Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)

Between 2002 and 2009, VCU has conducted a campus-wide Social Norms Marketing (SNM) campaign to reduce high-risk alcohol use. Each year in February, survey data are collected using the National College Health Assessment (NCHA). Analysis of trends from 2002 to 2009 using our “NSNI criteria” cleaned NCHA data show a decrease in misperceptions about alcohol use, and a reduction in high risk drinking. While the the pattern in consumption varies somewhat from year to year, for most years it drops on average. Below is a summary of changes by gender between 2002 and 2009:

VCU male students

• PERCEPTION-Decrease in mean perception of the number of drinks from 6.1 drinks to 4.5 drinks.
• BEHAVIOR-Decrease in mean number of drinks per sitting from 6.25 drinks to 3.86 drinks.

VCU female students

• PERCEPTION- Decrease in mean perception of the number of drinks from 5.48 drinks to 4.31 drinks.
• BEHAVIOR-Decrease in mean number of drinks per sitting from 3.51 drinks to 2.69 drinks.

Background

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is an urban, public institution with an enrollment of over 32,000 students. The VCU student population is very diverse. VCU has a large School of the Arts and Theatre Department, and several well-known professional schools such as business, medicine, and engineering. Over the past 15 years, VCU has grown dramatically in size and has transitioned from what was once a primarily commuter campus to a more highly residential campus.

Project Funding Source

Funding for this project has been provided in the form of an unrestricted gift from the Anheuser-Busch Foundation.

Project Objective

Primary Objective: To reduce high risk drinking and negative consequences related to alcohol abuse by promoting positive health norms.

Secondary Objective: Increase credibility of the social norms message by using immediate normative group feedback in tandem with the SNM print campaign.

Normative Messages

Baseline focus group research in 2002 suggested that VCU students tend to be skeptical and counter-culture. Our urban culture attracts many diverse students who tend to question authority. VCU’s marketing plan led us to create normative messages that strategically avoid an “alcohol only” focus in order to reduce “push back” that a single issue campaign might provoke. Since the inception of VCU’s SNM effort, we have used a broad, multiple health message approach. We acknowledge skepticism. We encourage conversation about the misperception process and about health data in general. Our work with immediate feedback in groups has been very helpful in increasing acceptance of our normative messages. Each year, VCU’s lead campaign has been: "VCU Students are Healthier than you Think." Recognizable buildings from our campus and statistics from annual NCHA data collection are used to create this campaign. Messages in past years have included statements such as:

In addition, to keep the media fresh and to promote the use of harm-reduction skills, at least tow supplemental campaigns are produced each year. "What's Your Strategy?" is our primary harm-reduction campaign. We have also increased our use of the "Stall Seat Journal" campaign, which includes normative messages, multiple health messages, and harm reduction strategies.

Marketing Methods Employed

The campaign relies primarily on print media, but over the years has also used a variety of technological approaches to reach students such as online raffle submissions, clicker technology and Sit-TV technology. Each semester we conduct process research to assess the reach and impact of the campaign. During both fall and spring semesters, we collect over 600 mall intercept surveys and routinely collect in-class surveys as well. This process research has consistently shown that we reach market saturation rates of over 90% by the end of each semester. This has led us to gradually shape and improve the marketing methods utilized.

Process research has led us to move more of our print media into bathroom stalls. Students enjoy this media channel and consistently request more Stall Seat Journal posters. We now have poster holders in over 800 bathrooms on campus and distribute the Stall Seat Journal on a monthly basis. Results from the 2009 online NCHA survey (n=1903) found that 93.2% of students reported having seen at least one SNM poster with the median number equaling 10 posters. The same study showed that 36.7% of surveyed VCU students report having attended at least one clicker session.

In 2003 and 2004, VCU pioneered the use of the “snowball survey” technique for immediate normative group feedback (see article below). Since 2005, VCU has been using a technology called “audience response systems” or “clickers”. This technology provides all participants with hand-held response pads and allows for immediate feedback that is anonymous. Dr. Joseph LaBrie first coined the term “BLING” (Brief Live Interactive Normative Groups). VCU has been conducting BLING sessions for over three years with numerous campus groups. BLING groups have been conducted for incoming freshmen at Welcome Week, UNIV 101 orientation classes, with student leaders (RAs, orientation assistants, student security guards), Greek chapters, athletic teams, and classes by request. Because PowerPoint is used with the clicker systems, it also allows us to display digital versions of the SNM posters and conduct market saturation surveys throughout the course of the year. This component also helps us to draw participants’ attention to the print media campaign on campus.

In 2009, VCU’s NCHA online survey showed that one-third of the student population (approximately 10,000 students) had participated in at least one BLING session. Our data suggest that a 20-minute session can result in a perception shift of 30-40% of the group to accurate alcohol use norms. Data from fall 2008 show that freshmen who participated in a BLING session at Welcome Week were more likely to have healthy normative perceptions and less likely to engage in high-risk drinking than students who did not participate in a BLING session. These results were statistically significant (see graphs below).

All of our media and normative messages can be found at www.yourstategy.org. This site serves a dual purpose. It allows us to communicate with our target population, but it also allows us to share media and findings freely with other colleges, high achools, and community groups. PDFs of all media are easy to download and adaptable for use at other locations.

Articles related to SNM and to this project:

Rice, R. and Hancock, L. (2005). "The Mall Intercept: A Social Norms Marketing Research Tool". The Report on Social Norms. Vol.4, No.7: 4-7, Garfield, NJ, Paper-Clip Communications.

Hancock, L. (2006). Social Norms Review, Audience Response Technology in Social Norms Marketing: Getting Students to Believe with the Click of a Button. Online at www.socialnorms.org, Volume 1, Issue 4.

Vatalaro, K. and Hancock, L. (2004). Increasing Credibility of Social Norms Marketing Campaigns Using the "Snowball Survey Intervention". The Report on Social Norms, Volume 3, No. 7, Garfield, NJ, Paper-Clip Communications.

Further Information

For further information, see the VCU project web site: YourStrategy.org or contact the principal investigator.

Principal Investigator

Linda Hancock, FNP, PhD, (PI), lhancock@mail1.vcu.edu

Amanda Wattenmaker, MPH, CHES, (co-investigator), wattenmakeab@vcu.edu

Wellness Resource Center (804) 828-9355
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA 23284