Promising Strategies for Media Health and Safety Campaigns

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Promising Strategies for Media Health and Safety
Campaigns

• Dr. Charles Atkin
• Michigan State University

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Public Communication Campaigns

• Mediated messages disseminated to large audiences
  in homes and communities
• 1. Drunk driving safety belts
• 2. High-risk drinking
• 3. Youth violence
• 4. Gun safety
• 5. Breast cancer environmental risks

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Conventional CampaignsLIMITED EFFECTS ON
BEHAVIOR

• Media are efficient but typically produce only
  modest degree of impact due to
• light quantity of dissemination
• low potency of message content style
• selective exposure by prime targets
• audience resistance to being influenced
• safe practices BENEFITS gt COSTS ?

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Beyond Creativity

• Creative Inspiration vs. Disciplined Design
• Overemphasis on artistic expression
• catchy slogans, death symbols, clever
  characters
• Effectiveness Creativity Discipline

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Strategic Framework

• Audience Analysis
• Direct indirect influence models
• Persuasive appeals
• Educational content
• Research inputs at each stage

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10 Strategies of Effective Campaigners

• Recent advances in media theory and research
  yields strategic improvements
• Successful examples from own prevention studies
  in the safety domain

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1 Fine-Tune Fear Appeals

• More effective if message presents.
• SUSCEPTIBILITY EVIDENCE
• SUBTLE PORTRAYAL OF THREAT
• EFFICACY INSTRUCTION

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2 Diversify Persuasive Appeals

• Multiple Mild Likely Incentives gt
• Standard Severe Unlikely Fear Appeal
• Diverse outcomes MINOR PHYSICAL THREATS
• SOCIAL / PSYCH /
  MORAL
• ECONOMIC / LEGAL
• POSITIVE
  INCENTIVES

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3 Accentuate the Positive

• Greater emphasis on promoting product line of
  SAFE PRACTICES
• Create attractive labels images
• Sensitize to media environment
• Cue audience into pro-safety messages

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4 Address the Competition

• Two-sided message strategy to deftly undermine
  unsafe practice
• Refutational discounting
  . of perceived
  advantages
• Acknowledge seemingly attractive aspects
• then argue that consequence is unlikely, .
  underwhelming, or unimportant.

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4a Competition

• Inoculate against anti-safety media stimuli
  discrepant with campaign
• ADS NEWS ENTERTAINMENT
• -- Media literacy training
• -- Parody, ridicule, counterargue

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5 Identify Ideal Messengers

• Source presenters EXPERT
• (Top 5) EXPERIENCED
• CELEBRITY
• CHARACTER
• ORDINARY
• Engaging Credible Memorable Relevant
• Depends on message channel audience

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6 Economically Enlarge Quantity

• Imaginative publicity
• Intermittent scheduling
• PROXIMATE PULSATION
• Reinstate periodically forever
• NEWCOMERS BACKSLIDERS EVOLVERS

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6a ENTERTAINMENT-EDUCATION

• Skillfully embed health safety info
• in engaging formats
• TV Program Inserts
• PRINT Comic Books
• INTERNET Serious Games
• Product Placement

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7 Media Combinations

• Lite Channels (Brief Intrusive)
• Spots Billboards
• Rich Channels (Deep Retrievable)
• Pamphlets Websites Programs
• Info-Seeking Lite ? Rich

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8 SUPPLEMENTAL PATHWAYS

• Media Interpersonal
• TWO-STEP FLOW

MEDIA
OPINION LEADER
OTHERS
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8a Supplemental Paths

• Prompt the personal influencers
• -- FAMILY
• -- PEERS
• -- AUTHORITY FIGURES
• Messages to motivate those in position to
  educate, persuade, control

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9 Key Supplement Media Advocacy

• Specialized campaign messages to change
  environmental conditions by influencing
• -- ENFORCERS
• -- DEVELOPERS
• -- PUBLIC OPINION
• -- POLICY MAKERS
• -- CORPORATIONS

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9a Media advocacy

• Alter media real-world environment
• -- RESTRICT ADVERTISING
• -- ENACT LAWS AND POLICIES
• -- ENERGIZE ENFORCEMENT

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10 Strategic Ambiguity

• Multi-purpose visual verbal execution engenders
  differential interpretations
• Versatile stimuli concurrently impact
  multiple target audiences
• Implicit or imprecise recommendations reduce
  reactance
• Symbolic images, atypical examples, vague
  language surmount weak case

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Conclusion

• Sophisticated strategies improve odds of success
• Apply disciplined design analysis
• Diversify pathways incentives channels
• Stretch resources with publicity
• pulsing product placement
• Combine persuasive messages with environmental
  reforms