Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust
Tobacco use remains a leading cause of preventable death in Oklahoma. Each year, 7,500 Oklahomans die from smoking-related illness, and tobacco-related health care costs reach $1.88 billion annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adult smoking prevalence is 14.1%, with a statewide goal to reduce it to 13.4% by July 2025.
Funded by the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust through the Master Settlement Agreement, the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline has generated more than 500,000 registrations since 2003. While awareness is strong, motivating tobacco users to act immediately remained a key challenge.
To create urgency and increase enrollments, the Helpline introduced a limited-time offer of eight weeks of free nicotine replacement therapy, compared with its standard two-week offer.
Increase the average number of Helpline registrants by 20% during the Limited Time Offer campaign flights.
Secondary goals included:
VI Marketing and Branding developed an integrated campaign focused on urgency, value and visible support. The strategy positioned eight free weeks of nicotine replacement therapy as a time-sensitive opportunity and reinforced the Helpline’s comprehensive support services.
The primary audience included Oklahoma adults ages 25-64 who use tobacco. Messaging was tailored for priority populations, including SoonerCare members, Native Americans, pregnant women, males and smokeless tobacco users.
Paid and owned tactics included:
The Helpline launched an integrated campaign promoting eight weeks of free nicotine replacement therapy, plus coaching, digital tools and a Quit Kit. Highly targeted media met tobacco users where they are in their quit journey. Social-first photo and video content, captured on iPhone, ensured platform-native authenticity.
A stop-motion concept featuring cardboard symbolized the tangible support participants receive. The handcrafted approach made quitting feel accessible and reinforced a simple message: no one has to quit alone.
The main objective to: “Increase the average number of Helpline registrants by 20% during the Limited-Time Offer campaign flights,” and preliminary results show we exceeded this goal by 68%. (The average number of registrations during the Limited-Time Offer campaign was 780 - compared to 464 in the months when the campaign was not live.)
While the Helpline was live with the Limited-Time Offer, the team has found success in adding registrants to the Helpline. This work increases the number of people working to quit tobacco, making our state healthier and hitting our overall objective of reducing smoking prevalence in Oklahoma.
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