Creating a movement for active living via a media campaign

Background: Activate Omaha (AO), a community-wide health initiative, was awarded a grant by Active Living by Design in 2003. Purpose: To establish credibility of the partners in AO and increase awareness of active living in the community by emphasizing promotions (branding, logo recognition). Methods: Media, including billboards, TV and radio ads, high-profile spokespersons, grassroots efforts, and worksite "toolkits" featuring tips and creative messaging on physical activity were combined to incentivize people to be physically active. Campaign surveys were conducted by the Market Survey Research Group each year from 2005 to 2008. Results: Survey data based on the first campaign indicated that 86% of Omahans wanted to be part of an active community and to be active with younger generations. The second campaign focused on getting families physically active together, and this survey data showed that citizens wanted to be a part of an active community. A third campaign added practical examples of citizens being active within the community and efforts expanded to worksites with consistent messaging for employees. The final survey indicated that 78% of respondents found Omaha to be an active community compared to 63% who had that response 3 years earlier. Conclusions: Activate Omaha was successful in gaining credibility and leveraging additional funding to implement complementary programming and physical projects, and as a result, changing community perceptions and influencing policy decisions.