CLEAN AIR KANSAS
Saving lives by personalizing the issue of smoking in the workplace 

The Challenge

Big tobacco doesn’t like to lose. The industry flexes its considerable financial muscle in each fight – and infamously will block legislation that hurts them, so no changes can occur. It was only two years ago that smoking in all workplaces, bars and restaurants was legal in Kansas. Smoking, and second hand smoke in public places, was increasingly seen as a health hazard – and Kansans were ready to fight back. People’s lives were at stake so we had to find a way to win, even with our opponent’s notoriously deep pockets.

We needed to create an integrated campaign – a knock out punch – to get the public fired up against smoking in public places, and get legislators to pass a ban on smoking. How could we personalize the message and reach Kansans through unconventional outreach efforts and effect change that could literally mean life or death? We had to act fast, create a campaign that had legs and muscle, and catch Big Tobacco off guard. 

The Solution

We rolled out a multi-pronged campaign with the goal of getting the law changed and ban smoking in the workplace. The plan included an innovative phone program to enhance the lobbying efforts and new media outreach. From there, it gained strength as we launched a full-scale outreach effort reverberating within the community and with legislators.

We created a Live ID program using state-of-the-art technology. After conducting in-depth research, we carefully crafted scripts that we used to call Kansans directly and asked if they supported a law banning smoking in workplaces. We gathered information on how many people outside their households they talked to about political issues and if they would record a message about why they thought Kansas should be smoke-free.

We planned to use the personal accounts on the recorded messages to gain influence on the legislative side. No one was prepared for what we heard. Haunting stories flowed in, like the one from the distraught preacher who lost a young man in his parish from second-hand smoke. There was the woman with cancer who regretted her lifetime of smoking – but couldn’t muster up the resolve to quit before it was too late. We put the best of the recordings from each district onto district-specific CDs that were hand-delivered to 20 targeted legislators – in the statehouse parking lot so they could listen on their commutes home. With compelling stories from familiar voices within their district, law makers could not turn away.

The personal stories were streamed onto the Clean Air Kansas web site, Facebook and other outlets. From there, buzz kicked in allowing participants to share their own stories on Facebook, Twitter, or their personal blogs. The message was spreading like wildfire through social media and grassroots tactics. An interactive map on the website was organized by location, making it easy for Kansans to find friends, neighbors and family members who recorded messages.

We were taking a big, state-wide issue and personalizing it street by street, community by community.  In addition to the growing community buzz and grassroots outreach, the media picked up the story to further incite the growing anti-smoking storm. 

The Result

By putting state-of-the-art technology and an innovative program behind real people, the  collective voices were resonating across the state. The candid accounts of Kansans were drowning out the big dollars spent by tobacco companies to fight back. We identified over 11,000 influential supporters who talked to their friends and family and garnered an astounding 5,000 recordings of heartfelt and gripping personal stories.

On the legislative side, reaction was phenomenal. Senators and Representatives were blown away by the messages, many from constituents they knew personally and whose voices they recognized. Legislators could not turn away from these real world stories.

Our creative strategies helped Clean Air Kansas prevail. With a small budget, innovative tools and creative thinking, the campaign was a resounding success. The press called it the most sophisticated lobbying campaign Kansas had ever seen. It generated a flood of media interest, community buzz and most importantly, changes to the law. The original goal was to get the law changed in five years – we did it in nine months. Smoking in public places is now banned in Kansas.

For Stones’ Phones, the innovative Clean Air Kansas program won that year's Pollie Award for Best Use of New Technology. 

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