Colorado State University is developing a social norm marketing campaign to address the issue of unprotected sex among students. The campaign aims to increase condom usage by 20% through print, electronic, and live media using fear appeals, a cartoon mascot, and statistics to disprove misconceptions. It will use social media platforms popular among students and run contests to promote safer sex messages. Effectiveness will be evaluated through student surveys administered throughout each semester and adjusting methods based on results.

1. Colorado State University:
Safer Sex
Social Norm Marketing Campaign
Presented By:
Meghan Brown
1

2. 2
• Background/Issue
• Overview, Purpose, Goals
• Audience and Stakeholders
• Message Strategy
• Social Media
• Action Plan and Evaluation
• Visual
• Overview
• References
Agenda

3. 3
Background
- Half of college students have admitted to forgoing
condom usage while engaging in sexual intercourse, up
10 percent since the early 2000s (Steinmetz, 2013).
- Half of STDs are contracted by individuals between the
ages of 15 and 24 (Steinmetz, 2013).
- Unprotected sex can cause multiple long-term health
problems, as well as unwanted or unplanned pregnancy
(Center for Disease Control, 2016).
- Studies have shown that acceptance is a leading factor
when it comes to the use, or lack of use, of condoms
(Beckman, Harvey, & Tiersky, 1996 ).

4. 4
Overview, Purpose, Goals
Overview
CSU has established a need to address the growing issue of
unprotected sex amongst students, which will be done using print,
electronic, and live media.
To educate students regarding the reality and importance of safe
sex.
Purpose
Goals
To increase condom usage amongst CSU students by at least 20
percent in the 2017-2018 academic year.

5. 5
Audience and Stakeholders
Audience
•CSU’s over 32,000
students (White, 2015)
•With a focus target
audience of sophomores,
juniors, and seniors, as
studies have shown that
casual sex tends to
increase in these years,
and condom usage
decreases (Vedantam,
2015).
Stakeholders
•University faculty
•University students
•Student family members
•Individuals in the local
community

6. 6
Message Strategy
Fear Appeal
To help educate students on the dangers associated with
unprotected sex.
Cartoon Spokesperson
A cartoon ram, the schools mascot, which has shown to be easily
relatable to students.
Disproving Misconceptions
Using real student survey data to disprove misconceptions regarding
condom usage amongst CSU students.
Platforms
Print, electronic, and live media

7. 7
Social Media
Why?
•Social media has shown to be a
preferred method of communication
amongst individuals ages 18 to 29
(Harvard IPO, 2017).
•Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
are some of the most popular
platforms amongst college students
(Harvard IOP, 2017).
What/How?
•Using Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram to share fliers and
surveys, as well as promote
seminars about safer sex, and
educate students on where to
pick up free condoms.
•Running an Instagram contest,
whoever shares the safer sex
flier and receives the most ‘likes’,
wins season football tickets and
a gift card.

8. 8
Action Plan and Evaluation
Action Plan
1.Establish campaign goals
2.Survey students regarding their perceptions surrounding condom
usage amongst their peers, personal views and behaviors on the issue,
and perceptions regarding the likelihood of STDs and unwanted or
unplanned pregnancies.
3.Use survey data to develop print, electronic, and live media for
campaign.
4.Evaluate campaign effectiveness.
Evaluation
1.Evaluate communication methods on a monthly basis to determine
most popular means of communication.
2.Survey students at the beginning, middle, and end of each semester
to determine how/if attitudes and behaviors have changed.
3.Adjust methods based on findings.

9. 9
Visual
Original image by Thoman, 2017

10. 10
Overview
• Unsafe sex is a growing problem amongst young people. Individuals between the ages of 15
and 24 make up roughly half of the STD cases in the U.S. (Steinmetz, 2013).
• CSU is developing a safer sex social norm marketing campaign using print, electronic, and live
media, with the purpose of educating students on the reality and importance of using condoms,
with the goal of increasing condom usage amongst students by 20 percent in the 2017-2018
academic year.
• The campaigns audience is its entire student body, with a special focus on student in their
second, third, and final year. The stakeholders are CSU faculty, CSU students, CSU student
family members, and individuals in the local community.
• The campaign will use a fear appeal, a cartoon spokesperson, and statistics to disprove
misconceptions, in its message strategy.
• Social media is the preferred means of communication amongst CSU students, thus the
campaign will use Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to disseminate its message. CSU will also
run an Instagram contest to help promote the campaign, and the winner will receive season
football tickets and a gift card.
• The campaigns action plan starts with establishing goals, then moves on to survey students,
and uses this information to develop media for the campaign, and ultimately evaluates the
campaign using survey data gathered three times a semester, and communication
engagement.

11. 11
References
Center for Disease Control. (2016, August 09). College Health and Safety. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/family/college/index.htm
Harvard IOP. (2017). Use of Social Networking Technology. Retrieved from
http://iop.harvard.edu/use-social-networking-technology
Steinmetz, K. (2013, November 12). (No) Condom Culture: Why Teens Aren’t Practicing Safe
Sex. Retrieved from http://healthland.time.com/2013/11/12/no-condom-culture-why-teens-
arent-practicing-safe-sex/
Thoman, C. (2017, January 02). Cartoon Ram in Love Vector and Royalty Free License.
Retrieved from http://www.ctcartoons.com/image/cartoon-ram-in-love/
Vedantam, S. (2015, April 08). Why Is Condom-Use Suddenly Dropping Among College
Sophomores? Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2015/04/08/398224608/why-is-condom-use-
suddenly-dropping-among-college-sophomores
White, R. (2015, September 15). Colorado State University tallies record enrollment.
Retrieved from http://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2015/09/15/colorado-state-university-
enrollment-record/72341990/