The Hydrate My State water consumption campaign was developed and implemented as a call to action to increase water consumption among SNAP-Ed eligible populations in Georgia. This campaign was carefully crafted by public health professionals and community members, with materials developed in both English and Spanish. The campaign included IRB approval, community input, social marketing and educational materials, as well as COVID-19 mitigation strategies. Community members from the target audience guided the development process with their involvement in focus groups and feedback surveys ranging from image/logo design to key messages to drive the campaign. The four key messages included:
- Thirsty? Drink Water
- Choose Water
- Drink More Water
- More Water, Less Sugar
Social Marketing Strategy
A social media strategy was implemented to promote the campaign, which included, social media posts, social media banners, recipe cards, posters, and flyers. Paid social media for this campaign included Facebook and Instagram. In addition, advertisements for the campaign were placed in MARTA (i.e. public transit) and bus shelters, with the support of OUTFRONT Media, to promote the campaign. The event was also promoted on the State of Georgia’s Division of Family & Children Services’ website and social media platforms.
The development of this campaign was coordinated by the Public Health Institute- Center for Wellness and Nutrition (CWN), the Georgia Division of Family & Children Services, HealthMPowers, the University of Georgia, the Georgia Department of Public Health, and Open Hand Atlanta. The social marketing campaign was utilized to encourage involvement in both virtual and in-person events. Early care centers, k-12 schools, out of school time sites, food pantries, retail sites and other community serving organizations paired social marketing efforts with direct and indirect education activities to encourage more water and less consumption of sugar sweetened beverages.
Adult and Child Surveys
State implementing agencies held in-person infused water demonstrations for adults and elementary school-aged children at various locations throughout Georgia. Virtual events also took place but did not include infused water demonstrations.
For adults, surveys were disseminated to assess current sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) and water intake as well as intention to improve healthy beverage intake (SNAP-Ed Indicator ST1: Intent to drink water instead of sugary beverages). Based on the demonstrations, adults agreed or strongly agreed that they:
- Were more likely to choose infused water over a sugary beverage (72%),
- Were more likely to choose beverages that have less sugar (72%),
- Were more confident in making healthy beverage choices (84%),
- Intended to buy fruits and vegetables to make infused water (68%), and
- Intended to drink more water (89%).
Children participated in an interactive survey and were asked to add stickers to the appropriate poster indicating if they tried the infused water, liked it, and would drink it again. A total of 48 children participated in the infused water taste test and evaluation. In total:
- 44 children (92%) reported liking the infused water, and
- 44 (92%) were willing to try infused water again.
Social Marketing Analytics
For the social media campaign, 498,913 impressions occurred with an approximate reach of 81,397 from September 9 - October 26, 2021. The social media campaign predominantly reached females between the ages of 25-34. The campaign reach centered within 10 zip codes, with 21.3% of the reach in Hapeville (Fulton County), followed by Norcross/Metro Atlanta (14.1%; Gwinnett County), and Forest Park (12.0%; Clayton County). Between the two social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, Facebook had the larger reach and generated the most impressions.
For the social media mobile campaign tracked by OUTFRONT media, 1,000,207 booked impressions occurred between September 16 and October 10, 2021. OUTFRONT media also promoted the campaign through advertisements across 35 sites in MARTA transit shelters and bus stations, which accumulated 5.7 million impressions throughout the campaign.
In addition, the campaign was promoted on Georgia’s Division of Family & Children Services’ (DFCS) website. In total, the reach of the webpage was 2,476 (i.e. unique page views), which was 1.5 times higher than the SNAP-Ed landing page.
Therefore, in total, the social media campaign had an approximate reach of 83,873 with 7.2 million impressions.