American Legacy Foundation

Company: American Legacy Foundation, Washington, DC
Company Description: The American Legacy Foundation® develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use, especially among vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco, through grants, technical assistance and training, partnerships, youth activism, and counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Public Service

Nomination Title: truth orange summer tour 2009

1. Tell the story about this nominated campaign since January 1 2009 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Every year, truth®, the largest national youth smoking prevention campaign for
teens, tours the country to directly reach teens with information about the
marketing tactics of the tobacco industry, the truth about addiction, and the
health effects and social consequences of smoking. Given that 80% of current
smokers started before the age of 18, providing 2-17 year olds with information
that allows them to make informed decisions about tobacco use is vitally important.

This year, two crews and their iconic orange “truth® trucks” made more than 60
stops across 25 states, as they traveled to some of the season’s hottest
teen-oriented events. One crew spent the summer traveling with the Vans Warped
Tour®, an annual summer rock festival featuring upcoming bands.

A second truth® crew appeared at different venues including:
• AST Dew Tour, an action sports tour.
• ROCK THE BELLS 2009, an international hip hop festival.
• Simon Malls dTOUR Live(R), one of the biggest teen mall tours in the country.
• truth® also made impromptu appearances at popular teen-oriented events such as
music events, skateparks, beaches and more.

At each tour stop, crew members engaged in peer-to-peer interaction with teens
attending the concerts and events; held fashion shows, dance contests, freestyle
rap “battles”, and DJ lessons; and gave out items like tee shirts, bags, and
bracelets. Each item of the truth® “gear” subtly reinforced facts about tobacco
and incorporated cool graphics and designs, creating sought after items that
teens were proud to wear.

The interaction did not end at the tour stops, but continued online at
thetruth.com where youth could read blogs written by crew members, see photos of
other stops, and enter contests. truth® amassed more than 36,000 e-mail
addresses while on the road this year, continuing the trend of teens actively
keeping in touch with the campaign.

The campaign was also active on social media sites: posting photos and videos on
flickr, interacting with fans on Facebook, and sending updates from the road to
both the press and the public via twitter.

To further extend the reach of the summer program, the public relations team
focused on providing content for local journalists that mirrored what teens
experience on tour by bringing crew members and/or the truth® truck directly to
the media outlets. In a summer marked by grim news, team members highlighted
the “feel-good” aspect of the work of truth® crew members – focusing on how this
energetic and committed group of young people make a positive difference in
communities across the nation by helping to tackle one of the nation’s most
pressing public health problems.

The team had fantastic results, including:
• Earned media impressions for the integrated campaign beginning in June totaled
more than 71 million.
• Over the course of the tour, truth® reached more than 100,000 teens with
potentially life-saving information.
• The crew distributed more than 35,000 pieces of educational gear.
• Met with more than 20 Congressional staffers to educate them on the work of
the truth® campaign.

2. List hyperlinks to any online work samples, news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

http://drop.io/truth_stevies_2010
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39140249@N06/

3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the team that carried out this campaign:

Patricia McLaughlin joined Legacy as Director of Communications in October 2002.
In her current role as Assistant Vice President, she directs public relations
efforts and organizational branding around a number of Legacy’s national and
regional programs and public education efforts. Much of her efforts are focused
around the award-winning and proven-effective truth® youth smoking prevention
campaign. She manages media and public relations opportunities around the
campaign, including directing advertising launches and promotion of the truth®
summer grassroots tour, handling spokesperson duties and speaking opportunities,
conducting media relations, promoting research results and partnerships, and
agency support around all efforts.