COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT RESOURCES: 

Campaign Implementation Guide 

Purpose 

This guide is a starting point for communities looking to implement the Substance Abuse and 

Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) “Talk. They Hear You.”® parent-focused 

national media campaign. The guide highlights resources and best practices for sharing the 

campaign in your community, including a brief history of the campaign, step-by-step process 

for implementation, and additional resources to aid your underage drinking prevention and 

substance use prevention efforts. 

About the Campaign 

The goal of SAMHSA’s “Talk. They Hear You.” campaign is to provide parents and caregivers 

with the resources they need to address the issues of alcohol and other drugs with children 

under the age of 21. Specifically, the campaign seeks to: 

1. Increase parents’ awareness of the prevalence and risk of underage drinking and 

substance use; 

2. Equip parents with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to prevent underage 

drinking and substance use; and 

3. Increase parents’ actions to prevent underage drinking and substance use. 

Launched in 2013, the campaign’s original goal was to provide parents and caregivers with the 

resources they need to address the issue of alcohol with their children. However, in 2017— 

amid the nation’s opioid crisis and changes in laws regarding marijuana in a growing number 

of states across the country —the trademarked campaign received separate funding to expand 

content to include information on alcohol and other substances. Recognizing the dynamic 

national context, SAMHSA expanded “Talk. They Hear You.” to prepare parents and 

caregivers to talk with their children about alcohol and other drugs, including prescription pain 

medications and marijuana. 

Historically, “Talk. They Hear You.” has focused on reaching parents and caregivers of 

children ages 9 to 15 for early intervention. In 2018, the campaign expanded this age range, 

and now includes resources for parents and caregivers of children under the age of 21. 

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Underage drinking and substance use remain national public health issues with serious 

implications, especially among adolescents. SAMHSA is responsible for leading public health 

efforts to reduce the impact of substance misuse and mental health disorders on American 

communities. “Talk. They Hear You.” responds to directives set forth in Section 2(d) of the 

Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Act (STOP Act), requiring the Secretary of the 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to fund and oversee a national adult-oriented 

media public service campaign and to report annually on the production, broadcasting, and 

evaluation of this campaign. 

“Talk. They Hear You.” is recognized by the National Parent Teacher Association School of 

Excellence program. 

Campaign Products 

“Talk. They Hear You.” offers products for coalitions, school staff members, public health 

departments, and other community groups to aid local, regional, and national alcohol and 

substance use prevention efforts. All materials share the common goal of empowering parents 

and caregivers to talk with their children early, and often, about alcohol and other drugs. 

Below is an inventory of popular campaign products that may be used as-is or customized for 

use in your community, as outlined in the campaign’s Brand Guide. 

• :15-, :30-, and :60-second TV public service announcements (PSAs) (YouTube and 

Web Files) 

• :30- and :60-second TV PSAs (Broadcast Quality) 

• :15-, :30-, and :60-second Radio PSAs and Scripts 

• Print PSAs (available in the below sizes) 

o 3.5 x 2 inches (Wallet Card) 

o 4.75 x 4.75 inches (Square – Social Media) 

o 7 x 4.875 inches (Post Card) 

o 8.5 x 11 inches (Flyer) 

• Customizable Parent Resources (i.e., brochures, fact sheets, etc.) 

• 5 Conversation Goals Handout 

• Campaign Backgrounder, Talking Points, and Infographics 

Using the Campaign 

Step 1: Request a License Number 

As a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), use 

of the “Talk. They Hear You.” name and logo is licensed to organizations wishing to adapt and 

implement the campaign locally. 

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To obtain a license for use of the campaign, submit a formal request to 

underage.drinking@samhsa.gov. Your request should include the name of the organization, 

contact information for one to two representatives, website URL, location (city/town and state), 

and a brief explanation for how you plan to implement the campaign. 

Upon approval, you will receive an email verifying your license number. There is no cost to 

license the campaign. To aid in “Talk. They Hear You.” evaluation efforts, your organization 

may be asked questions pertaining to use of the campaign and its resources locally (e.g., How 

many times PSAs aired in your community, type and quantity of print products shared in your 

community, how many underage drinking events you held and what products you shared, etc.) 

Step 2: Develop a Plan to Use the Campaign 

Define Your Audience 

The first step in developing a successful implementation plan is to define your target audience. 

In other words, who are you trying to reach with this campaign? Specificity is key. For 

example, if you’re planning to mostly share this campaign with parents of preteens or younger 

teenagers, you may decide that your target audience is parents of children ages 11–13. 

Create Goals and Objectives 

Now that you know who your audience is, you will want to create goals and objectives to 

reference throughout your implementation process. Your goals and objectives will help 

measure the impact of the work you will do to share the campaign in your community. 

Your goal(s) establish a general outcome you’d like to achieve by implementing the “Talk. 

They Hear You.” campaign. Objectives, however, should be more specific and directly tied to 

your planned evaluation of campaign implementation. 

For example, your objectives should work toward the broader goal of reducing underage 

drinking and substance use in your community. With this in mind, you’ll need to establish 

measurable interim objectives that lead up to achieving this goal. 

Sample Goal: Increase parents’ awareness of the prevalence and risk of underage drinking 

and substance use. [Note: This is also a goal of the national campaign.] 

Sample Objective: To increase the percent of parents with children ages 11–13 in [Community] 

knowledgeable about the prevalence and risk of underage drinking and substance use by 10 

percent by [Month Day, Year]. 

It’s important to remember to set objectives that are both specific and attainable. For example, 

if previous prevention efforts yielded little to no success with parents and caregivers in your 

community, it would be unattainable to aim for a 50 percent increase in awareness and 

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knowledge about the prevalence and risk of underage drinking and substance use among 

parents and caregivers in your community. 

Additionally, objectives should be measurable when compared with baseline data. For the 

sample objective above, you might consider working with an evaluation specialist to do a preand post-implementation survey with your target audience. 

Craft an Implementation Strategy 

Once goals and objectives are set, you can begin planning for implementation. Planning will 

include developing strategies to promote the campaign resources to your target audience, 

assigning roles for yourself or your team, and crafting a timeline for implementation. Your 

strategies should tie in to your specific objectives. 

Following this guide’s previous example, one of your strategies might be to partner with your 

local middle school’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA) to host a presentation for parents and 

caregivers on the importance of talking with their children about avoiding alcohol and other 

drugs. The presentation may focus on the prevalence and risks of underage drinking and drug 

use, and you may consider sending parents and caregivers home with printed brochures or 

fact sheets from the campaign (e.g., “5 Conversation Goals” or “Why You Should Talk With 

Your Child About Alcohol and Other Drugs”). This –strategy is in line with the sample objective 

listed earlier in this guide to “increase the percent of parents with children ages 11−13 in 

[Community] knowledgeable about the prevalence and risk of underage drinking and 

substance use by 10 percent by [Month Day, Year].” 

As you map out additional strategies to implement “Talk. They Hear You.” in your community, 

consider the time and level of effort involved for each strategy, and develop a timeline that 

includes specific dates for initial planning, pre-implementation preparations, day-of 

implementation activities, and post-implementation follow-up and evaluation efforts. 

Evaluate Your Success 

After you have shared “Talk. They Hear You.” in your community, you will want to conduct 

evaluation activities and revisit your goals and objectives. You can use the baseline data you 

gathered and used for the goals- and objective-setting process to determine if you have 

achieved your desired results. 

For example, below are a few questions to consider if you conducted a pre- and postimplementation evaluation to determine the percent change of parents with children ages 11– 

13 in [Community] knowledgeable about the prevalence and risk of underage drinking and 

substance use by [Month Day, Year]: 

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1. Did 10 percent more parents of children ages 11–13 in [Community] gain more 

knowledge about the prevalence and risk of underage drinking and substance use? 

2. If so, did you meet this objective by the date originally proposed in your plan? 

Download the TTHY Event Planning Toolkit and reference SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention 

Framework for more specific planning and evaluation guidance for prevention practitioners. 

Step 3: Access and/or Customize Products 

Organizations can download the “Talk. They Hear You.” products mentioned earlier in this 

guide from www.underagedrinking.samhsa.gov. Spanish-language products are also available 

at https://www.samhsa.gov/hable-ellos-escuchan. 

Products may be used as-is or adapted to meet the needs of your community. Reference the 

campaign’s Brand Guide for more information on the campaign’s editorial style and how 

products can be customized. 

Additionally, visit SAMHSA’s YouTube channel to explore the archive of “Talk. They Hear 

You.” community engagement meetings, which feature community-driven best practices for 

implementing the campaign across the country. 

Step 4: Share Your Success 

Consider sharing campaign successes in your community with SAMHSA during and after 

implementation by emailing metrics and stories to underage.drinking@samhsa.gov. 

Quantifiable results are most useful to share, such as the number of brochures distributed, 

PSAs aired, etc. Your efforts might even be featured in the campaign’s newsletter, community 

engagement meetings, website, or annual report. 

Additional Resources 

SAMHSA also produces resources on the prevalence of underage drinking and youth 

substance use, which may help with your community implementation planning or evaluation 

efforts. 

• National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)—NSDUH provides national and 

state-level data on the use of tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs (including nonmedical use of 

prescription drugs), and mental health in the United States. 

• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive (SAMHDA)—SAMHDA provides 

raw data of the nation’s substance use and mental health data, including NSDUH, the 

National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services, and more. 

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