BeAware: You have the power to end tobacco use.
This is just one of the slogans created by Ohio State students for Debunkify, Ohio's campaign to stop smoking.
These students, all part of the American Marketing Association, were chosen to be a part of PRoject U, a marketing competition involving 13 other schools, said Niki Crowe, a senior in strategic communication and account supervisor of the BeAware campaign.
"BeAware is our slogan," Crowe said. "Last year (Debunkify) was all about the myths. We concentrate on cultural infiltration, or how tobacco influences our campus."
"It's important for students to know how they affect each other," said Emily Metz, a sophomore in finance and finance manager for OSU's Debunkify team.
The team was given $8,000 by Northlich, one of the companies behind Debunkify, to manage and create the campaign, Crowe said. Northlich received money from the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation to fund the project, she said. The money comes from the 1998 master settlement agreement, when citizens won their case against big tobacco companies.
Using this money, the OSU Debunkify team has three different requirements to fulfill.
"We must increase awareness of tobacco modeling, increase brand awareness of Debunkify and stand and initiate traffic to the Web site," Crowe said.
The Web site, debunkify.com/osu, has information about the student-created campaign, upcoming events and team-member biographies. The Web site, along with events such as the BeAware smoke free movie night Feb. 23, is part of the team's scoring criteria for the competition.
"We're basically running our own marketing company," said Ben Bracy, a sophomore in marketing and team research coordinator. "We learn what it is like to have all the responsibility."
The team also has to give a presentation of its work in Cincinnati, Metz said.
Despite the pressure and responsibility, the Debunkify members said they think working on the BeAware campaign is worthwhile.
"My mom's been smoking since she was 14. It's a conflict of interest," she said laughing. "(The campaign) is a good way to get experience while letting my mother know I'm not OK with it."
In high school, Dimitar Popov joined Stand, an Ohio youth movement aimed to empower other teens to reject tobacco, according to its Web site. Popov, a sophomore in international business administration and the team's interactive leader, said he became part of BeAware for reasons similar to Metz.
"I grew up with my mom smoking," he said. "While we are doing this for a good cause, we get this amazing opportunity."
Cayce Wunsch, a junior in fashion merchandising and the public relations expert for the BeAware campaign, said she joined because she has always been involved with helping others quit smoking.
"All throughout high school I had some good friends who smoked, and they looked up to me to help them quit," Wunsch said. "It's basically passion that makes me do this."
The campaign is all based around the idea of peer modeling and peer influence, Crowe said.
"We want to make sure we have a good impact," she said.
Help out the team by visiting debunkify.com/osu.
Everdeen Mason can be reached at mason.388@osu.edu.
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