“We are behaviorists,” says Rescue Agency founder Jeffrey Jordan. “We talk about what people care about and why smoking goes against their values.” ForbesSmallGiants
upiter Velvet, a transgender drag queen wearing a hot-pink catsuit and a frizzy blonde wig, is about to lip-sync the Britney Spears hit “Breathe on Me” before hundreds of revelers from Atlanta’s LGBTQ community. But before she begins, she holds a gas mask in front of her face and tells the crowd why she doesn’t smoke. “I am tobacco-free because, as a trans woman, it took me years to learn how to love my body,” she says. “And I won’t allow toxins to ruin the relationship I’ve built with my body.
For this anti-smoking video targeted at the LGBTQ community, Rescue cast four drag queens featured on the TV show From his light-filled office overlooking Mission Bay, he describes how traditional health marketing targets broad demographic groups like African-Americans or teenagers with scolding, one-size-fits-all messages. In a file on his computer he stores what he calls “moralist” ads. A classic of the genre: “This Is Your Brain on Drugs.
When he was 15, a friend brought him to a meeting hosted by the Southern Nevada Health District, which was starting a youth anti-smoking drive. According to Maria Azzarelli, who was managing the program, he stood out as a natural leader. Within a year, still a volunteer, he was shaping the campaign’s approach.
Rescue staged a series of events in hipster bars, bringing in DJs, musicians, artists and fashion designers to deliver the message. “We made it a cool thing not to smoke,” says Jordan. Still, Rescue’s rates remain lower than those at many agencies, at $100 to $200 an hour, while competitors with commercial clients can charge $500. “We’re profitable and competitive and we want to create an impact,” he says. Rescue’s biggest break came in 2012, when it won the first of two multi-year contracts with the FDA, altogether worth more than $400 million over ten years. Revenue shot up.
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