April: Alcohol Awareness Month

April is Alcohol Awareness Month, an opportunity to focus on the drug most affecting our youth, adults, families, businesses, and communities. Use Drug Free 24/7 to drive your Alcohol Awareness Month messaging, asking everyone within your community to reconsider the role of alcohol within the community and within their own lives.

Between traditional communication mechanisms and innovative application of social networking, you can blanket your community with awareness about alcohol, either with a specific focus (e.g. underage drinking) or a broad array of information.
Strategy framework:

1. Determine the focus: Do you want to address all the harms associated with alcohol? Or do you want to focus on a particular area (e.g. young adults) for emphasis?
2. Determine the audience: Are you targeting the messaging to a particular segment of our community (e.g. parents) or to the entire community?
3. Choose the messaging frequency: Do you want the messaging to be carried out daily? Weekly?
4. Choose the mechanism(s): Newspaper ads, Mailers, Posters, Billboard ads, Text messages, or Facebook posts. How do you want to communicate the messaging? Find willing partners to help you by providing the mechanism(s) for your messaging.
5. Choose the messages: Determine which facts, recommendations or other “messages” you want to communicate. Be strategic in your choices: You may want each message to build upon the prior one. Remember to incorporate the Drug Free 24/7 brand to continue linking your April activities with your other social marketing throughout the year.
6. Determine the best application: Choose the Drug Free 24/7 materials that best support your messaging.
7. Implement: Make it happen!

An example of an Alcohol Awareness Month Social Marketying Strategy is available at DrugFree24-7.org.
Additional Drug Free 24/7 activities and strategies are available at www.DrugFree24-7.org.

SOME HELPFUL LINKS

• Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
  www.aa.org
• Al-Anon Family Groups
  www.al-anon.alateen.org
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
  www.niaaa.nih.gov
• College Drinking: Changing the Culture (NIAAA)
  www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov
• Stop Underage Drinking: Portal of Federal Resources
  www.stopalcoholabuse.gov
• Underage Drinking: Talk Early - Talk Often - Get Others Involved: SAMHSA-NIAAA and Ad Councils
  http://underagedrinking.samhsa.gov
• The Surgeon General's Call to Action To Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking
  www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/underagedrinking
• Center for Disease Control: Alcohol and Public Health
  www.cdc.gov/Alcohol
• American Medical Association
  http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/public-health/promoting-healthy-lifestyles/alcohol-other-drug-abuse.page
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
  www.samhsa.gov
• Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth
  www.camy.org