The House Ear Institute has launched an aggressive consumer awareness campaign aimed at teens and young adults. The campaign uses the theme, “It’s How You Listen That Counts,” to warn young adults of the potential dangers to hearing posed by listening to loud sound. This age group, previously known as “the MTV Generation,” is now frequently referred to as the “MP3 Generation” due to the soaring popularity of digital portable music players.
Working from extensive market research carried out over several months, the Institute created advisory commercials designed to captivate teens and drive them to the campaign’s Website, www.EarBud.org, for additional information on safe listening habits. The first phase of the 10-month campaign launches in Arizona as a test market with commercial spots featured on MTV, MTV.com and five Yahoo! Websites, including Yahoo!Music.com.
The goal for phase one is to gather additional market research data and analyze which type of messaging truly impacts behavior in this age group.
“This campaign is a vital step to discovering what it will take to reach teens and young adults with a message that motivates them to make smart listening choices to preserve their hearing while still appreciating great sound,” comments Marilee Potthoff, marketing director at House Ear Institute. “Today, baby boomers who are struggling with hearing loss from the loud activities of their youth regret that they didn’t know enough when they were young to protect their hearing from permanent damage. Our goal is to deliver the warning message to the next generation before it’s too late.”
For more information, visit House Ear Institute online at www.hei.org.
