Designing and Implementing an Effective Tobacco Counter-Marketing Campaign 

Introduction 

How To Use This Manual


This manual is designed to be a comprehensive resource for state health 

departments and other agencies and organizations in developing and 

implementing tobacco counter-marketing campaigns. It is designed to help 

readers who have different levels of experience and are managing programs 

at different stages of development. 

This manual contains a wealth of information on a range of countermarketing topics. Some of the topics and information may be new to you, 

while you may already have a good command of other topic areas. This 

resource is meant to help with activities you’re working on currently, as well 

as projects you undertake in the future. Different chapters will be more 

helpful at different times. 

Don’t feel that you have to read the manual from cover to cover. This introduction should give you a sense of the manual’s content and organization. We 

suggest that you begin by reading Chapter 1: Overview of Counter-Marketing 

Programs. Then feel free to skip some chapters, read other chapters more 

thoroughly, or move directly to the subjects that are most pertinent to 

your needs. 

What You Will Find in This Manual 

The first half of the manual focuses on planning and preparation, and the 

second half addresses specific counter-marketing techniques. The manual 

also includes a list of resource organizations, appendices relevant to topics 

found in individual chapters, and a glossary. 

Introduction: How To Use This Manual 9 
Here’s a quick look at each chapter: 

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Chapter 1 provides an overview of tobacco counter-marketing and the key characteristics of 

a successful tobacco counter-marketing program. 

Chapter 2 focuses on planning the tobacco counter-marketing program. It describes seven 

planning steps, from defining the problem through developing the program. 

Chapter 3 discusses the use of market research to gain insights into your target audience. To 

create effective messages, it’s important to understand the cultures, behaviors, motivations, 

interests, and needs of the target audiences. This chapter compares and discusses three types 

of market research methods: qualitative, quasi-quantitative, and quantitative. 

Chapter 4 focuses on specific populations, which are defined by demographic characteristics 

such as age, race/ethnicity, income, educational level, and sexual orientation and by 

epidemiologic data related to health disparities. The chapter discusses cultural context, 

diversity within and among specific populations, appropriate language, potential audience 

barriers and how to overcome them, the role of formative research in working with specific 

populations, and cultural competency. 

Chapter 5 addresses program evaluation, a critical component in tobacco countermarketing campaigns. Program evaluation is the systematic collection of data about a 

program’s activities and outcomes, so the program’s delivery, efficiency, and effectiveness 

can be analyzed, better understood, and improved. 

Chapter 6 explores the key steps in implementing a successful program. It addresses how to 

manage personnel issues, choose contractors, develop marketing and communication 

plans, and involve stakeholder organizations. 

Chapter 7 examines advertising and takes the reader through the four key elements of an 

advertising campaign: logistics, strategy, creative, and exposure. 

Chapter 8 focuses on public relations (PR). The first half of the chapter outlines the process 

for using PR to reach your target audience(s) and key influencers. The second half explains 

how to implement PR activities, such as managing a PR agency, handling press relations, 

developing press materials, pitching stories, and responding to media inquiries. 

Chapter 9 discusses media advocacy. Defined as the strategic use of media and community 

advocacy to create social or policy change, media advocacy helps communities create longlasting environmental change. 

10 Introduction: How To Use This Manual 
Designing and Implementing an Effective Tobacco Counter-Marketing Campaign 

■	 Chapter 10 focuses on grassroots marketing, which includes involving new people in 

tobacco counter-marketing campaigns, increasing the involvement of those already 

reached, and using those already engaged to increase an audience’s exposure to key 

messages. Events, community organizing, and partnerships are forms of grassroots 

marketing, and they are united by their goal to create and use target audience participation. 

■	 Chapter 11 explains how media literacy relates to and reinforces tobacco counter-marketing 

campaigns. This chapter highlights the key concepts of media literacy and provides 

resources for identifying and implementing media literacy programs. 

An effective tobacco counter-marketing campaign can make a vital contribution to a comprehensive tobacco control and prevention program. Although the components of counter-marketing are 

presented separately in this manual, they work synergistically to strengthen the impact of the 

overall campaign; one or two successful components will not be enough to achieve your program 

goals. The art of tobacco counter-marketing is in blending and balancing the various components 

into a coherent, effective whole. We hope the chapters in this manual will help you develop a 

comprehensive tobacco counter-marketing program that progresses toward achieving your goals. 

Introduction: How To Use This Manual 11