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Mass Media Education
Campaign For Our Children’s mantra, “Prevention through Education” is the guiding force behind our mass media campaign. When CFOC began in 1987, we had already learned through extensive research that basic attitudes and behaviors can be changed. At that time, our goal was to reduce teen pregnancy through a school-based media driven program. Our target group, 9 to 14 year olds, was chosen because 80 percent of this group had not experienced sexual intercourse. At this age, we attempt to affect attitudes before risky habits begin. CFOC’s program encourages the development of responsible decision making skills in teens by educating them on the consequences of their actions.
Mass media is the most cost effective and broadest vehicle of education and was, therefore, the perfect mechanism for relaying our message. We realized that in order to accomplish our goal, we would have to create a variety of marketing tools. CFOC developed a hands-on educational component of the program to complement the multi-level mass media campaign. An effective mass media campaign will provide a teachable moment by opening the lines of communication between adults and children. Research shows that children who talk about sexuality openly with adults are more likely to abstain from sexual intercourse and to make responsible decisions than those who do not.
CFOC’s mass media materials are broken down into five categories: television, radio, outdoor, transit and print ads for magazines and newspapers.