Street Marketing
Y
STREET
In 2004, Y St. (Y Street) was launched in Virginia to recruit
high school-age volunteers for ydouthink, the VTSF’s tobacco-use
prevention campaign, which is focused on 10- to 17-year-olds in
Virginia. Since then, Y Street has evolved into a true youth movement,
with more than 3,000 teen members statewide who have been trained
to act as peer mentors and to take leadership roles in creating
and executing innovative campaigns to reduce teen tobacco use
and the marketing of tobacco products to teens.
Teen-led Y
Street campaigns have included:
Glam
Rock
86 Campaign
Meltdown
ActOut
86
Campaign
The dangers of secondhand smoke are well known. From October 2008
to April 2009, Y St. youth members increased awareness about secondhand
smoke in Virginia restaurants. Y Streeters collected 3,725 opinion
surveys from 43 different communities in Virginia. Survey findings
indicated that 82% of respondents, including a majority of smokers,
supported smoke-free restaurants. Y St. members also collected video
testimonials from community members who shared their thoughts about
secondhand smoke in restaurants. Approximately 1,114 pledges were
collected from community members demonstrating their support for
smoke-free restaurants. Additionally, Y St. youth members increased
awareness about the issue by generating traffic to the campaign's
Web site, 86thesmoke.com.
Meltdown
The Meltdown Campaign is about increasing public awareness about
new smokeless and spitless tobacco products. The way the new products
are flavored, packaged, and marketed make it seem like they would
be more appealing to youth than regular smokers. Y St. members
are collecting surveys and video testimonials to see if people
are confusing the new products as non-tobacco products. They are
also increasing issue awareness by getting people to visit www.meltdownVA.com.
ActOut
The ActOut Campaign is focused on motivating Virginia teens
to have fun and be healthy by getting involved in new, exciting,
and different types of sports or physical activities right where
they live. The campaign increases teens’ access to new
activities by partnering with local gyms, studios, or recreational
centers. Y St. youth are surveying their friends to assess youth
interest on different types of activities, plan out intro sessions,
and generate support from local gyms, studios, or recreational
centers. Visit www.ActOutVA.com
for more information.
VIRGINIA
HEALTHY YOUTH CULTURE INITIATIVE (VHYCI)
The Virginia Healthy Youth Culture Initiative (VHYCI) is an innovative
application of proven prevention strategies to prevent risk behaviors
and promote healthy behaviors amongst Virginia’s urban youth,
particularly African-American urban youth. The initiative’s
physical and mental health efforts focus on strategies to increase
youth physical activity, prevent tobacco use and prevent violence
throughout Virginia.
VHYCI includes two major brands for reaching these populations:
2up2down (Social events
to reach teens with positive social messaging)
Step Royale (step-dancing competitions to increase
physical activity and promote fitness)
