The new Because It Matters campaign has been created to provide a simple, easy-to-remember set of messages for decisions about adult alcohol use. The print materials for the campaign are available from the Minnesota Prevention Resource Center, but the campaign is also being supported by its own Website. The address for the Because It Matters campaign is http://www.miph.org/because.

Once you are at the site, you can create a bookmark so you can easily return.

All of the materials from the print version of the kit are available on the Website. The only materials that cannot be duplicated electronically are the logo stickers, so consider them a bonus for using the print version. Otherwise, you can use the Website to educate people about the Because It Matters messages and to obtain the promotional material for your use.

Most of the materials are set up as Web pages that you can view and print for your own use. Please read the section that talks about the requested proper use of the logo and supporting materials.

Another way that we are making all of the print materials (including the ad slicks) available is through the Portable Document Format (PDF). PDF documents retain all of the formatting of the original document including fonts and graphics.

To view PDF documents you must have the Adobe Acrobat software, which is available for free for both Macintosh and PC computers. We have a link to the Adobe Website in case you need to obtain this software. Once you have the Adobe Acrobat software installed, you can download the materials in which you are most interested, and then open the file within Adobe Acrobat.

Use Agreement

We are interested in ways that you are using this kit, and we are asking everyone who makes use of these materials to send us their contact information. We have a form on the Website that you can complete. Once you have entered your information, press the Submit button and a staff member will receive an e-mail with this information.

Evaluation Form

We are also interested in your comments and concerns about this campaign. To gather these comments we have placed our evaluation form on the Website. It operates in the same manner as the Use Agreement form: enter your comments, press the Submit button, and a staff person will receive the information by e-mail.

Coming in the Future

So far, we have provided tools for you to implement this campaign in your own community, and to have access to the print materials from the Internet. As the campaign moves forward, as more materials become available, as new studies come out, and as we (and you) find other good resources to support this issue, we will update the Website to reflect this new information. Especially through your feedback, we will be able to provide a positive resource for this critical issue.