Kaiser/Ad CouncilJournal of Health CommunicationMass media campaigns have long had tremendous power to promote public health. In fact, the first “mass media” health campaign was conducted by Cotton Mather in the early 1700’s when he convinced early settlers that those that were inoculated against smallpox had greater survival rates. (Perhaps of interest to no one but me, Mather is also one of my direct ancestors!) However, it was the success of the Stanford Heart Disease Prevention Program (SHDPP) in the 60’s and 70’s that launched Health Communication as a specialty area. Health care campaigns are researched, planned and evaluated to a degree that many in traditional advertising and marketing would rarely do.
Creating and executing successful healthcare campaigns is a very complex aspect of mass media communication. Unlike selling a product or idea, Health care campaigns seek to change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors; which are theoretically much more difficult to change. That being said, campaign designers who adhere to effective campaign design are increasingly successful.
The most successful campaigns have been those that focus on adopting new behaviors rather than those that focus on preventing or eliminating problem behaviors. Campaigns with the greatest reach or exposure are the most effective, especially when there is a law enforcement element in the campaign. Mandatory seatbelt use and providing alcohol to minors are good examples of massive reach campaigns with law enforcement components.
An interesting finding in an evaluation of many health campaigns across many topics, audiences and channels is that it is much more difficult to obtain positive results for campaigns focused on youth behaviors whereas campaigns directed toward parents and adults tend to be more successful. This finding seems to refute the saying that, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks!” Successful campaigns in health communication is determined by whether the campaign achieved the desired result by increasing knowledge, adopting the new behavior or eliminating bad behaviors in the target audience.
University of Kentucky Communications Professor, Seth Noar notes that there are principles of communication that, when used, will lead to more successful campaigns.
Conduct formative research with the target audience to clearly understand the behavior and the problem area. The type of research Dr. Noar is referring to goes far beyond the typical demographics and psychographics that we normally think of. He points out that audience segmentation by risk and personality characteristics is also important. Messages should be tailored for each segment to be sure they are effective.
Use theory as a conceptual foundation to the campaign. Use of the correct theory about your audience’ perceived risk and susceptibility will help determine the message.
Use a message design approach that is targeted to and likely to be effective with the audience segment; develop novel and creative messages; design messages that will spark interpersonal discussions and may also persuade individuals important to the target audience (e.g., influencers).
Place messages in channels widely viewed by the target audience; strategically position campaign messages within the selected channels. Message placement is almost as essential to campaign effectiveness as the message itself. Even the best message design cannot be effective if it is not seen.
Noar points out that very few health campaigns have relied on media only and most have used a variety of channels. This makes it hard to evaluate the effectiveness of each channel, but is likely to increase effectiveness. Speaking at a joint conference of the Kaiser Family Foundation and The Ad Council; Barbara Shimaitis, of the Ad Council agrees that integrated marketing communication is critical to an effective campaign and that campaigns must, “reach your target audience in their environment…. You really have to think a little bit outside the box, think opportunistically and creatively and hopefully you will be able to maximize your reach and effectiveness.” She adds that, “We have gone from a static, passive user engagement and viewing to a very interactive engagement with the user including social networking, video, user generated content and the like.
That being said, broadband penetration among all adults in the in the U.S. is less than 50%. For those with home internet access, approximately one fourth still use dial-up. If you are trying to reach a middle class or higher, urban population of any age, then some channels of new media such as blogs or on-line video are of great importance. If you are trying to reach an aging population; perhaps to increase knowledge of stroke symptoms or drug interaction risks, then new media is not likely to be very effective. If you are trying to reach an inner-city mother to increase knowledge of asthma symptoms and the use of asthma medications, you aren’t likely to use internet, but other guerilla or viral methods might be effective.
So the bottom line seems to be this. Whether you are marketing a new innovation or idea or attempting to change health related attitudes and behaviors you must still follow principles of marketing and advertising. You must do your formative research, know your target audience, choose your message carefully and place it carefully in media channels most used by your target audience. That increasingly includes new media such as internet, blogs, and guerilla and viral methods. But they should not be used just for the sake of using them. They must have a connection to your target audience and be appropriate for the message you are trying to convey.
The campaign puts up billboards around the state of Missouri
, as well as Television ads 
and magazine articles. They portray images of death and jail time, mainly the worst parts a drunk driving experience.
The website brings about the more formal aspect of the campaign, including the laws.
