Nutrition Campaign for Parents of Pre-Teens

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MEE partnered with Jane Fonda’s Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power and Potential (GCAPP) to plan and launch a grassroots Community Education Campaign to improve nutrition and prevent obesity among at-risk ‘tweens and their families. Physical activity and nutrition is one of three key areas that GCAPP focuses on as part of its mission to improve the overall health and well-being of young people in Georgia.

As part of the project planning phase, MEE and GCAPP explored several potential “end games” that would support the fulfillment of GCAPP’s mission and priorities. Using that feedback, MEE developed a comprehensive Communications Plan to serve as the roadmap for a yearlong community awareness and parental engagement campaign targeting parents and caregivers of pre-teens.

The Communications Plan addressed how to: (1) effectively introduce, brand and increase awareness of GCAPP as a key player in the obesity-prevention arena; (2) educate parents about do-able steps they can take to improve nutrition in their home; and (3) help parents and other caregivers to empower their pre-teens to make informed choices about their eating and nutrition.

MEE implemented key elements of the Communications Plan. Our Creative Team developed radio and transit ads, along with print materials, including a poster, a flyer with a user-friendly shopping list and a postcard. The initial phase of the campaign focused on the “why” of better nutrition. Messages pointed out that healthy eating helps children’s performance in school, gives them more energy and sets the stage for a healthy lifestyle that can reduce rates of chronic disease in low-income urban communities.

As a key pre-campaign activity, MEE helped GCAPP execute a series of “Chat & Chew” information sessions in targeted Atlanta-area neighborhoods. The Chat & Chews ensured that local stakeholders, CBOs and all levels of the community were prepared to support the campaign, whether through materials dissemination and display or more direct dialogue with local parents. MEE developed materials and handouts to capture and collect data during the Chat & Chews. These instruments supported materials testing and helped gather feedback on dissemination channels and outreach locations. The data collected from the Chat & Chews was analyzed by MEE staff and served as a framework for revisions to the GCAPP materials and media.

The campaign featured a mix of traditional and non-traditional media channels, including a series of radio ads, transit placement and special events. This strategy helped establish GCAPP as a trusted and credible health-promotion entity and began to influence action-oriented behavior change among Atlanta-area parents and pre-teens.