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College Booze Campaign A Dud . CBS News Presented by: Jennifer Rada. Popular marketing campaigns that try to curb college binge drinking by easing peer pressure among students are a failure, according to a new study. . “Social Norms” Campaign. "social norms" campaigns
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College Booze Campaign A Dud CBS News Presented by: Jennifer Rada
Popular marketing campaigns that try to curb college binge drinking by easing peer pressure among students are a failure, according to a new study.
“Social Norms” Campaign • "social norms" campaigns • In social norms marketing, posters and fliers are put up around campuses with messages and statistics that show students who drink to excess are the exception, not the rule. The idea is to help students who drink to fit in feel less peer pressure to do so.
Example: A poster with the slogan: “Most students at Oregon State University have five or fewer drinks when they party.”
Some Colleges that have social norms campaigns… • Washington State University • Western Washington University • University of Texas • University of North Florida • University of Arizona • University of Oregon
U of O Ads • 87.6% of first year UO students report that drinking alcohol does not make them feel sexier. • Too much drinking can really put your GPA in perspective. Most UO students are serious about their grades. • Myth: Most UO students drink to get drunk, when they party. Reality: Most UO students (80%) have four drinks or fewer when they party.
Why did they fail? • The report surveyed drinking patterns on 98 campuses, 37 of which have used social norms programs for one year. It measured for alcohol abuse in seven different ways, such as having 20 or more drinks in the past month and drinking 10 or more times in the past month. But no improvement in habits was found on social norms campuses by any of the measures.
Why did they fail? • Wechsler said the marketing fails because students on campuses are influenced more by small group pressure than large marketing campaigns. “On a large campus with 30,000 students who do you relate to?” Wechsler asked. “It's the people in your dorm or your fraternity or your friends. You don't care what the other 30,000 people are doing.”
The alternative? • The alternative to social norms marketing, is for states and municipalities to crack down on low-priced alcohol specials offered by off-campus bars and liquor stores.
Bibliography • http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/07/24/health/main564949.shtml • http://www.alcoholpolicysolutions.net/visual_binge_drinking_3.htm • http://www.edc.org/hec/socialnorms/campuses/oregon.html • http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/Reports/Panel02/KeyResearch_02.aspx