Evaluation of a National Physical Activity Intervention for Children: VERB™ Campaign, 2002-2004

The VERB health marketing campaign is one response to the call of many public health advocates who see the promotion of youth physical activity as an increasingly pressing national priority in the United States. Published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (Vol. 32, Issue 1), this 6-page report shares data from a longitudinal study of the second year of evaluation of VERB (please see the "Related Links", below, to access impact data from this report, and further information about the programme). In short, evaluators found that the VERB campaign continued to positively influence children’s attitudes about physical activity and their physical activity behaviours; in addition, the effects were expanded to more children.

Specifically, launched in 2002 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the VERB campaign (which concluded in September 2006) used commercial methods of youth marketing to advertise being physically active as "cool" and fun, and as providing a chance to have a good time with friends. As detailed here, in commercial marketing, a campaign is often built around a brand; in this case, the brand is "VERB," the part of speech in the English language that expresses action. Professionally produced television, radio, and print advertisements were developed, based on the theories of planned behaviour and social cognitive theory. Messages sought to improve children's beliefs about the positive benefits of physical activity and their self-efficacy to overcome the barriers related to participation in physical activity.

Evaluators used a telephone survey to assess physical activity behaviours and attitudes at baseline and for 2 years of follow-up amongst a nationally representative cohort of 2,257 parent–child (9- to 13-year old) dyads. Relationships of campaign awareness to behavioural and psychosocial effects were analysed with use of propensity scoring. After 2 years, a dose–response effect was detected in the study population. That is, the more children who reported seeing VERB messages, the more physical activity they reported - and the more positive their attitudes were about the benefits of being physically active. Children aware of VERB reported engaging in significantly more physical activity than children unaware of VERB. These results were considerably stronger than the effects after Year 1. An awareness effect of VERB on physical activity was also detected. For example, among children aware of VERB, 61.2% reported physical activity on the previous day in 2004, while 45.7% of children unaware of the campaign reported previous-day physical activity.

An excerpt from the Discussion section of the report follows:
"After 2 years of the VERB campaign, there was a positive relationship between the frequency with which children reported seeing the campaign and their cognitive and behavioral outcomes related to physical activity. In 2004, the more children saw the campaign, the more active they were and the more positive were their attitudes toward physical activity. The results provide important information about the impact of health marketing on the 21 million youth in the campaign's targeted age range. This study revealed that 81% of U.S. children aged 9 to 13 years were aware of VERB and engaged in about one more session of free-time physical activity in a typical week in 2004 compared to those who were not aware of the campaign. Campaign planners hypothesize that children aware of VERB received additional cues and motivation to engage in physical activity; organized activity levels did not change because the campaign did not target organized sports, but rather encouraged playing 'anywhere, anytime' and 'by your own rules'....

Working to achieve a nation of children who are physically active at recommended levels is a national imperative. VERB seeks to make the decision to do something active the easy, appealing choice for children and to improve social norms about physical activity. Campaign planners are well aware of the irony of using a media-based approach to reducing sedentary behavior; however, changing normative behaviors requires reaching children where they are being influenced by other lifestyle messages and necessitates the breadth of intervention that only a large-scale media campaign can provide. This evaluation shows that a national campaign can have a positive impact on the physical activity levels of millions of young people by surrounding them with engaging messages and by promoting opportunities to incorporate physical activity in their daily lives. With adequate investment, health marketing shows promise to affect the attitudes and behavior of children."