Presented by Eric Asche – CMO of Truth Initiative at West Virginia University's Integrated Marketing Communications "INTEGRATE DC" conference. See all the presentations at imc.wvu.edu/integrate/integratedc/

1. truth: Left Swipe Smoking
ERIC ASCHE | CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
INTEGRATE DC 10/27/15
TWITTER: @EASCHE

2. CIGARETTE USE
28%
8%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Youth Cigarette Past 30-Day Cigarette Use: 1997-2014
All youth
Source: Monitoring the Future Survey, 1997-2014
*Youth current smokers include those who report having smoked a cigarette in the past 30 days
**All youth include 8th, 10th and 12th graders, combined

4. SHIFTING AGE OF SMOKING INITIATION
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
12-14 15-17 18-21 22-25
Percent(%)
Age at Interview
2002-2006
2007-2012
*NSDUH, 2002-2012
S m o k i n g I n i t i a t i o n b y Ag e a n d Ti m e P e r i o d *

7. OTHER TOBACCO PRODUCTS
1.0% 0.6%1.3% 1.1%1.1% 1.1%
2.5% 3.9%
0%
5%
Hookah E-cigarettes
Past 30-Day use of Other Tobacco Products Middle School
2011
2012
2013
2014
4.1% 1.5%
5.4% 2.8%5.2% 4.5%
9.4% 13.4%
0%
10%
20%
Hookah E-cigarettes
Past 30-Day use of Other Tobacco Products High School
2011
2012
2013
2014
Source: National Youth Tobacco Survey, 2011-2014

8. SOCIAL ACCEPTABILITY OF LIGHT / INTERMITTENT SMOKING
Source: 2012 NYTS data from Amrock et al. 2015.

9. THE SHIFTING LANDSCAPE
Very successful at driving the initiation numbers down for cigarettes
The age of initiation has shifted from teens, to include 18-21 year-olds
Proliferation of new products – increasing trial of “safer” products
Cognitive dissonance – social smoking is not “smoking”
Today’s youth do not connect with brands in the same way previous generations once did

10. GEN X

11. 11
GEN Y

12. 72andSunny + MediaCom
Creative & Media Launch Plan
March 27, 2014
FOR TRUTH TO BE SUCCESSFUL, IT
NEEDS TO REPLACE THE FEELING OF
REBELION POWER THAT COMES FROM
SMOKING

13. RATHER THAN
EXCLUSIVELY
MESSAGING THE
9% OF YOUNG
PEOPLE WHO ARE
STILL SMOKING…

14. LET’S RALLY A
VOLUNTEER ARMY OF
THE 91% WHO WILL
MAKE THIS FIGHT
THEIR OWN &
INFLUENCE THE 9%

15. 72andSunny + MediaCom
Creative & Media Launch Plan
March 27, 2014
BE THE
GENERATION
THAT ENDS
SMOKING.

17. SOCIAL SMOKING
DISRUPT THE SOCIAL ACCEPTABILITY - CHALLENGE THE
“LIVE AND LET LIVE” MANTRA
DISMANTLE BELIEFS HELD BY SOCIAL SMOKERS
• Social Smoking makes me more attractive
• Social Smoking doesn’t make me a smoker
• Social smoking helps me make meaningful connections

18. *ASH.org, Smoking Hot Study, 2014
The truth is, when you don’t smoke in your profile pics,
you get twice the number of Tinder matches*.
Nothing is more important to a young adult than their
perceived attractiveness / desirability from potential partners
INSIGHT

19. Swiping Left is a digital act of rejection that young adults are
already referencing in the real world – hijack existing
momentum
We connected the idea to pictures of people smoking and
turbocharge it into a larger cultural phenomenon.
TERM OF REJECTION

20. Make it cool to left swipe smoking, by making
“Left Swipe Dat” a part of young adult’s vernacular and give
them the tools to take action themselves.
Use the social currency to attack a social challenge.
IDEA

21. Content Driven Strategy
Focused on Engagement
Distribution Through Paid and Earned
IDEA

22. CAST OVERVIEW
MUSICIANS
Fifth Harmony
MAVEN
King BachBecky G Terrence Jenkins
TV PERSONALITY
10.1MM
1.8MM
188MM
2.6MM
#3 song for 2014

23. CAST OVERVIEW
Grace Helbig Harley
Morenstein
Timothy
Delaghetto
YOUTUBE INFLUENCERS
Jimmy TatroAlphaCat Anna Akana
2MM 2.3MM 2.7MM 6.6MM1.1MM1MM

25. LAUNCH:
GRAMMY AWARDS

26. EARNED MEDIA
Pre-Launch Post-Launch

27. Bow Wow
Elton Castee
Greg Grunberg
Quincy Combs
LL Cool J
GRAMMY’S GIFTING LOUNGE

28. At least 35 celebrities and influencers engaged with truth
the night of the Grammy’s
• Tyler Oakley (social media sensation)
• Brandon Phillips (Cincinnati Reds)
• Rodriguez (MMA Wrestler)
• Josh Mathews (former WWE Wrestler)
• Nick Sutter (The Bachelorette contestant)
• Alison Debona (Breaking Pointe ballerina)
• CoverGirl
• SELF
• Seventeen
• Fast Company
• JustJared.com
SOCIAL

29. #1 trending topic on Twitter
SOCIAL
#3 trending topic on YouTube
• The two videos that were more popular was a Jimmy Fallon skit and a music video by
Sam Smith who won 4 Grammy awards that night

30. LEFT SWIPE DAT AS CONTENT