Smokey Bear: June 2008 Campaign

Smokey Bear: June 2008 Campaign A campaign to reduce accidental wildfires sponsored by the Ad Council, USDA Forest Service, and National Association of State Foresters

History of the Smokey Bear Campaign
Smokey Bear was introduced in 1944. At the time, most of the trained fire fighters were serving in the war, so fire prevention became a key wartime issue. In 1944, 22 million acres of land were lost annually and 9 out of 10 forest fires were accidental. Historically, the campaign has addressed specific fire-prevention behaviors, including drowning all fires and properly putting out cigarettes. Smokey Bear’s message, “Only you Can Prevent Forest Fires” made personal responsibility key. The campaign targeted children, and indirectly, their parents. In 2001, the slogan was changed to Only You Can Prevent Wildfires. This change was made to address 1) that some forest fires are prescribed, and good for the forest, and 2) that accidental outdoors fires occur in areas other then forests.

June 2008 Campaign: Get Your Smokey On
The campaign has been updated to address fire prevention in a new, older audience. Now, Smokey Bear includes an interventional message – “Get Your Smokey On.” In other words, when others are not practicing fire safety behavior, one should be like Smokey Bear and intervene. Commercials advertising this new strategy are on the new campaign website, http://www.smokeybear.com/. The website also includes an online pledge; after signing the pledge, the user can download a print a Smokey Bear mask. The website also has information on wildfires and wildfire prevention, and a map showing where wildfires are currently burning in the U.S.

Objective
The programs objective is get members of the primary target audience to sign an online pledge, promising to follow a specific list of fire safety behaviors. The pledge includes 9 points, some specific behavioral objects, and other not. The pledge can be read here: http://www.smokeybear.com/take-pledge.asp

Audience Segmentation
The primary target audience for this campaign is adults aged 18 to 35 who are casual campers, hikers, and bikers, and urban adults aged 18 to 35 who live near large areas of vegetated land.

Research
There are references to both primary and secondary research in the campaign materials.

“Research shows many Americans believe that lightening starts most wildfires.”
88% of wildfires accidently started by humans. Main causes:
Unattended campfires
Trash burning on windy days
Careless discarding of smoking materials
Barbecue coals
Operating outdoor machinery that is not equipped with spark arrestors
“Smokey Bear has a new look designed to appeal to young adults.”

Evaluation
The success of the Smokey Bear campaign has always been evaluated by a reduction in the number of acres lost annually to fires. Currently, 6.5 million acres are lost, which is a significant reduction from the campaign launch in the 1940s. However, the number of acres lost each year has increased since 2001, when it was down to 4 million. The campaign also evaluates success based on program recoginiction. Three out of four adults can complete “Only You” slogan without prompting, and Smokey Bear is the second most recognizable image in U.S., after Santa Claus.

Is it Social Marketing?
Yes, although I would argue it’s not very good social marketing. The online pledge is a mix of behavior and non-behavioral objectives, and too long to be feasible for the intended audience to accomplish. Secondly, the audience has not been segmented enough; I believe their current target audience could easily be split into two target audiences. Finally, I do not believe there is a strong consumer mind-set behind the program plan. Although the campaign does address self-efficacy and access (through information available on the website), there is no emphasis on benefits or elimination of costs. Additionally, by asking their target audience to intervene, the campaign is ignoring social norms that may impact their target audience.