Working with the Media to Promote Teen Pregnancy Prevention

comes from news coverage ofthem rather than the event itself.You have a great deal of controlover the message in specialevents because you are deliveringit directly to the audience.Public affairs work and specialevents do not have to be expensive(though they often are).Both require considerable staffor volunteer time to plan andcarry out the activities.Messages delivered in this waygenerally have medium credibility—lessthan news stories(because they are delivered byan advocate with a point ofview), but more than advertising(because the message comesdirectly from a respected organizationor a community event).Another attribute of thisapproach is that public affairswork and special events have afairly narrow reach; only thosewho come to the event or readabout it receive the message.The box on the next page summarizessome of the considerationsinvolved in using variousmedia options.Test and refine yourmessagesBefore you roll out your messages,you need to be sure theaudience is ready to listen tothem. For example, a motherwho is already concerned abouther daughter’s well-being will bereceptive to a message abouttalking to her teen about sex.On the other hand, a messageabout the long-term consequencesof unprotected sexmight not be the right way toreach teen boys because theyoften focus only on short-termconsequences.You also need to be sure thatthe message can be expressedin simple, clear, layperson’s language,particularly if TV or radioare involved. For example, theCatawba County Social Services’Age of Consent Campaignhas a very specific message forolder teen males and adult men:Sex with a minor who is at leastfour years younger is now acrime in North Carolina.Finally, you need to make surethe message is worded andframed in just the right way totouch your audience. A messagemay sound good to you, but youmust let the target audience’sopinion guide your final decisionabout its suitability and power.Message testing will help youreach all these objectives.Testing provides a crucialopportunity to refine your messagesand make them morememorable, attention-getting,and motivating.Testing proved invaluable for theFamily Planning Council ofSoutheast Pennsylvania when109MEDIA