IMPLEMENTATION
Implementation of the "Don't Kid Yourself" campaign in the pilot cities occurred over the course of two months between May and July 1996. The implementation plan helped to identify what needed to be done before the campaign kick-off. The clinics in Butte and Salt Lake City developed dissemination plans for distributing the posters, brochures and coasters throughout the community. The people who answered the phones at each clinic were briefed on the campaign and provided with information on how to respond to community complaints about the campaign.
The contractor negotiated and purchased radio advertising time on several stations in each city that focus group participants had indicated were popular with their peers. In most cases, the stations provided free spots as public service announcements for each spot that was purchased for the campaign, or at least lowered their normal rates. The newspaper advertisements were also placed at nonprofit rates in the alternative and college papers in Salt Lake City, in certain sections of Butte's main newspaper, and in its local shopper. In addition to the paid advertising, a press release was sent out to local media outlets announcing the "Don't Kid Yourself" campaign.
Prior to the beginning of implementation, several tracking systems were put in place to help assess the effects of the campaign. A caller tracking sheet was developed and used to tally how callers answered the question, "How did you find out about us?" Surveys were distributed to target audience members at the clinics throughout the entire implementation period to assess whether respondents were exposed to elements of the campaign. Blank "diaries" were placed in the clinic waiting rooms with instructions on the cover about the types of comments that were sought, along with a pen attached to each book. A press clipping service was also hired to track any resulting media coverage of the campaign.
Implementation ran fairly smoothly over the two-month period. Many local businesses and other organizations were willing to participate in the campaign by putting up posters and using the coasters in the bars and clubs. One of the newspaper ads had to be pulled from the Butte newspaper because a local health official felt it was too explicit and would not provide his approval to run it. Although there were some negative phone calls related to the campaign, many more positive comments were received. The tracking systems were not consistently used by the receptionists, so the results were somewhat spotty for the caller tracking sheets and clinic surveys; many receptionists found it difficult to add another procedure to their regular routine. Although entries in the clinic diaries did not usually refer directly to the campaign, most of the comments were very positive about the care received in the clinics, and this improved morale among the staff members. In both cities, patients in the target audience provided positive feedback about the campaign when they came to the clinics.