Tobacco-Free Mecklenburg
All Signs Point to a Healthier Mecklenburg County
The project:
Rolling out a pair of community-wide health initiatives that support the Mecklenburg County Health Director’s goal of reducing tobacco use. Or, getting employees, staff, County Commissioners, park users and the public, excited about (and understanding) tobacco-control policies.
The opportunity:
People can get kind of prickly when it comes to rules and regulations, but stuff like this only works when people understand the where, when, why, and how of it. Our task was to work along with public health policy experts, Park and Recreation, Mecklenburg County Public Service and Information, City of Charlotte Corporate Communications, HR folks, and other stakeholders to introduce new tobacco control measures.
Let’s be real. It’s tough to explain most government rules and ordinances, much less get people excited about them. And to talk regulation in a community with such historical and agricultural ties to tobacco? Let’s do this thing.
The goods:
Public health research from other tobacco-regulating efforts indicated that signage and clear, simplified messaging were the most-effective means of gaining understating and awareness. Sure, but how do you make that stuff stand out? How do you explain the nuances in two seemingly similar but definitely different regulations? And what about employees on these properties who’ll now be held to higher workplace standards and be part of communicating the message?
Our tagline, All Signs Point to a Healthier Mecklenburg County, was the hub of the internal and external campaign. Whether those signs were in the parks, on government grounds, the employee break room, the back of the bus, etc., they announced the tobacco-regulating messages. More importantly, they reinforced the “why” factor: public health.
Along with the due diligence of employee newsletters, taking points, and FAQ’s, unique to the Tobacco-Free Mecklenburg campaign were the “outside the lines” attention-getters like, clean graffiti in Meckleburg County’s biggest parks, vehicle wraps on County cars and trucks, infographics, and a “whiteboard” video overview of the ordinances. Like Martha would say, “all good things!”
What they said:
“I worked closely with DC Lucchesi and Melissa Curlin of Well-Run Media, on our county-wide Tobacco-Free Mecklenburg Initiative. They are an amazing team! DC’s creativity and ability to get to the core of health messaging was top notch. He is passionate about the community and thinks outside of the box to maximize reach, using grassroots strategies and collaborative thinking. He is a skilled writer and is action oriented. Melissa’s graphic design work was an amazing addition to DC’s energy and insight. We could not have accomplished what we did without them!”
— Kim Bayha, Tobacco Control Coordinator for Mecklenburg County Public Health