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Connect Effect

“The power of connection protects teens”

Colorado Attorney General (Department of Law, Opioid Response Unit) youth fentanyl prevention campaign launched 1 September 2023 for 11-18-year-olds and their parents, teachers and coaches. It uses positive social norms (e.g. 87% of Colorado teens would try to protect a friend from taking a pill not prescribed to them) to reinforce that most teens are not misusing pills, and teaches the risks of fentanyl-laced pills and powders, overdose signs and naloxone. Paid for with $750,000 of opioid settlement money over two years.

Years
2023–now
Country
United States
Budget
$750,000 over the next two years (opioid settlement funds), per the Colorado Attorney General, 1 Sept 2023
Topic
DrugsHarm reductionOpioids
Asks people to
Never startRecognizeTalk to someone
Strategy
Peer crowdSimple instructionSocial norms
Channel
OutdoorSchoolSocial (paid)Website
Audience
ParentsYouth
Colorado youth aged 11-18, their parents/guardians and other trusted adults such as teachers and coaches; parent materials in English and Spanish.

Evidence

Self-reportedUnknown

Agency-reported: a third-party evaluation found nearly three in five Colorado teens were aware of the campaign after 12 weeks; click-through rate six times industry benchmarks; six regions adopted the campaign (SE2). No behavioral outcome reported.

Sponsor (who paid)

Credits (who made it)

Executions (individual ads)

Related campaigns

Sources

  1. Colorado Attorney General: Colorado fentanyl education campaign highlights youth making healthy choices sponsor · 2023
  2. SE2: Engaging youth and empowering communities to create the Connect Effect sponsor · 2025
  3. Connect Effect campaign site sponsor
  4. Connect Effect YouTube channel archive

Research notes

US-CO. Discovered 2026-10-22 for #17. Credits checked 2026-10-22 against fetched pages: SE2 (AG release: SE2 "was selected through a competitive bidding process to manage" the campaign; SE2 case page: the Opioid Response Unit "engaged SE2 to develop and launch" it and describes the statewide paid social, digital and out-of-home buy). Rise Above Colorado is named as a partner nonprofit, role not stated, so not credited. Executions are the 10 videos on the Connect Effect YouTube channel (oEmbed-confirmed; years from YouTube upload dates; channel social-paid inferred from the paid social buy). endYear left null: the two-year funding ran to about 2025 but the site is still up.

Record cases/co-connect-effect.json, updated 2026-10-22· Link to this campaign