Before You Trip

Challenge

With the use of psychedelics rising, particularly among Gen Z, the Coalition for Psychedelic Safety Education (CPSE) needed to break through with this audience about the potential risks of psychedelics. To be effective it couldn’t be a “just say no”/anti-drug program, but a judgment-free, harm-reduction education campaign grounded in science and empathy. The core difficulty was carving out a voice that honestly addressed risks in a social media environment that primarily amplified the positive aspects of psychedelic use.

Solution 

The “Before You Trip” (BYT) pilot campaign was strategically launched in Colorado, where the decriminalization of psychedelics has led to an increase of psychedelic usage. Informed by the current psychedelic conversation and the media habits of the Gen Z audience, Before You Trip was designed to meet them on social media with trusted influencer content to stop their scroll. Campaign messages balanced the provocative, while encouraging them to Pause. Learn. Reflect. All campaign elements, including paid social media and partner amplification, drove traffic to the BeforeYouTrip.org website for science-based educational resources and a user survey. 
 

Outcome 

The campaign was remarkably effective on a limited budget, driving 66,000 visits to the website and achieving 6.9 million impressions across all media. Post-exposure survey results demonstrated a significant influence on audience understanding of risks and harm-reduction strategies. Self-reported knowledge of psychedelic risks increased by 49%, and knowledge of harm-reduction strategies increased by 55% among those who interacted with the BYT content.