The purpose of this study was to assess the first year of a social marketing media campaign implemented to reduce alcohol use and abuse in a mid-sized university. The media campaign was funded by a grant and the primary goal is to reduce alcohol use and abuse in first-year university students and athletes. The media campaign logo, slogan and means of communication were based upon student preferences which had been identified via four focus groups held in the fall of 2005. The focus group participants were first-year students and athletes living in university residence halls. Each focus group ranged from 7-12 participants. Based upon the focus group results the media campaign was designed, approved by university student affairs, and implemented in the fall of 2006. At the end of the first academic year, spring 2007, a survey to assess the social marketing campaign's effectiveness was developed and implemented to first-year students and athletes attending the monthly residence hall meetings. The instrument contained 23 items, and instrument reliability was estimated at .94. All responses were anonymous and voluntary. Of the 1,382 participants approximately 29% were male and 71% females. Survey participants were asked to identify where they had seen the marketing message, and on a 1-5 Likert scale to rate the effectiveness of the various media strategies and locations. More than 62% of the participants indicated they had seen the social marketing media, either on banners, t-shirts, posters or give away items. The number one media strategy identified by 81% of the participants who indicated they had seen the social marketing media was the t-shirt used for freshman orientation in August 2006. Fifty-four percent of the participants identified the second most remembered media strategy as the posters which were placed in various locations on the university campus. In addition, more than 76% of the participants (70% of the males and 79% females) indicated that they “strongly agreed” or “agreed” the media campaign presented a “positive image” of the university. These results are important in understanding social marketing in a university setting and may be used to design and implement additional media messages in an effort to reduce high risk behaviors, such as alcohol abuse, and to communicate alternative positive social and recreational activities in a university setting.