Arkansas Recognizes Laws to Protect Workers and Children from Secondhand Smoke Exposure

Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas Joins with Local Leaders in Celebrating Smoke-Free Legislation

This year will mark the fifth anniversary of legislation aimed at creating smoke-free environments in businesses and vehicles transporting children. Wednesday, July 27th at 10:00 am at the State Capitol, second floor Rotunda, the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas (CTFA) and its partners will join with legislators and public health advocates to celebrate the institution of Acts 8 and 13, as well as commemorate Act 811 of 2011, the new law that expands the current smoke-free cars law.

Act 8 of 2006, commonly referenced as the Arkansas Clean Indoor Air Act, and prohibits smoking in certain indoor areas to protect workers from the dangers of exposure to secondhand smoke on the job. It is this act that also comes with exemptions that CTFA would like to see lawmakers make more stringent. Act 13 of 2006, known as the “Arkansas Protection for Secondhand Smoke for Children Act” prohibits smoking in all motor vehicles where a child of less than 6 years and weighing less than sixty pounds and be properly restrained in a child passenger safety seat. Effective July 27th, Act 13 will be expanded by a new smoke-free cars law, Act 811 of 2011.

Signed into law March 30, 2011 by Governor Mike Beebe, Act 811 of 2011 increases the age limit from 6 years of age up to 14 years whereby 73.5% of Arkansas’ children will be covered by the smoke-free cars law, up from the 37% of youth covered by Act 13. Additionally, Act 811 allows Arkansas law enforcement to help protect young children by stopping drivers seen smoking in a car with a child present. A ticket, which currently carries a $25 fine, could be issued to offenders of the law.

“Secondhand smoke kills more than 50,000 non-smokers in the U.S. each year. Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are inhaling many of the same cancer-causing substances and poison as smokers,” stated Katherine Donald, Executive Director, Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas. “If you are a smoker, the single best way to protect your children and other family members from secondhand smoke is to quit smoking. In the meantime, you can protect your children and others by making your home and vehicles smoke-free and only smoking outside.”

“We all know secondhand smoke is dangerous,” stated Senator Percy Malone. “I’m happy to have sponsored the Act that will protect the health of our children and pushes closer to a smoke-free Arkansas. Recent scientific studies have produced irrefutable evidence that kids, cars and cigarettes are a very dangerous combination. Laws like Act 811 of 2011 are essential in protecting children in Arkansas and elsewhere, as their bodies are especially vulnerable to tobacco smoke, particularly in small, confined spaces such as cars.”

“People who smoke in vehicles most assuredly smoke in their homes,” declares Former Representative Bob Mathis. “Banning smoking in these vehicles affords children an opportunity to breathe clean air if only for a limited amount of time.”

Katherine Donald, Executive Director, Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas; Percy Malone, State Senator; Fred Allen, State Representative; Bob Mathis, Former State Representative; and other state leaders are slated to attend the press conference. The Youth Extinguishing Smoking Team (YES!) will perform an Act 811 rap song and refreshments will be served directly following the event.

For more information about the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas or the press conference, call 501.687.0345 or visit www.arfreshair.com.


About Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas 

The Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas is a network of statewide organizations with a shared mission to prevent the use of tobacco in our state. The Coalition for a tobacco Free Arkansas (CTFA) has worked, since its inception in January 1992, to improve the health of Arkansans by waging a grassroots campaign to increase public awareness of the negative effects of tobacco use.

ACI Attends MISRGO 2011-2012 Grantee Award Ceremony

ACI had the privilege of attending yesterday's 2011-2012 Grantee Award Ceremony for the Minority Initiative Sub-Recipient Grant Office.  There were 18 proud grant recipients!  Grants ranged from $35,000-$67,000 and will be used for the implementation of anti-tobacco programs in each grantees' respective community.

We were honored to support our client and demonstrate our continued commitment to securing tobacco-free lives in the state of Arkansas.  Congratulations to all grant recipients and keep up the great work!

The 2011-2012 MISRGO Sub-Grant Award Recipients.

Simply Smart Marketing

How to Speak to the Needs of the Multicultural Segment

By: Michael Steele, President and CEO 

Advantage Communications, Inc.

Despite what some may say…marketing IS here to stay. However, marketing goods and services has been and continues to remain under assault by a battery of educated professionals that have lost their way. While I’ve never disputed the value of a strong education, I have seen a precipitous decline in “new-age” marketers being well acquainted with the very basics of Marketing 101. I anticipate part of this decline is a result of our ever-changing, dynamically diverse consumer marketplace.

We now live in an age where consumers have become immensely smarter and savvy with their decision-making for goods and services. The implications of this increase in knowledge demonstrate that marketers must become smarter with their marketing assets.

In previous years, it appeared as though the majority of marketing agencies refused to hire minorities. Such practices created a void in the breadth of services and capabilities marketing agencies could have provided to speak to growing targeted audiences – which were most often African American, Hispanic, Asian and the LGBT community. In today’s terminology, we have deemed these audiences as diverse or “multicultural.”

Today, several agencies are attempting to address this void by implementing changes to attract and retain minorities – but some say it’s still no easy feat. According to Bill Gray, co-CEO of Ogilvy North America, “Hiring minorities, particularly mid-and senior-level employees, into the business is tough for several reasons. You’ve got to have senior, visible minorities who can act as validation that the industry has opportunities.” (source:adage.com). Nevertheless, we know this void must be aggressively addressed.

According to the 2010 Census data, nearly 40% of the total United States population is African American or Hispanic American, an increase of nearly 17% from the 2000 Census. This speaks volumes to the need for marketers to truly understand to whom they are speaking. Marketing consumer goods and services, in particular, requires a solid understanding of the needs of the consumer audiences as well as those things that will most closely resonate with their culture and socioeconomic status. Consumer goods marketing to diverse audiences must answer the question, “What’s in it for me?”

Upon gaining such consumer learnings, a marketer is equipping himself/herself to be sufficiently prepared for the development of successful tactics and programs. However, before cascading learnings into tactical execution, it is essential that objectives and strategies are set. Too often, it appears as though our young marketers simply ignore this vital step. Of course, it is more fun and exciting to develop advertisements and facilitate flashy programs. I understand this. But I continue to stress to my associates at Advantage Communications, Inc., that you must allow your objectives and strategies to set the tone for your tactics – never the inverse. I ask my associates “What good is an idea without a goal?”

Many of you are familiar with the concept of SMART objectives – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-oriented. This concept still reigns true today. We would all love to change the world overnight, but that’s not realistic. Objectives must satisfy each of the elements of the SMART concept. With this, complementary strategies may be developed to assure objectives will be successfully accomplished.   

My point to marketers, particularly those within the multicultural spectrum, is this - we can no longer rely on hanging signs with brown faces in ‘certain’ neighborhoods or simply having a presence in minority-targeted media outlets and events as a means to encourage minorities to consume our clients’ products. Now is the time for us to be more strategic in our efforts. However, strategy is built on the foundation of knowledge and in this case, what you may have learned in business school is not enough.

Today, we must focus our efforts on both above - and below-the-line program activation. In other words, we must be integrated versus adjunct in our work. What does this look like? I see it as a simple model of “conversion”. Essentially, our job is to convert positive brand imagery (which should equate to a consumer’s personal identification with the brand) to transactions – without exception.  

I’ve noticed that today’s multicultural advertising agencies consider themselves to be industry leaders in marketing to African American, Hispanics, Asians, and other groups. However, at Advantage Communications, Inc. we not only consider ourselves to be multicultural experts but also specialists in targeted marketing or market segmentation. What some may misconstrue is that the word “targeted” implies reaching ethnic groups solely. This is not the case at our agency. We utilize market segmentation to identify targeted audiences by:    

•  Ethnicity
• Age
• Gender
• Geography
• Sexual Preference
• Consumer Trends and Habits
• Economic Status
• And More!

Diversity is our niche.

Several marketing giants such as McDonald’s and Nike also understand and utilize targeted marketing strategies to reach consumers of all types. In fact, they openly target minority consumers without hesitation as they can easily represent the differences between profits and declines. These are simply segments that cannot be ignored. Marketers must understand that the monolithic – or one message for all approach - is no longer effective. Our consumers need multiple messages disseminated via multiple mediums.

We as minorities have very different consumption behavior and cannot always be reached via the same methods as the majority population. It just doesn’t work for us. We tend to use products differently, view and consume media differently, behave differently and soon will become the majority! Obviously, the key word here is “difference.”

So allow me to ask this question, Are your communications plans suffering from a bad case of what I call “monolithitis”? 

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The “Super-Sizing” of America

By: Michael Steele, President and CEO 

Advantage Communications, Inc.

Since our inception in early 2000, Advantage Communications, Inc. has taken great pride in our approach to not being your “traditional” group of marketers. We consider ourselves to be a different type of agency in that we specialize in speaking to the needs of ALL consumers. Additionally, we have established ourselves as both domestic and international communications gurus. Our “sweet spot”, however, is health communications as it pertains to addressing public health challenges and advocating constructive behavior modifications.

To name just one example of our success in the realm of public health, Advantage Communications, Inc. has been and remains a long-standing pioneer in the fight against minority tobacco consumption. But now, we’ve come to realize we’re on the brink of a new tobacco… a public health issue that is currently affecting many Arkansans and citizens of the United States, particularly minorities …one that will continue to plague us if we do not adopt an aggressive approach for social and physiological change…one that can be fought, but the first step is acknowledgment.

The name? OBESITY.

Why is it that so many of us feel as though we’re invincible or somewhat immune to certain aliments and illnesses? Look at the facts. African Americans and Hispanic Americans are disproportionately affected by diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, colon cancer, prostate cancer, and now obesity -- which largely contributes to many of these illnesses. Understanding there are several intangible factors (such as hereditary and/or genetic dispositions) that may influence why one person is affected by an illness and another of a similar demographic profile is not, we must also understand that some factors we do control. Eating is one of these factors. 

Below are just a few of the startling statistics we found from the Office of Minority Health about the impact of the obesity epidemic on African Americans and Hispanic Americans:

• African American women have the highest rates of being overweight or obese compared to other groups in the U.S. About four out of five African American women are overweight or obese. 
• In 2007, African Americans were 1.4 times as likely to be obese as Non-Hispanic Whites. 
• In 2003-2004, African American children between ages 6-17 were 1.3 times as likely to be overweight than Non-Hispanic whites. 
•  From 2003-2006, Mexican American women were 30% more likely to be overweight, as compared to Non-Hispanic Whites. 
• In 2007, Hispanic adults were 50% less likely to engage in active physical activity as Non-Hispanic Whites. 

Beyond these statistics, a 2009 press release from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated, “Blacks had 51 percent higher prevalence of obesity, and Hispanics had 21 percent higher obesity prevalence compared with whites.” Dr. William H. Dietz, Director of CDC′s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity said, “If we have any hope of stemming the rise in obesity, we must intensify our efforts to create an environment for healthy living in these communities.”

With the increasing diversity of the U.S. population – soon to be more than half the total population over the next few years – comes a tax. The tax is a disproportionate incidence of obesity closely aligned with minority growth rates. Of course, this is not to say minorities are the only groups affected by obesity. Yet, we continue to feel the heavy burden.

According to a 2010 New York Times article entitled “A Shift Toward Fighting Fat”, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation’s largest private funding source for fighting smoking, has pledged to spend $500 million in five years to battle childhood obesity. Just as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has risen to the occasion to “face the fat”, such must also be the case for the communications and media industry.

We know African Americans, in particular, consume more television in late night, daytime and primetime on average than all other U.S. homes. We control how, when and where messages are positioned so why would we not want to use this type of power to positively educate minorities? The communications industry is essentially driving the increase of obesity amongst all populations but disproportionately against minorities.

On the other hand, I also know several of my counterparts depend on the obesity-fueling industry of fast food as their life line. In fact, many of the larger multicultural agencies manage diversity accounts for McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and the like. However, my agency is ready to take a stand against this revenue-generating, yet fatal industry. We’re ready to stop blaming obesity on the personal choices of one person to the next and say it is our fault for not advocating healthier ways of living to our own people.

We see this not so much as a challenge but an opportunity to rise above common stigmas about minorities involving our overindulgence in junk foods and lack of exercise. Many of us prove this to be untrue in the ways we live our lives, but many still do not know. It is our job to let them know.

Understanding the number of obese minorities will not decrease overnight, it will take a collective effort to make a difference. I challenge each of my fellow marketers to join me as we push the needle on a topic that is affecting each of us in one way or another. I challenge each of them not to abandon their fast-food clients but instead bring a new level of innovation to the marketing of their products and services. I challenge each of them to use the multicultural segment as a means to secure healthier lives for our children and their children.

Join Me.

Advantage Communications Receives International Recognition for Television Advertising

Television advertising for tobacco prevention and cessation raises the bar in public health communications

Advantage Communications, Inc. – a full service marketing, advertising, and public relations agency based in Little Rock, Arkansas – has received notification by The International Davey Awards that its work in public health communications will be honored by the organization.

The International Davey Awards recognizes the outstanding creative accomplishments of advertising agencies. In its sixth year, The International Davey Awards accepted international nominations and reviewed submissions by a team of creative experts. Advantage Communications, Inc.’s work for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff 15% Set-A-Side Program was recognized from a pool of 4,000 entries.

Stand Off, a creative unit featuring world boxing champion Jermain Taylor, and Stamp It Out, a hip-hop unit featuring hip-hop artist Lil’ Speedie, were awarded in the categories of Healthcare (non-hospital) and Not-for-Profit respectively. Both units were thirty-second television units designed to promote the benefits of tobacco cessation and to encourage minorities to abstain from the use of tobacco products.

“This recognition speaks to the commitment of Advantage Communications, Inc. to produce quality creative that is assertive and encourages behavior change,” stated Michael Steele, President and CEO of Advantage Communications, Inc. We are honored by this recognition and will continue our pursuit of excellence for our clients.”

“The UAPB 15% Set-A-Side has a charge to create a healthier state by sharing the life-saving benefits of tobacco cessation and encouraging minority populations in our state to quit tobacco use, stated Toni McCastle, Media Liaison for the 15% Set-A-Side. “It is outstanding to learn that our message is truly pushing the needle in public health communications and helping us meet our goal.”

Advantage Communications, Inc. is an award-winning advertising agency. With a host of accolades for creative development, project management and executive leadership, Advantage Communications recently received a W3 Award for Website Design for Arkansas Adult Education.

“We appreciate advertising awards, but what really motivates our team is seeing our creative work change behavior and yield results to our clients. This Davey Award is a perfect combination of the two,” commented Steele.

To view the award winning creative referenced in this announcement and additional agency creative units, visit www.advantageci.com. For more information about Advantage Communications, Inc. please contact Olivia Dedner at 501.374.2220.

Local Advertising Agency CEO Appointed to Central Arkansas American Heart Association Board of Directors

Michael Steele accepts invitation to make Central Arkansas healthier community.

Michael Steele, President and CEO of Little Rock advertising agency, Advantage Communications, Inc. (500 Broadway, Suite 402; Little Rock), has recently been appointed to the American Heart Association Central Arkansas Board of Directors.

The American Heart Association is a national voluntary health agency whose mission statement is: "Building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke." The association's 2020 impact goal is to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent while reducing deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stroke by 20 percent. Since 1949, the American Heart Association has grown rapidly in size, financial resources, involvement with medical and non-medical volunteers, and influence - both nationally and internationally.

“I am honored to be appointed as a member of the Central Arkansas American Heart Association Board of Directors,” explained Steele. “Understanding the need to promote a heart-healthy community for Arkansans, I am eager to roll up my sleeves and get to work! I thank the American Heart Association for this opportunity.”

Advantage Communications, Inc. is a full-service, advertising, marketing and public relations agency located in downtown Little Rock. Established in late 2000, Advantage Communications, Inc. has serviced a variety of clients some of which include Verizon Wireless, Central Arkansas Water, Arkansas Adult Education, Stamp Out Smoking, the Department of Workforce Services, the Arkansas Department of Health HIV/STD/Hepatitis C Section, Arkansas Minority Health Commission, and more.

For more information about the American Heart Association or the Central Arkansas Board of Directors, call 501.375.9148 or visit www.americanheart.org/ar. For more information about Advantage Communications, Inc, visit www.advantageci.com or call 501.374.2220.