Leading Horses to Water – the Role of Advertising

by | Aug 31, 2006 | Blog, Communication, Marketing

Clara Jacob asks at the Post Haste blog why advertising alone can’t change behavior:

Is this true? With advertising we can get people to eat candy bars. But we can’t get them to drive the speed limit. Neuter their pets. Stop using meth.

Why is this? We did a direct mail piece recently, which included a coupon for a dollar off a gallon of milk and 5 cents off each gallon of gas. It got a 60 percent response. That’s phenomenal. It changed the behavior of hundreds of people. They went to stores and purchased milk and gas.

Couldn’t “social marketing,” as it’s called in the nonprofit world, change behavior equally well?

Or, as Wiebe asked about 50 years ago, “why can’t you sell brotherhood like you sell soap?” Yes, we can use the same tools, but people do not change their complex health and social behaviors as easily as buying a $3 carton of milk. Advertising is only one piece of what needs to be considered in a social marketing program, and if the other necessary components are not there to back up the advertising, the campaign will not be successful.

Quoting myself from the comments:

The important role that advertising can play is in raising awareness that there is a problem that needs to be addressed, or in helping an individual realize that they are personally at risk if they do not adopt the behavior being promoted. Advertising can create an environment in which the target audience develops a favorable impression of the “product” (ie the behavior) and begins to see it as socially acceptable and desirable.

But for an everyday lifestyle change (e.g., eating in a healthy way) or even an occasional but emotionally difficult behavior (e.g., getting an HIV test), advertising does not always offer enough personal support to lead someone to take action. That usually takes interpersonal communication from an influential person like a doctor, friend, family member or even a knowledgeable and caring person on the other side of a telephone hotline.

Advertising can lead the horse to water, but whether the horse drinks 8 glasses a day is another question.

Technorati Tags: , , ,

Marketing to Terrorists

by | Aug 28, 2006 | Blog, Marketing

Back in May, I wrote about the filming of an anti-terrorism PSA intended to deter would-be suicide bombers in Iraq from their task. The spot (which can be viewed from the embedded YouTube window above) is now out, along with its accompanying campaign called “Terrorism Has No Religion.” It portrays the violence done by a suicide bomber who blows himself up on a busy street, with slow-mo Hollywood-style special effects.

Having seen the spot, my initial concerns about reinforcing just how effective bombs are in killing and injuring as many people as possible still hold. The PSA portrays the exact outcome that a suicide bomber intends; appealing to his humanity is not going to change the way he interprets the scene. And an ad on television (or a billboard or newspaper) is not going to have the same effect as someone’s imam telling them directly what they are expected to do to fulfill their religious obligations.

I also question the effectiveness of their slogan “terrorism has no religion.” I think if you ask people around the world which religion is most associated with terrorism, most will say Islam. If they are trying to convince non-Muslims with this slogan that Islam does not condone terrorism, they will come up against a lot of resistance. If they are trying to appeal to Muslims, the slogan makes no sense – shouldn’t it be turned around to “our religion has no terrorism” or something along those lines? The campaign seems to be trying to reach everyone, and in so doing is effective for noone.

While there is no information on the website about who has created this campaign, it appears to be Muslims who do not agree with the terrorist approach that many in their religion have adopted. They explain their message as:

To reveal the true and ample doctrines of Islam, and expose the contempt these terrorists hold for the spiritual essence of our religion. These terrorists and their ungodly way are the ones responsible for making Islam an easily marked target in the eyes of the world, as well as causing Muslims to be the subject of criticism before the world community.

The website and campaign quote verses from the Koran that directly challenge terrorist practices and appeal to religious values, which I had suggested might be effective in my original post because that goes to the heart of the issue. However, the television ad does not provide much reason for a suicide bomber to think twice about what he plans to do. Perhaps a better approach might be to show the bomber arriving in heaven eager for his 72 virgins and getting the door slammed in his face.

Rather than appealing directly to the suicide bombers themselves, this campaign might be more effective in changing the attitudes of people in the society who would not commit terrorism themselves but accept it as something that is positive (or at least just part of the normal course of events). If the bombers were no longer celebrated as martyrs and heroes by their community, it might become more unappealing.

I applaud the creators of this campaign for taking a stand against the dark forces of their religion (even though they do so anonymously) and wish them great success. I don’t think, though, that this campaign is going to do it.

You can read what others had to say about the campaign on Virtualpolitik and on Houtlust, where Marc collected opinions of bloggers from around the world about the campaign.

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants – Marketing Edition

by | Jul 23, 2006 | Blog, Marketing

This week the Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants has its home here, with a focus on marketing for nonprofits. Luckily my computer didn’t melt this weekend, like everything else in my house, when my end of the San Fernando Valley hit 119 degrees and had a 24-hour power outage. So with that in mind, here are the seven hottest posts from this week (*groan*, I know…):

Kivi Leroux Miller of Nonprofit Communications tells us How to Get Top Mileage Out of Your Best Stories by recycling your best case studies for use in different formats. Storytelling is an important part of helping your audience connect with your cause.

Is Leila at Data-Scribe Blog shooting her consulting business in the foot when she advises nonprofits on Why You Shouldn’t Outsource Your Marketing? Not necessarily – nobody else knows as much about your organization as you do and you need to make sure you retain some control over your own marketing.

Jeff at Donor Power Blog reveals the one word that can destroy your marketing, that you should “never, never use” when talking about or evaluating a marketing effort. What is that word? See if you can guess before clicking the link.

Stephan at Changes for Good has a great idea for an affiliate network in which all of the proceeds go to charity. Who wants to build it?

Nancy at Getting Attention says that now that you’ve got people talking about your organization, it’s time to Listen, and Listen Hard. Make sure that you click through to the full article to get all of her great methods for doing that.

Craig writes On Social Marketing and Social Change about the social marketing possibilities in advergaming and beyond. He also mentions the American Cancer Society’s virtual Relay for Life that just took place this weekend in Second Life. For a fun view into what the course that the walkers/runners followed looked like, check out Hamlet Au’s video of his avatar running the course.

Finally, John of the Digital Influence Mapping Project proposes that museums should encourage the creation of user-generated tours by bloggers and vloggers to create a social museum. He’s convinced that the people who are most enthusiastic about the displays are likely to create something of interest to others. This idea could be extended to other types of nonprofits as well — historical monuments, zoos, orchestras.

And now the bonus host post: I am offering you a Handy-Dandy Guide to Social Marketing Books in case you are inspired by this week’s Carnival focusing on marketing for nonprofits.

Thanks to all of this week’s participants. Next week the Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants will be hosted by Data-Scribe Blog, with a focus on working with consultants. If you want to submit a post to be considered for next week, send an email to npc.carnival AT yahoo DOT com with your name, your blog’s name and the URL of the post (not your blog homepage).

Technorati Tags: , , ,

Fruit Salad – Or, Selecting Your Target Audience

by | Jul 14, 2006 | Blog, Marketing

The eternal question in social marketing is how to go about selecting the audience segment your program will address.  The most common approach is to select one of two groups:  (1) the people who most need the intervention, who are most at risk for a particular problem or (2) the people who are ready to change and just need a little nudge in the right direction.

The first group is usually the audience that the program was funded for in the first place.  We generally want to make a big impact on the problem, and often assume that will happen by reaching those who are most likely to suffer from it.  The problem is that for many issues that have been around for a while — whether it relates to eating healthy food, quitting smoking, flossing teeth, recycling — the people who were most likely to adopt positive behaviors have already done so.  The rest of the people may be those who either don’t want to change or have tried and decided it wasn’t for them — not easy groups to make significant inroads with (though not necessarily impossible).  They may be the late majority or laggards at the end of the diffusion of innovations curve.

The second group — those who are ready to make a change but haven’t done so yet (in the preparation phase of the stages of change model) — may not be as large a group as the first, and may not necessarily be at high risk for the problem.  But they may just need a little help, such as teaching them a skill they don’t have or showing them how to work the behavior into their lives, and they will take it and run with it.  The benefit to addressing this group is that you can get positive results relatively quickly, even if they are not a large segment, and getting the ball of change rolling within a community can have a snowball effect.  The momentum you generate may help to get those in the “at risk” category to see that their friends and family have made the change, so maybe they should as well.

So, should you try to reach the golden apple at the very top of the tree, or should you pick the low-hanging fruit?  The answer depends on many things — the goals of your program, the amount of funding you have, the issue you are addressing.  It’s often a judgment call, without one clear right or wrong answer, and it doesn’t have to be a mutually exclusive choice.  But you do need to think through this question and have a good reason for which way you go with it.

We will be talking more about this issue and many others at Social Marketing University in September.  The early registration deadline is coming up at the end of this month, so register by July 31st to get $100 off the regular price.  And if you have more than one person from your organization attending, the additional registrants get a discount of $50 more off of the price.  We already have people coming from all over the U.S.  Hope to see you there too!

Technorati Tags: , ,

The Importance of Product Design

by | Jun 22, 2006 | Blog, Marketing

While in the car today, I heard an ad on the radio for Target Pharmacy describing their new prescription system called ClearRx now in use in all their stores. I found the new features intriguing and looked for more information about it. Turns out, the ideas for the new bottle and label were designed by a School of Visual Arts student as her thesis project after her grandmother accidentally swallowed pills meant for her grandfather. According to a recent poll conducted for Target, 60 percent of prescription-drug users have taken medication incorrectly.

I think this is a great example of how the physical design of a product can be used to bring about specific desired behaviors. In this case, the design is meant to prevent potentially life-threatening medication errors by the patient. Consider the product here to be “taking prescribed medication correctly.” The actual type of medicine inside the bottle is irrelevant.

Here is how Deborah Adler’s (and now Target’s) design is different from a standard amber-colored round prescription bottle used by nearly every other pharmacy:

(1) Easy I.D.
The name of the drug is printed on the top of the bottle, so it’s visible if kept in a drawer.

(2) Code red.
The red color of the bottle is Target’s signature— and a universal symbol for caution.

(3) Information hierarchy.
Adler divided the label into primary and secondary positions, separated by a horizontal line. The most important information (drug name, dosage, intake instructions) is placed above the line, and less important data (quantity, expiration date, doctor’s name) is positioned below.

(4) Upside down to save paper.
Klaus Rosburg, a Brooklyn-based industrial designer hired by Target, came up with an upside-down version that stands on its cap, so that the label can be wrapped around the top. Every piece of paper in the package adds up to one eight-and-a-half-by-fourteen-inch perforated sheet, which eliminates waste and makes life easier for pharmacists.

(5) Green is for Grandma.
Adler and Rosburg developed a system of six colored rubber rings that attach to the neck of the bottle. Family members choose their own identifying shade, so medications in a shared bathroom will never get mixed up.

(6) An info card that’s hard to lose.
A card with more detailed information on a drug (common uses, side effects) is now tucked behind the label. A separate, expanded patient-education sheet, designed by Adler, comes with three holes so it can be saved in a binder for reference.

(7) Take “daily.”
Adler avoided using the word once on the label, since it means eleven in Spanish.

(8) Clear warnings.
Adler decided that many of the existing warning symbols stuck on pill bottles don’t make much sense—the sign for “take on an empty stomach,” for instance, looked like a gas tank to her—so together with graphic designer Milton Glaser, for whom she now works, she revamped the 25 most important.

Read the full article from the link above to see how Adler gave the industry standard a makeover. We often focus on what the patient should be doing to ensure compliance with their medications, but sometimes with a few changes to the product we can remove some of the main barriers that get in the way.

Bravo to Target for being willing to look at things in a new way!