Challenge:

Preventing osteoporosis starts early—but girls are more likely to drop instead of add bone-healthy behaviors during their tween and teen years. In 2008, the Office on Women’s Health challenged Hager Sharp to revamp the outdated National Bone Health Campaign into one that would improve awareness and attitudes and motivate behavior change among adolescent girls.

Approach:

Hager Sharp developed Best Bones Forever! (BBF!) with input from girls and partners, creating an appealing brand identity focusing on friendship and encouraging girls and their BFFs (best friends forever) to “grow strong together, stay strong forever.” We cultivated partnerships to reach girls where they live, learn, and play—developing turnkey events like dance and writing contests for community partners to implement. National partners featured BBF! at their events, and in 2011, campaign staff taught “the BBF” dance to participants at a White House event—including First Lady Michelle Obama.

Results:

Girls, parents, schools, partners, and media outlets embraced Best Bones Forever! and actively promoted it to peers, members, and audiences. By building an award-winning brand that was unique to girls and executing a multifaceted, finely-targeted strategy, Hager Sharp—through BBF!—improved behavioral intentions, attitudes, and knowledge related to bone health.