Case Study: Oklahoma City County Health Department
Anti-Syphilis Campaign

Background:

In 1999, Oklahoma City ranked sixth in the number of reported syphilis cases in cities with more than 200,000 people. Oklahoma County was tenth in the nation for the highest rates of syphilis among counties.

The Oklahoma City-County Health Department hired Third Degree to create a Syphilis Elimination Campaign, targeting individuals who live in a geographic area where there have been a larger number of syphilis cases diagnosed. The target audience includes heterosexual men and women ages 20-39 who are white, African American and Hispanic/Latino and who participate in high risk sexual behavior.

Website

Goals:

to use targeted research as basis for creative strategy
to reach people on the street, in their neighborhood
to reduce the rate of syphilis in Oklahoma county

Research Findings:

Research groups included Latino groups, outreach centers and the Oklahoma County Jail. The key messages that were revealed: they need to be scared by the campaign, but given hope and direction on how to prevent and cure syphilis - and they want to see people that "look like us."

Third Degree conducted follow-up creative testing with the same focus groups to make sure the messages and creative execution was on track.

Creative:

Headlines that cut right to scariest consequences of syphilis, combined with faces of "real" people were used for outdoor (bus benches, shelters and billboards). The radio followed the same theme with additional emphasis on education and prevention.

Grassroots promotional and prevention items included coasters for bars, posters and matchbook condoms. All campaign elements were produced in both English and Spanish.

Media and Marketing:

The outdoor was placed in areas with the highest number of reported syphilis cases. Based on focus group feedback, specific radio stations were targeted to run the campaign spots.

Results:

Throughout the course of the 7-month campaign, the Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinic at the Oklahoma City-County Health Department saw a 10 percent increase in traffic per month. Additionally, there was a marked increase in the number of Spanish-speaking persons calling the phone number used in the campaign.