Ad Team reaches out to students, combats college alcoholism

Students of the Pace-NY Advertising Team have launched a new initiative to combat dangerously high levels of alcohol consumption on college campuses around the country. To coincide with a campaign developed for the American Advertising Federation's National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC), Pace-NY Ad Team has launched a national social media initiative to unite students who have "had enough" of excessive drinking. The Had Enough social media initiative appeals to the innovative content-creating college demographic and has reached over 1000 students already from the University and other schools around the country. Pace-NY Ad Team estimates that over $1 billion has been spent by the world's leading communicators in the fight against alcohol abuse. Regardless, binge drinking rates on college campuses have remained relatively unchanged. After careful research, the team has developed a campaign for the NSAC that targets and effectively leverages the powerful influence of the friend in binge drinking culture on college campuses. "As college students, we know that the strongest influence in our lives, and especially on our drinking habits, is our friends," said Pace-NY Ad Team President and senior marketing major David Trahan. "For many students drinking is an integral part of college life. Students aren't drinking alone - they are drinking with their friends, and because of that, we realized that the consequences of drinking come on a peer-to-peer level." According to the team's primary research, 66% of college binge drinkers would reduce their alcohol consumption if confronted by a friend. Research also shows that only the friend of the drinker has the level of influence to can convince students to change their drinking behaviors. Regardless, the team says a cultural norm on campuses prevents students from speaking out to prevent potentially dangerous side-effects of drinking. "Friends intervene when it's too late," said senior marketing major Jackie Berg, the team's Director of Account Planning. "By and large, our research revealed that friends want to help in any way possible, but are still hesitating because they're fearful the advice won't be welcome. They have a huge influence, but are not using it while they still can save a friend - whether it's from a hangover, a damaged reputation, or worse." Berg said the natural power of the campaign lies in its adaptability to any college student, regardless of their experience with alcohol. "Students drink for different reasons and in different ways. Our effort leaves no one out," she said. "We have identified three dominant binge drinking personality archetypes that have guided our creative strategy. But beyond that, students can use their creativity to take the campaign and make it their own." Trahan said the Had Enough campaign, developed for the Century Council, creates a customized message that provides a deeper impact on students' lives than would a one-sided advertising campaign aimed at the binge drinker. Berg said the social media campaign application was not an AAF requirement. "We just saw an opportunity to begin the conversation," Berg said. "After all, we are the client's target market and we know exactly how this epidemic works. As we were doing this, our own team members noticed how our work on the campaign changed our own behaviors and attitudes. And that's what it is really all about." The social media outreach began with a Facebook initiative and Causes application that is designed to spark an open dialogue for students to create discussions, express their feelings and share negative experiences related to a friend's drinking. The page features viral videos, PostSecret postcard expressions, and interviews with students in the greater New York area about their drinking-related experiences. The Pace-NY Ad Team expects that this campaign will facilitate important conversations about drinking habits between peers and increase awareness of the consequences of binge drinking on college campuses. Pace-NY Ad Team will be showcasing their marketing and media plan at the NSAC district competition on May 2 at 4:30pm at CUNY Baruch. The event is open to the public and the University community is encouraged to attend.