The words pulse from the radio speakers, accented by the hip-hop rhythms that seem to stream constantly into the ears of today’s teens:

This rap – Wanna Go, by noted hip-hop artist Fonzworth Bentley – has a familiar sound and feel, but it’s not the latest hit on teen-oriented radio. It’s a public-service advertisement (PSA) – one of many youth-oriented media messages being used in a new campaign to deliver the college-going message to those who need it most.

The effort, launched in January 2007 and called the KnowHow2GO campaign, is a national public service effort designed to inform young people about the actual steps they need to take to make their college dreams a reality. The campaign includes television, radio, print, outdoor and interactive advertising – all designed to grab the attention of media-savvy teens and inspire them to visit the KnowHow2GO.org Web site. That site serves as the hub of electronic and “new media” outreach to teens, and also links students to local resources that provide hands-on help as students prepare for, search for and apply to college.

“We developed the campaign based on research and feedback from teens themselves,” said David Cournoyer of Lumina Foundation, which is sponsoring KnowHow2GO nationally, along with the American Council on Education and the Ad Council. “The research told us to make teens our primary target audience, so we’re listening to them and trying to reach them where they are. We have bold messages on the radio and in shopping mall signs and elsewhere, but we also are using more electronic media venues.”

The goal of the campaign is to help low-income, “first-generation” students in grades 8 to 10 take steps toward college. Ninety percent of low-income teens in this age group say they plan to attend college, but a much smaller percentage of them actually follow through.

KnowHow2GO promotes four concrete steps – 1) Be a pain (in a good way): find someone to help you get ready for college; 2) Push yourself: take rigorous classes that will prepare you; 3) Find the right fit (between your personal and career interests and the corresponding education beyond high school); and 4) Get your hands on some money: apply for financial aid.

To complement the media strategies, KnowHow2GO also features a grassroots effort designed to provide direct support to studentsthrough a network of adult mentors and college advisers. The Pathways to College Network has compiled an online library of resources that these mentors can use to advise students. To search the library, visit: www.pathwaystocollege.net/cpc/listtopics.aspx.

KnowHow2GO is working in target states, where partners are asking media outlets to run localized PSAs and are mobilizing affiliated organizations to help link students with adults. (As of August, the states were California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Ohio and Washington.)

The campaign also is working with national partners such as YMCA of the USA. This spring, KnowHow2GO and YMCA co-sponsored a national contest for teens to create their own radio ad about going to college. In the winning entry, titled “At the Mall,” two Minneapolis girls encourage peers to try on educational “accessories.” In June, the two young winners were honored at a rally in Orlando, Fla., which featured an appearance by Fonzworth Bentley, the performer in the KnowHow2GO Wanna Go radio spot.

The campaign’s media outreach has grown steadily. More than 2,500 pieces of outdoor signage were distributed during the first four months of this year, and television and radio PSAs have now been distributed to 210 U.S. media markets. Meantime, use of the KnowHow2GO Web site has grown tenfold since March, with nearly 250,000 total visits through mid-August.