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

Context: The Fort McMurray Demonstration Project in Social Marketing is a m ultifaceted program that applies the techniques of social marketing to heal th and safety. This paper describes the origins of the project and the prin ciples on which it was based. Venue: Fort McMurray, in the province of Alberta, Canada, was selected beca use the community had several community initiatives already underway and th e 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 commun ity as a whole and from workplace safety promotion in particular. Design: Specific interventions sponsored by the project include a media cam paign on cable television, public activities in local schools, a community safety audit, and media appearance by a mascot that provides visual identit y to the project, a dinosaur named "Safetysaurus." The project integrated i ts 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 under way. Results: Baseline data from the first round of surveys have been compiled a nd published. In 1995, Fort McMurray became the first city in North America to be given membership in the World Health Organization's Safe Community N etwork. (C) 2000 American Journal of Preventive Medicine.