Not Just Noise: truthLIVE Concert Tour 2013 Tops The Bill At Major College Campuses

OneRepublic, TeamMate headline campus outreach effort   

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Students at five of the nation's largest colleges and universities will get a free dose of "truth" as the largest youth smoking prevention tour in the United States returns to select college campuses this fall. Leading American rock band OneRepublic headlines the show, with alternative pop band TeamMate as the opening act.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101101/DC86294LOGO)

The truthLIVE on-campus concert tour kicked off last fall. This year, students will get to experience the campaign on-campus at five more schools: Pennsylvania State University, Ohio State University, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Central Florida, and the University of Florida. Through more than a decade of traveling with established music tours like the Vans Warped Tour, the truth campaign consistently finds ways to share important messages about tobacco use, in fun, engaging ways that connect with young adults. Through truthLIVE, the campaign's important messages will be highlighted via free concerts featuring top musicians OneRepublic as well as opening act TeamMate, coupled with on-campus activities featuring the truth truck and truth tour riders – young people that educate others about tobacco use. Both the concert and truth truck appearances will be supported with advertising and promotions, gear giveaways and social media.  

In the United States, about 88 percent of adult smokers start smoking by age 18 – and more than 90 percent of smokers begin by age 20. Having a presence on college campuses provides an opportunity for truth's smoking prevention message to reach teens and young people who may be experimenting with smoking, thinking about it, or seeing people in their peer group smoke.    

"College students are still at the age of experimentation, and with emerging products like hookah, snus and e-cigarettes – there are new and potentially addictive ways for students to take up smoking and tobacco use," said Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH, president and CEO of Legacy^®, the national public health foundation that directs and funds the truth campaign. "We learned through touring college campuses last year that providing students with a 'must-see' experience is an effective way to integrate our important health and tobacco industry-related messages into a setting where college students can be open and receptive to our campaign. We're delighted to extend the truthLIVE concert experience to more schools this year, with the potential to reach thousands more students."

The tour will begin Thursday, October 3, with a concert at the main Pennsylvania State University campus in State College, and conclude on October 11 at the University of Central Florida.  Each college tour stop will feature several elements. On the day of the events themselves, truth's presence will include:

• Outside each concert venue, truth 'air dancer' balloons and custom art pieces will greet students as they make their way into the concert venue.
• The iconic orange truth "truck" and zone will feature truth tour "riders" – young people who educate young people about tobacco use in a fun, informal manner that includes games, interactive activities, dancing, contests and giveaways. A DJ will scratch and mix music and keep the party going. truth "gear" – fashionable and trendy items reflecting tobacco messages – will also be handed out.
• Lucky student winners will get a chance to "meet-and-greet" OneRepublic as well as opening act TeamMate before the concert.

Once inside the concert venue the truthLIVE experience will include:

• Video Jockey session – On a big screen onstage, a mix of visual assets from the truth campaign (ads, online creative, photos) will be morphed together with music and laser lights to highlight the campaign through a dynamic visual experience.
• truth tour riders will give out gear containing tobacco-related facts to lucky select concert attendees

All of the truth-related elements will lead up to the big moment – when OneRepublic and opening act TeamMate take the stage to offer students a memorable, free experience.

"We are excited to be on tour with OneRepublic and openers, TeamMate on these dynamic campuses, bringing the truth message to college audiences through music and our truth riders.  Partnering with a band like OneRepublic helps us reach more college students than we ever have, and allows us to entertain them while spreading the word about the dangers of tobacco use" said Eric Asche, Chief Marketing Officer at Legacy.

Other tour-related activities will include:

• Advertising – Prior to events in select college or university towns, students will see truth-related ads in their college newspapers – in both print and online editions. Online banner ads will also promote truthLIVE.
• Out of home – Posters will be placed in high-traffic areas on select campuses.
• Social Media
  • Tour details at www.thetruth.com
  • News and events information at @truthorange on Twitter; special hash tag on Twitter to follow all the action - #truthlive
  • Instagram: truthorange
  • Facebook - facebook.com/truthorange

Bands' Background:

OneRepublic
Since its formation in 2003, OneRepublic (http://onerepublic.com/)  has achieved overwhelming international success complete with a Grammy Award nomination for the band's lead single "Apologize" in 2007 and a Platinum-certified debut album Dreaming Out Loud. OneRepublic's second album Waking Up produced four successful singles, including "Good Life" which reached the top ten of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.  In March 2013, the band released its third studio album Natives that charted at number four on the Billboard 200, marking the group's highest charted album up to date.
TeamMate
TeamMate (http://teammateband.com) is a duo consisting of vocalist/keyboardist/songwriter Scott Simons and drummer/backing vocalist Dani Buncher. Their story is quite the tale of love, breakup and ultimate friendship and their music is an expression of that journey.  For the last six months, TeamMate has been at work on its debut album, due out in the spring of 2014.

truthLIVE Concert dates and locations: [NOTE: All concerts will be on a first come, first served basis] 

Tour Background

For the 2013 truthLIVE college tour, Legacy and the truth campaign worked in partnership with several creative agencies. Arnold Worldwide, Legacy's agency of record on the truth campaign, created the design of the truth zone, the truthLIVE experience, and the summer truth gear; New York City-based experiential + word of mouth marketing agency Escalate implemented and provided overall support for the truthLIVE experience.  

truth also worked with various student and local groups to bring the truthLIVE experience to each college campuses:
University Park Allocation Committee – the Pennsylvania State University
Ohio Union Activities Board (OUAB) – the Ohio State University
Pitt Program Council – the University of Pittsburgh
Campus Activities Board – the University of Central Florida
Student Government Productions – the University of Florida

BACKGROUND ON THE truth CAMPAIGN

truth, launched in February 2000, is the largest national youth smoking prevention campaign and the only national campaign not directed by the tobacco industry. The campaign exposes the tactics of the tobacco industry, the truth about addiction, and the health effects and social consequences of smoking. truth allows teens to make informed choices about tobacco use by giving them the facts about the industry and its products.

truth is a multidimensional campaign, featuring not only grassroots outreach through summer tours but also advertising, websites and interactive elements, and events. A growing body of research has confirmed the efficacy of the truth campaign in changing teens' attitudes and behaviors toward smoking. A study published in the May 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM) found that truth was directly responsible for keeping 450,000 teens from starting to smoke during its first four years, from 2000 to 2004. A second paper in that same publication found that the campaign not only paid for itself in its first two years but also saved roughly $1.9 billion and possibly up to $5.4 billion in medical care costs to society.

truth^® is the largest national youth smoking prevention campaign and the only national campaign not directed by the tobacco industry. The campaign exposes the tactics of the tobacco industry, the truth about addiction, and the health effects and social consequences of smoking. truth gives teens facts and information about the tobacco industry and its products, allowing them to make their own informed choices about tobacco use. Research-proven as an effective public health intervention, the campaign is credited with keeping hundreds of thousands of teens from starting to smoke. To learn more, visit www.thetruth.com. truth is directed and funded by Legacy, a national public health foundation located in Washington, D.C. Legacy was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. To learn more about Legacy's life-saving programs, visit www.LegacyForHealth.org.

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SOURCE Legacy