Background: Mass media influences population behaviour either through tobacco industry advertising that promotes smoking behaviour or tobacco control media campaigns that discourage smoking and denormalise tobacco use in New Zealand. A picture is worth a thousand words and tobacco control needs to come up with effective and influential media campaigns. Unlike the tobacco industry, tobacco control media campaigns need to be low or no cost.

This presentation aims to demonstrate how a small NGO like Action on Smoking and Health NZ can impact and influence public opinion through media (especially earned media).

Strategy: Earned media is the strategy. It is cost-effective. It is important to have a comprehensive communication plan. Earned media was measured through news paper clippings, requests for TV and radio coverage was recorded.

The presentation will illustrate two anti-industry protests organised by ASHNZ outside the offices of British American Tobacco. Both used similar comprehensive media communication plans to attract earned media attention. The first was a ‘death fashion show' and the second a rally attended by nearly 200 Auckland teenagers screaming anti-industry messages and observing a minute's silence in memory of the 5000 New Zealanders that died due to tobacco use in NZ every year.

Earned media for one was extensive and earned media for the other was one print media story in an independent newspaper.

Conclusion: Earned media was good in one case, but not the other.The reasons for this will be analysed. The cost effectiveness of earned media and importance of having a comprehensive communication plan for events are described.