1. Digital Strategies for Reducing Sugar Sweetened Beverage Consumption Jennifer Kearney Digital Strategies for Health Communication Emerson College/Tufts University School of Medicine

2. Who, What, Why Who: Kick The Can; Sugar Bites; Sugar Free Kids MD What: To reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, especially in children Why: different locations; varying target audiences; varying disseminations of facts, messages

3. Kick The Can Solving the obesity and diabetes epidemics through advocating for policies to build healthier communities. Target audience: Advocates wishing to see reduced sugary beverage consumption in their communities.

9. SWOT Analysis Strengths -Wide variety of materials, wide array of formats -Easy to navigate site -Has email list for updates/news -FAQs cover questions public may have about reducing soda consumption Weaknesses -Blog is hidden under “Hot Topics” which can be misleading -Website focuses on soda – mission is reducing SSBs Opportunities -Make website less busy on main page -Rename menu headers -Post success stories -Narrow target audience -Identify community advocates Threats -Skepticism from public -Target audience may not feel information applies to them -Target audience may not feel like they can make a difference in their community

10. Recommendations Low-cost Join Instagram Identify people who are KTC advocates Redesign menu headers on website Higher-cost Hire a social media specialist Develop case studies

11. Sugar Bites Non-profit division of Take 5 Mission: preventing childhood obesity in Contra Costa county (CA) through reducing consumption of sugary drinks Target audience: parents of children 0-5

16. SWOT Analysis Strengths -Charts healthy drinks for age ranges 0-5 -Multiple external links about: SSBs, water intake, marketing, obesity -All multimedia available for download -Entire site can be viewed in Spanish -YouTube videos of ads average 75,000 views Weaknesses -Informational videos on YouTube average 850 views -No social media presence besides YouTube -Minimal social engagement -Only applicable to children 0-5 Opportunities -Blog for additional engagement -Use Facebook and Twitter beyond sharing links on personal pages -Separate resource links and actionable links for easier access Threats -Funding -Disengaged target audience -Difficulty gauging success metrics of social sharing

17. Recommendations Low cost Develop blog for additional engagement Separate “Resources” and “Further Action” for easier access to information High Cost Hire a social media specialist

18. Sugar Free Kids MD Mission is to reverse trend of childhood obesity by: Educating about epidemics of obesity and diabetes and the role sugary drinks play in these epidemics Raise awareness Build a strong, diverse coalition Affect legislative change Target Audience: parents of children, policymakers, social changemakers

21. SWOT Analysis Strengths -Multiple calls-to-action across site -Summarizes bills/taxes SFK is fighting -Status updates on passing/rejecting bills -Clear opportunities for teens to be involved -Very active on social media -Mobile optimization Weaknesses -Only signup links are for corporate/organizational support -Only two social media links on site -Teen involvement is outdated by 6 months Opportunities -“Sign Up” link for individual support -Social sharing option for bills/petitions -YouthSummit as an ongoing project Threats -Overwhelming amount of information -Large sponsors can deter target audience

22. Recommendations Low-cost Provide more audience-friendly information Share updates on bills via social media Join Instagram Higher-cost Social campaigns around proposals and bills Content development that is shareable beyond community advocates

23. Most Effective Thorough, engaging, active Great ideas, needs consistency Needs social media pages, strategy

24. Resources Kick The Can. (2015). Retrieved from http://kickthecan.info.http://kickthecan.info Kick The Can. (2015). Kick The Can About Us. Retrieved from http://www.kickthecan.info/about-kick-can.http://www.kickthecan.info/about-kick-can Kick The Can. (2015). Kick The Can Facebook page. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/kickthecaninfo.https://www.facebook.com/kickthecaninfo Kick The Can. (2015). Kick The Can Twitter account. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/kickthecaninfo.https://twitter.com/kickthecaninfo Sugar Bites. (2015). Retrieved from http://cutsugarydrinks.org.http://cutsugarydrinks.org Sugar Bites. (2015). Protect Your Kids. Retrieved from http://cutsugarydrinks.org/en/protect-your-kids.http://cutsugarydrinks.org/en/protect-your-kids Sugar Bites. (2015). Share on Facebook. Retrieved from http://www.cutsugarydrinks.org/en/protect-your-kids#http://www.cutsugarydrinks.org/en/protect-your-kids# Sugar Bites. (2015). Share on Twitter. Retrieved from http://www.cutsugarydrinks.org/en/protect-your-kids#.http://www.cutsugarydrinks.org/en/protect-your-kids# Sugar Free Kids MD. (2015). Sugar Free Kids MD Facebook page. Retrieved from http://facebook.com/sugarfreekidsmd.http://facebook.com/sugarfreekidsmd Sugar Free Kids MD. (2015). Sugar Free Kids MD Twitter account. Retrieved from http://twitter.com/sugarfreekidsmd.http://twitter.com/sugarfreekidsmd Sugar Free Kids MD. (2015). Retrieved from http://sugarfreekidsmd.org.http://sugarfreekidsmd.org Sugar Free Kids MD. (2015). Sugar Free Kids MD Facebook page. Retrieved from http://facebook.com/sugarfreekidsmd.http://facebook.com/sugarfreekidsmd Sugar Free Kids MD. (2015). Sugar Free Kids MD Twitter account. Retrieved from http://twitter.com/sugarfreekidsmd.http://twitter.com/sugarfreekidsmd