Explain what is meant when we say the point of this campaign is to build a brand relationship. How did this campaign succeed in that objective? How was effectiveness determined? If you were on the marketing team and were asked to develop a broader set of evaluation tools, what would you recommend and why?
In the beginning of the chapter, you read about LiveWell Colorado’s Awakening Campaign, a major communication effort aimed at engaging residents in healthier lifestyles. Now you’ll find out about its effectiveness. Within one year following the official campaign launch, LiveWell Colorado exceeded 500,000 “gut checks” calculated on the LiveWell Colorado website and attracted more than 100,000 website visitors—a 540 percent increase compared to traffic prior to the campaign. The Facebook page attracted more than 16,000 fans, an increase of 13,000 before the campaign, and LiveWell Colorado successfully launched a LiveWell Moms ambassador program that has since connected more than 800 moms from across the state to advocate for healthier living. To date, the Awakening Campaign has received numerous accolades, including a Telly Award and “Best Website” award from PR News Nonprofit. More importantly, attitudes have shifted. A campaign assessment/research effort included many of the same questions asked in the prior year to test the effectiveness of LiveWell Colorado’s educational outreach, obesity awareness, and any resulting behavioral change for Coloradans. Again, 1,100 people from diverse backgrounds throughout Colorado were surveyed. This was the first known rigorous analysis of changes in knowledge and attitudes following a statewide public education campaign targeting obesity. The Results? Coloradans gained a better understanding of obesity from before the campaign’s implementation. Obesity is less someone else’s issue, and many more people have faced a reality check that they have work to do. Perceptions of one’s own weight status as being overweight increased nine points, from 46 to 55 percent (now more consistent with Colorado’s actual rate of 55 percent obese and overweight adults). The “Awakening” campaign suggests that educational campaigns are a potentially useful means to increase public understanding of obesity as a personal health issue and, ultimately, to facilitate behavior change toward improved prevention of obesity.