Evaluating the role of social marketing campaigns in

							A social marketing approach
to youth gambling: An
adolescent perspective


Carmen Messerlian, Jeffrey L. Derevensky
& Rina Gupta

McGill University
International Centre for Youth Gambling & High-
Risk Behaviors
Background

 Images of gambling are pervasive in
 today’s mass media
 Children and youth are not immune to
 these images, nor to the promotion of
 gambling
 The media can also be used as a tool
 for health promotion/prevention
Research Goals

 To assess the applicability of
 strategies used in other campaigns to
 youth gambling prevention
 To determine the campaign approach,
 types of messages and strategies that
 would be considered effective
 according to the target audience
Methods

 Participants:
   30 focus groups
   175 participants (95 males; 80
   females)
   Grades 7-12
   The sample was drawn from 9 high-
   schools (7 from rural/small towns in
   Ontario; 2 from Montreal)
Themes

1. Exposure to general prevention campaigns
    Types of campaigns
    Likes and dislikes
2. Characteristics and message content
    Negative effects; industry manipulation;
    denormalization; real life stories; other
3. Media routine preferences
    TV, radio, print, internet
Theme 1: Exposure
 Tobacco campaigns: Stupid.ca
   Most memorable and visible
   Use of humour with facts: novel and effective

 Drinking and Driving campaigns: MADD
    Emotional appeal
    Real stories
    Consequences that go beyond individual
Theme 1: Influence
• Stupid.ca portrayed smoking and its
  consequences through the use of shocking
  humour
   • Primary strategy: denormalisation
   • No direct influence but information helps make
     more informed decisions
• Balanced campaigns are most effective
   • Teens are very critical of ads that are not
• “Don’t do it” Approach
   • Patronising and ineffective
• Habituation to ads
   • Repetition is good only to a certain point
“They don’t tell you the good side…good
and bad, they only tell you the bad even
though there is a good side…the negative
messages make you think twice but usually
you tend to follow your friends because you
trust them more – they come up with the
good side of doing drugs and smoking and
stuff…when you see commercial it tells you
all the facts and makes you think twice but
you have to make your own decision.” Male
grade 10
Theme 2: Message Content
and Characteristics
 Negative Effects:
   Personal
   Family and Friends
   Financial
   Suicide (by some groups)
Theme 2: Industry
Manipulation
Depicting the extent to which government and industry
profit from gambling was suggested as a strategy by
participants, but…

   Many teens gamble on non-state run games or “street
   games”
   May not reflect the true youth gambling culture



“When kids our age gamble, it is street gambling, so the
industry or government isn’t getting the money”
Male, grade 8
Theme 2: Denormalization

 Limited support for this approach
 Those that found it to be useful pointed
 to the need to counterbalance the
 extensive gambling advertisements
 Some suggested it could illustrate the
 “true reality” of gambling
 Gambling isn’t “cool” message may
 appeal to a younger audience
Theme 2: Real-life stories

 Widely endorsed by many groups
 Using real stories and real people
 sharing their experiences
 Especially effective if it has an emotional
 appeal
 Helps dispel myth that adolescents are
 immune
Theme 3: Media Outlets
 TV
   Most popular medium recommended despite
   their fatigue with ads in general
 Radio
   Effective if ads are fact-based but difficult to
   depict emotions
 Magazines
   Limited support – possibly in gaming
   magazines
 Websites/internet
   Strong opinions against using internet
Target
 Age
    Younger
     • Prefer humour and a less dramatic tone
     • Attracted to messages that are short, catchy, colourful
     • Abstinence-based and denormalization
   Older
     • Prefer emotional ads with a more dramatic tone
     • Tolerate longer ads and a more serious style
     • Responsible gambling-based; personal stories; stats;
       comparisons
 Gender
     • Females: tolerate longer ads that are more emotional-
       based
     • Males: prefer more direct messages; higher tolerance
       for stats and humour
Recommendations
 Stay clear of the “don’t do it” approach
 Balance is best
 Inform youth about the risks and propose
 alternatives rather than simply telling them
 not to gamble
 Real-life stories are emotionally appealing
 Negative effects of gambling with facts
 Denormalization with some groups
 Industry manipulation not as a primary
 strategy
        Thank you!

   For more information:
    Carmen Messerlian
      McGill University
   3724 McTavish Street
 Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1Y2
       514.398.4438
Carmen.messerlian@mcgill.ca