The Fort McMurray Demonstration Project in Social Marketing: theory, design, and evaluation

Context: The Fort McMurray Demonstration Project in Social Marketing is a multifaceted program that applies the techniques of social marketing to health and safety. This paper describes the origins of the project and the principles on which it was based. Venue: Fort McMurray, in the province of Alberta, Canada, was selected because the community had several community initiatives already underway and the project had the opportunity to demonstrate “value added.” Concept: The project is distinguished from others by a model that attempts to achieve mutually reinforcing effects from social marketing in the community as a whole and from workplace safety promotion in particular. Design: Specific interventions sponsored by the project include a media campaign on cable television, public activities in local schools, a community safety audit, and media appearance by a mascot that provides visual identity to the project, a dinosaur named “Safetysaurus.” The project integrated its activities with other community initiatives. Main Outcome Measures: The evaluation component emphasizes outcome measures. A final evaluation based on injury rates and attitudinal surveys is underway. Results: Baseline data from the first round of surveys have been compiled and published. In 1995, Fort McMurray became the first city in North America to be given membership in the World Health Organization’s Safe Community Network.