Reaching Underserved Populations with Health Messages: From Old to New Media

1. Reaching Underserved Populations with Health Messages: From Old to New Media Michael Mackert, Ph.D.Department of Advertising, The University of Texas

2. Agenda • Reaching underserved populations using traditional mass media and new digital media • How to incorporate voices from underserved populations into educational tools • Generic vs. targeted and tailored tools in driving behavior change

3. Old Media to New Media If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevancy even less. -General Eric Shinseki

4. Traditional Media Reaching Underserved Populations ● Consumer Voices ● Targeted Messages for Change

5. Traditional Media Reaching Underserved Populations ● Consumer Voices ● Targeted Messages for Change

6. New Digital Media Reaching Underserved Populations ● Consumer Voices ● Targeted Messages for Change

7. Viral Video Reaching Underserved Populations ● Consumer Voices ● Targeted Messages for Change

8. New Digital Media Reaching Underserved Populations ● Consumer Voices ● Targeted Messages for Change

9. .gov and .edu “If you are looking up something medical and you read some paragraph, but it sounds somewhat… research-y… Then you look up the link and it’s something-something.edu, most likely I won’t go there because it’s most likely some research paper or something...” “Yeah, it’s not in layman’s term. Or if it’s .gov, just skip it all together.” Reaching Underserved Populations ● Consumer Voices ● Targeted Messages for Change

10. Incorporating Consumer Voices I notice increasing reluctance on the part of marketing executives to use judgment. They are coming to rely too much on research, and they use it as a drunkard uses a lamp post for support, rather than for illumination. -David Ogilvy

11. Formative Research • Formative research is crucial • Theory-driven • Qualitative and quantitative research methods • Uncovering unknown insights • Confirming and quantifying findings • Guiding message development and pre-testing communication strategy Reaching Underserved Populations ● Consumer Voices ● Targeted Messages for Change

12. Social Media: Not the Answer Reaching Underserved Populations ● Consumer Voices ● Targeted Messages for Change

13. Online Communities Reaching Underserved Populations ● Consumer Voices ● Targeted Messages for Change

14. Consumer Generated Content “If you look up a drug on the Internet whether it’s generic or branded, Google almost any drug and you are going to hit Wikipedia almost instantly, which is excellent. They have in-depth articles on pretty much every drug you can imagine.” Reaching Underserved Populations ● Consumer Voices ● Targeted Messages for Change

15. Consumers Sharing Their Stories • Focus groups with low health literate parents • Participants sharing their knowledge, experiences, and stories • Impromptu classes and support groups • Can we make this easier for them to do? Reaching Underserved Populations ● Consumer Voices ● Targeted Messages for Change

16. Steal from Advertisers Reaching Underserved Populations ● Consumer Voices ● Targeted Messages for Change

17. Targeting and Tailoring Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. -Abraham Lincoln

18. Research on Targeted Messages • Targeted/tailored messages in health education and promotion more likely to: • Engage audiences with relevant messages • Stronger intention to engage in behavior change • Produce faster and longer lasting results Reaching Underserved Populations ● Consumer Voices ● Targeted Messages for Change

19. An Example: Folic Acid Reaching Underserved Populations ● Consumer Voices ● Targeted Messages for Change

20. Conclusion • Reaching underserved audiences through old or new media begins with good message strategy – which comes from proper formative research • Questions? Michael Mackert, Ph.D.Department of AdvertisingThe University of Texas mackert@mail.utexas.edu