The Montana Meth Project, est. 2005

Siebel Systems Founder and private philanthropist Tom Siebel has something to teach us about running an anti-drug campaign. Without wasting any time Mr. Siebel launched an anti-Meth media campaign in Montana in the same year that he sold Siebel Systems to Oracle. He decided that he would pay top dollar for the media rather than attempt to achieve impact with the typical non-profit shoe-string budget. He made it a point to pay for the very best and the social return on investment is evidence that higher costs can make a lot of sense.

In the past, several anti-drug campaigns have backfired, having no effect and perhaps even increasing the curiosity of youth and therefore making the problem worse. For example, the federal government’s attempt to curb teenage drug use with a multimillion-dollar ad campaign dramatizing the perils of marijuana has backfired spectacularly. (ref.) Many other examples, including for hard core drugs, can be found elsewhere. Clearly Tom Siebel didn’t want to repeat these results. And although, he openly admits achieving success with Meth have for a number of reasons been easier, nobody else has done what he has done on anywhere near the same scale. The Lifetime meth use by teenagers in Montana has dropped 44.6 percent since 2005. Meth-related crime increased by 21 percent from 2004 to 2005, but dropped by 62 percent in the two-year period that followed through 2007. (April 2008 report – Montana Department of Justice. It is recognized that not all these improvements can be attributed to the Montana Meth Project)

This isn’t where the story stops. The Montana Meth Project has saved Montana taxpayers millions of dollars up an above the costs of the program. Donors and governments of other states have taken note and efforts are taking hold in other states. The details of how he did are even more enlightening and recommend that readers do more research. Like all the other non-profit programs that I highlight each week (I miss some weeks) this is a top performing non-profit. I challenge readers to find other non-profits within the same class which out perform the non-profits I highlight. I want to know about them.

Here are some examples of the disturbing Print Ads and Videos that have worked well in Montana. They’re not uplifting and play on the baser motivation of fear.

.