From “Stoptober” in the UK to “Mois Sans Tabac” in France: How to Import and Evaluate a Complex and Large-Scale Social Marketing Campaign

Abstract

Beyond health improvement, quitting smoking also affects the quality of smokers’ lives by actually improving mental health and wellbeing: it can improve mood and help relieve stress, anxiety and depression. In order to increase the health (and thus the quality of life) of French people, Santé publique France, the French National Public Health Agency, launched for the first time in 2016 “Mois sans tabac”, a social marketing campaign inspired by Public Health England’s “Stoptober”. “Mois sans tabac” is an ongoing intervention based on the PRIME theory of motivation and on the social contagion theory. It sets smokers the challenge of being smoke-free for the month of November. This campaign uses social marketing principles (the 5Ps, branding, mass-media campaign, cessation help services, etc.) and targets smokers but also their loved ones, with a view to encouraging the latter to support smokers in their attempts to quit their habit. This campaign was strongly rooted in collaboration between Santé publique France and various public and private partners who can influence smokers’ behaviours (health professionals and facilities, NGOs, companies, etc.), in particular by implementing actions at the local level which focus on awareness and provide help for smoking cessation.

This chapter has two aims: (1) to describe theoretical and social marketing principles of “Mois sans tabac” implemented in France in 2016 (and later); (2) to present how this complex and large-scale social marketing campaign was evaluated.

Teaching Notes

• 1. Imagine you decide to implement a campaign such as ‘Stoptober’ and ‘Mois sans tabac’ in your country or in a regional area. How could you adapt it to the context, the culture, etc. of your country/the regional area?

  It is suggested to use Table 6.1 to answer this question. The first column is kept similar, and the second one is replaced by specificities and the context of another country (instead of France). Based on this table, the 5Ps that could be relevant and adapted to the context, the culture and the situation of your country can be described and designed.

• 2. Beyond the PRIME theory of motivation and the social contagion theory, what are other relevant theoretical models that could be mobilised for the ‘Mois sans tabac’ campaign?

  ‘Mois sans tabac’ can be analysed with the theory of reasoned action (Fishbein and Ajzen 1975) and the theory of panned behaviour (Taylor et al. 2006). They describe factors that influence behaviours:

  • change behavioural beliefs: The ‘Mois sans tabac’ campaign gives information on advantages, barriers and benefits of quitting smoking. This information can influence beliefs that can influence behaviours;

  • change behavioural attitude: the positive tone of ‘Mois sans tabac’ may have an impact on the attitude of smokers towards smoking quitting and decrease negative reactions (e.g. rejects, denials) when they face anti tobacco campaigns;

  • change subjective norms: because the ‘Mois sans tabac’ campaign is based on the social contagion theory, it may positively influence beliefs of quitting smoking (quitting may be perceived trendier);

  • change perceived behavioural control: the reassuring tone of the ‘Mois sans tabac’ campaign and the different cessation support tools offered to smokers (website, app, quit kit, quitline, etc.) may increase confidence in their ability to quit smoking;

  • change behavioural intentions: by influencing beliefs, social norms and perceived behavioural control, the ‘Mois sans tabac’ campaign may change intentions to quit smoking.

• 3. The campaign strongly relies on the brand “Mois sans tabac”. Because of time and budget constraints, it was not possible to evaluate brand equity and brand loyalty. How could you evaluate them (which questions, which targets, which methods)?

  Creating a social marketing brand is recommended (Keller 1998). Different indicators are used to measure brand equity and loyalty: trust, satisfaction, attitude toward the brand, brand relationship, attachment, perceived value of the brand, etc. (Rundle-Thiele and Mackay 2001).

  Brand equity can be measured with questionnaires, on all the targets of the campaign: smokers who are motivated to quit, non smokers, health professionals in general (general practitioners, tobacco specialists, pharmacists, midwives NGOs, nurses, dentists), public and private partners of the campaign (regional health agencies, media, local authorities, private companies, etc.).

• 4. Which indicators and methods could be used to evaluate if the ‘Mois sans tabac’ campaign reached journalists at a local and national levels?

  Different measurements can be used to assess the success of press coverage: the number and the content of the articles on the ‘Moi(s) sans tabac’ campaign that were published (positive, negative, neutral), their visibility, the amount of reads, the website traffic, social sharing of articles that deal with the campaign, etc.