by Nedra Weinreich | Nov 16, 2006 | Blog, Communication, Social Marketing
When you are creating health messages, small changes can make a big difference. A study by researchers at Penn’s Annenberg School found that slight differences in how the new vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV) is described influence whether women decide to get the vaccination.
A representative sample of 635 American adults, of whom 49 percent were women, was randomly assigned to read one of three slightly different paragraphs about the vaccine through the Annenberg National Health Communication Survey.
One paragraph addressed how the vaccine protects against cervical cancer, another how the vaccine protects against cervical cancer and sexually transmitted infection and the third how the vaccine protects against cervical cancer, sexually transmitted infection and how it may or may not lead to increased sexual promiscuity among those vaccinated.
The survey was administered to determine the participant’s intentions regarding vaccination.
When women in the survey read that the vaccine protects only against cervical cancer, 63 percent indicated that they were very likely or somewhat likely to get the vaccine compared to 43 percent of women who read that the vaccine protects against cervical cancer and a sexually transmitted infection.
When it’s all about preventing cancer, most of the women wanted the vaccine. But when you introduce the factor of it protecting against a sexually transmitted infection — even while still preventing the Big C — almost a third of the women opted out. Is this because they don’t think it is something that they need (because, after all, THEY would never get an STI), or is it because it stigmatizes the vaccine recipient who wants the cancer protection but does not want people to think she is at risk of an STI?
This has huge implications for how the vaccine is marketed — especially to parents, who will likely make the decision whether their daughters should get it or not (the vaccine is approved for girls as young as 9 years old).
I wrote about marketing this vaccine a while ago in response to a post that Seth Godin wrote about not wanting that marketing gig. Here’s what I suggested should be done (which was endorsed by Seth in the comments!):
We would need to figure out what the key values are of the parents (who would likely make the decision) and appeal to those things that are most important to them — feeling like a good parent, taking care of their daughters’ health, making sure that their daughter will not have reproductive problems in the future. And, God forbid, the worst thing a parent can imagine is their child getting cancer — what wouldn’t they do or pay to prevent that from happening?
Position the vaccine as preventing cervical cancer rather than focusing on anything that might suggest that their daughter would even consider becoming sexually active until she is an adult. Get the CDC to add the vaccine to their recommended immunization schedule so that doctors will provide it as a matter of course with other teen booster shots so that parents won’t feel like the recommendation comes from a negative judgment of them or their daughters. Get insurance companies to cover some of the costs of the vaccination since they will have fewer cases of cervical cancer and STDs to pay for later. The fears about long-term effects may be addressed by comparing the risks of the vaccine to other similar products and showing that the benefits far outweigh the possible risks.
In light of these research results, I stand by my recommendations. Looks like Merck is too.
Technorati Tags: gardasil, hpv, vaccine, immunizations, social marketing
by Nedra Weinreich | Nov 16, 2006 | Blog, Personal
Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman died today at age 94. His ideas about a free market economy changed the world. He also applied these concepts to the education system, as an advocate for school choice through the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation.
Through a project I have been a part of, I had the pleasure of seeing him and his wife Rose speak at two different occasions in the past year. The first was at a celebration of the 50th anniversary of his introduction of the idea of school vouchers as a way to minimize inefficient government spending and provide a better education for those stuck in the worst public schools. Milton and Rose — both about 5 feet tall and walking with assistance — spoke and answered questions with wit and passion. The years had not diminished their intellect in the least. The keynote speaker that evening was Arnold Schwarzenegger, who towered over the Friedmans when posing for a photo op. Schwarzenegger spoke about how when he was a new immigrant to the US starting his bodybuilding career, he turned on a television in his hotel room, which happened to be showing the groundbreaking series (and book) Free to Choose. He was captivated by the ideas Friedman talked about, which shaped his own political ideology.
Last May, I led a workshop on social marketing at a strategy meeting sponsored by the Friedman and Gleason Foundations, at which Milton and Rose were the dinnertime guest speakers. I was honored to see my name next to theirs on the program, but quite intimidated when I heard that Milton might come sit in on my session. I thought, “How could I teach Milton Friedman anything about marketing?” But it turned out that the traveling had been a little too hard on them to make it to my morning session. I never did go introduce myself to Milton and Rose — I was just a little too starstruck — but now I certainly wish I had.
My condolences go to Rose and her family, as well as everyone at the Friedman Foundation. Milton’s memory will certainly be remembered for a blessing.
Technorati Tags: milton friedman
by Nedra Weinreich | Nov 16, 2006 | Blog, Miscellaneous
This is way too much fun not to share. OK Go is a band that has made two of the best music videos I’ve seen in a long time (okay, well, I haven’t really watched many music videos since I was in high school in the heyday of MTV, but that’s beside the point). They are original and fun to watch, and done in just one take with one camera (though I’m sure they had to scrap many attempts before nailing it). The band members would seem to be unlikely candidates as dancers, but that just adds to the effect.
I came across the first one a couple of months ago…
and thought it was unbeatable until I just saw OK Go’s other dance video on treadmills.
There have been so many people making their own videos of the “Million Ways” dance that OK Go started a contest for the best cover version posted to YouTube, with winners joining them to dance on stage at a show. So far 183 people have submitted entries, including a pair of Canadian bronze medal figure skaters who did a version of the dance in a skating routine. That’s the way to get your fans involved!
OK Go has a very distinct brand now in my mind, and I would not have known about the band if they had not posted their videos on YouTube. By “giving away” a sample of their music and personality for free, they’ve done a great job of building awareness and making me look forward to their next offering. Is there anything you can give away that will pique interest and make people want more of your product?
Technorati Tags: OK Go, marketing
by Nedra Weinreich | Nov 14, 2006 | Blog, Communication
The New Oxford American Dictionary announced that the Word of the Year is “Carbon Neutral” (actually, that’s two words, but who am I to quibble with a dictionary?). It will be added to the next update of the dictionary, due in 2007.
According to the press release, “Being carbon neutral involves calculating your total climate-damaging carbon emissions (your “carbon footprint”), reducing them where possible, and then balancing your remaining emissions, often by purchasing a carbon offset: paying to plant new trees or investing in “green” technologies such as solar and wind power.”
Carbon Neutral beat out other potential dictionary inductees with social marketing relevance including (and I’m not making these up):
- Elbow Bump – a greeting in which two people touch elbows, recommended by the World Health Organization as an alternative to the handshake in order to reduce the spread of germs (Hmmm, wonder why this didn’t catch on. I guess it’s more hygenic than the Eskimo kiss, which the Alaska Health Organization has been promoting.)
- Ghostriding – the practice of exiting a moving vehicle and dancing either beside it, or on the hood or roof, while the vehicle is in motion
- Pregaming – consuming alcoholic beverages before attending a sporting event or party, especially one where alcohol may be limited or banned (or likely, before going ghostriding)
Just for fun, I looked up the Word of the Year for the past few years (though it seems to be a recent annual event for the OAD, so I’ve had to go to other sources):
2005 – podcast (Oxford American Dictionary)
2004 – blog (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
2003 – metrosexual (American Dialect Society)
And just to illustrate how the US and UK are two countries separated by a common language, the 2006 word of the year for the Oxford English Dictionary is “bovvered.” In case you are not familiar with this word either, here’s how the article explained it:
Catherine Tate [a TV comic] catapulted her word into national parlance in November 2005 when at the 77th Royal Variety Performance in Cardiff she asked the Queen: “Is one bothered?” Dictionary compilers say the catchphrase needs little explanation.
A spokesman for the OED said: “Am I bovvered? and it’s follow-up Does my face looked bovvered? had already come to be seen as the perfect expression of a generation of teenagers and their speaking style.
“Now in 2006 ‘bovvered’ has taken over from ‘whatever’ as the signature phrase of teenagers, and to challenge the Little Britain catchphrase ‘yeah-but-no-but’ as the embodiment of couldn’t-care-less adolescence.”
Am I bovvered? Gotta go elbow bump my buds before I do some carbon neutral ghostriding. See ya.
Technorati Tags: carbon neutral, word of the year, dictionary, marketing
by Nedra Weinreich | Nov 14, 2006 | Blog, Entertainment
If you were inspired by my last post on working with Hollywood writers to do social marketing “product placement,” you’re in luck. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has just published a report called Your Issue Here: Working with Hollywood to Deliver Your Message to Millions (download pdf or order hard copy).
Based on interviews with many of the Entertainment Resource Professionals Association members, writers Karen Brailsford and Andy Goodman have identified 14 principles to guide causes that want to reach out to the entertainment industry. Briefly, they are:
- Build your Rolodex and work it relentlessly.
- Deliver a strong pitch by keeping the facts hard and the sell soft.
- Immerse yourself in the Hollywood community.
- Become an indispensable research assistant.
- Let the writers do the writing.
- Even when they say yes, be careful.
- Look beyond the Nielsen Top 20.
- Keep it light to shine a light.
- Partner with proven experts in entertainment outreach.
- Aim high by approaching networks, not just specific shows.
- Capitalize on network initiatives already in play.
- Make the most of storylines that touch on your issue.
- Put a very recognizable face on your cause.
- Reward the entertainment community.
Read the report yourself to get the meat behind these tasty bites and benefit from this collected wisdom.
Technorati Tags: rwjf, television, health, marketing, media
by Nedra Weinreich | Nov 13, 2006 | Blog, Entertainment
A couple of weeks ago, some of my friends and colleagues from the Entertainment Resource Professionals Association (ERPA), of which I am a member, were interviewed by a reporter at the LA Times. The article just came out, and is an excellent introduction to how health and social advocates are facilitating their issues’ portrayals in the plotlines of daytime and primetime television shows.
Why is this tactic in the social marketing toolbox important?
The CDC analyzed U.S. health survey data in 1999. Researchers concluded that of the 38 million Americans who regularly watch daytime soap operas, almost half said they learned something about diseases and how to prevent them. Even better, about a third of viewers said they took some action based on what they saw on a soap opera, including 7% who visited a doctor and 6% who did something to prevent a health problem.
A year later, the CDC looked at prime-time television. It found that of Americans who tuned in twice a week or more, 52% said they trusted the health information they see to be accurate, and 26% said that prime-time TV was among their top three sources for health information.
Getting your issue on TV is not as simple as sending a fact sheet to the producer of a show. People who are working in this field have developed relationships over time with writers, researchers, producers and others in the entertainment industry. They are trusted not to push an agenda or a specific plotline, but to provide accurate facts and ideas that writers can then weave into their storytelling.
Now there is a growing industry in Hollywood made up of advocates who are neither entertainers nor insiders, but who want their disease or issue to get dramatic play before a mass audience. Similar to product placement, it’s a kind of ideas placement. A group called the Entertainment Professionals Resource Assn. pulls dozens of these groups together, including the American Cancer Society, Down Syndrome in Arts and Media, the American Heart Assn. and the Mental Health Media Partnership.
“We’re trying to shift the norm,” says Deborah Glik, director of the UCLA Health and Media Research Group, who is affiliated with the entertainment group. “When you’re going to portray a health issue anyway, and you’re working with a platform that reaches millions of people, you should do it accurately.”
Members make themselves available with scientific facts and a bank of real citizens willing to tell their stories. They carefully push their causes, knowing they walk a delicate line between sparking creativity and triggering annoyance.
David Sampson, director of media relations at the American Cancer Society, has learned that it’s better if his organization stays away from pitching specific plots. Policy wonks, it turns out, aren’t so good at recognizing the germ of a compelling story line. “Writers come to us,” he says, “and almost invariably, they’ll pick up on some bit of information that we had no intention of relaying.”
But the society doesn’t hesitate to advise, when asked. When Alexis on the soap opera “General Hospital” was diagnosed with lung cancer despite being a nonsmoker, Sampson heard that writers wanted to attribute her disease to asbestos exposure. “About 4,000 non-smokers a year come down with lung cancer,” he says. “But short of working in a mine, you only get lung cancer from asbestos exposure if you’re also a smoker.” Exposure to second-hand smoke, the society suggested, was a far better explanation.
The idea is to present entertainment insiders with powerful real stories, inundate them with facts, and then sit back and hope the creative juices take over. “I believe the writer is king or queen,” says Lisa Allen, director of the Media Project, which provides entertainment industry professionals with information on reproductive issues. “We don’t preach, we don’t proselytize.”
So the next time you see Jack Bauer get into his Ford Expedition on 24, you’ll probably also see him put on his seatbelt, thanks to the work of health advocates and their receptive Hollywood audience.
If you’re interested in more on this, here are other posts I’ve written on this subject:
Technorati Tags: television, product placement, entertainment, health, social, marketing
Nedra helps nonprofits and public agencies create positive change on health and social issues through social marketing and transmedia storytelling strategies at Weinreich Communications since founding the company in 1995. She helps organizations make a difference for the populations they serve by strategically designing programs that draw on state-of-the-art behavior change techniques, digital media approaches and the power of stories. 
