Working with the Media to Promote Teen Pregnancy Prevention

MAKING IT HAPPENkernel from which you createevents, slogans, advertising,fundraising, and all the otherelements that go into any teenpregnancy prevention effort.While there may be many possiblecore messages at this stage,try to whittle the number downto no more than three. Decidingon these few core messagesdoes not mean that they are theonly things your program standsfor; they just provide a focus foryour current media efforts. Youneed to decide what you want tosay, then find a way to get theword out.Developing your messages takestime. Think of it as similar to theprocess a sculptor goes throughin transforming a solid block ofmarble into a finished figure.First, you start with a basic ideaof what you want to say. Then,through discussion, revision,testing with potential audiences,and refining, a finished phrase orsentence emerges, couched insuch a way that it resonates withthe target audience.106Target audience worksheetPotential TargetAudienceSample:Parents of teen boysAge, Gender, Culture,Location33-35, many single parents,most working, innercityOther ImportantCharacteristicsWhat they read, listen to,watch; where they shop;what form of transportationthey use; who theircommunity leaders are