Hitting the target: making condom messages that work.

A major clinical trial conducted by the Los Angeles Family Planning Council of a new non-latex condom has provided valuable information about mass media strategies. The study needed to recruit 800 monogamous couples 18-40 years of age within a two-year time frame. On the basis of cost and access factors radio newsprint and word-of-mouth were selected as the recruitment media. Ultimately the proportion of study subjects recruited by these three media were 53% 43% and 3% respectively. Newspaper advertisements cost about US$96 for each couple enrolled while radio commercials cost $138 per enrollment. A central strategy was ongoing evaluation and modification. Every couple who enrolled was questioned about the referral source and their response to the message and/or graphic. The effectiveness of five different newspaper ads was compared in this manner. Most successful was an advertisement placed in college papers and an alternative weekly that showed a couple riding on a condom rocket under the message "Journey into the condom future." An average of one couple was enrolled for every $87 spent on these ads. The rocket image was then selected for use on brochures and posters used to promote the study. To select radio stations for study commercials couples already enrolled in the study as a result of other means were surveyed as to the stations they preferred. Also essential was the use of both radio and newsprint. Recruitment statistics indicated that it would have taken 3.1 years to recruit 200 couples if only newspapers were used and 6.2 years if radio were the only medium.