Because teens are so inundated with messages every day, drawing their attention to a new danger is extremely difficult. In short, Generations Z is very jaded. So to delve down into the regions of emotion where real change can take place, we must become story tellers—we must tell a story that connects with the audience in a way that bypasses all of the emotional defenses they have in place. The story cannot be contrived, or use forced emotion, but must be engaging and ring of truth.

An excellent example of this is the TWLOHA organization, which deals with the difficult issues of suicide, self mutilation, and substance abuse. The most compelling aspect of their campaign is a story written by the founder about a girl who he was able to rescue from almost certain death. So the basis of their campaign is one powerful story. Yes they have the cool web design, shirts, and print materials that are the staples of an effective teen-centric campaign, but at the center of their campaign is a powerful story, and the inspiration that story gives to the reader.

What do YOU consider lethal?

This is the question my associates and I have been cogitating over for a bit. A few months ago we began working with a fantastic organization called Impact Teen Drivers. Impact’s mission is to save lives by educating teens on the dangers of reckless and distracted driving (the leading killer of teens in America) through an online ad campaign, and curriculum for high school classrooms.

Clear Blue Studios was brought in because Impact’s first campaign was not as effective as it should have been considering the amount time and money invested. So this is the setting for our foray into redeveloping and conducting an effective teen-centric ad campaign.

Utilizing our knowledge of what makes an effective teen-centric campaign, we began developing ways to use Impact’s existing campaign theme in a way that would better connect with teens, and would be more effective in the classroom.

What we discovered was the fact that most teens have known someone who has died in an accident, and/or they have been in a close call themselves. So to make the emotional connection with teens, we decided to effectively propagate the stories of those who have experience first hand the horrible consequences of distracted and reckless driving. The image of a young guy, tears streaming down his face, talking about his best friend who died in a car crash caused by reckless driving is not an easy image for the viewer to shake. This is truth, punctuated by the fact that none of us are immune to the deadly consequences of reckless or distracted driving.

There are so many amazing communication mediums we can use to connect with our audiences, but at the core of our promotion there is always a story we are trying to tell. The key is the effective dissemination of that story utilizing the mediums used by our target audience.

So what is your story?