was able to implement fully a commercial marketing strategy that also included extensive audience research and development of the VERB brand to communicate messages that physical activity is fun, cool, and a chance to be with friends, not a typical 'do it, it's good for you' public health message. Leveraging the purchased media time to garner substantial added-value support from media partners gave opportunities to surround children in more ways, such as in schools and at promotional events."

In conclusion, this report highlights the fact that public health programmes that adopt "the sophisticated techniques that the private sector uses to promote products to customers" can be effective on a national scale, reaching "millions of young people simultaneously" with health messages.