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CHAPTER 1: Benefits, Rationale,
and Basic Design of a Mass
CHAPTER 1 Appendices
Mass Media-Based Campaigns -- Why Advertise? The mass media (television, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards, etc.) are a primary source of information for the general public. In addition, mass-media advertising is a cost-effective means of sharing information with large audiences. Health professionals are only now beginning to use these channels to promote health. Many health-communication specialists, in fact, claim that advertising alone cannot motivate people to make behavior changes (Making Health Communication Programs Work (1989) NCI 89-1493. National Cancer Institute, Washington, D.C.). These health specialists suggest that media-based strategies can create awareness or interest in a health program, or reinforce a newly established behavior, but not actually change behavior. Consequently, few health education campaigns have relied on a heavy schedule of strategically-placed ads to test the ability of advertising to directly influence behavior change. The food industry, the automotive industry, and the drug companies all believe in the power of advertising to influence the public. Furthermore, we know that advertising sells pizza, hamburgers, cars and drugs. So, why not health? Or more specifically, why not walking? For these and other reasons, this campaign did not follow this more traditional path. Paid advertising is the best vehicle for communicating a campaign message to large numbers of people in a short period of time. Above and beyond this, however, one also needs a well-designed, targeted message, ads bought during prime-time, and ads focus on a specific population. As different as the concept of purchasing advertisements (ads) for a public health effort may seem, it is the major thrust of a media-based campaign. Bombarding the community with commercial ads, just like McDonalds, car dealerships and drug companies, is what makes the WHEELING WALKS campaign unique. Unlike other public health campaigns that rely on public service messages placed wherever and whenever the media prefers (usually at odd hours), a serious, media-based campaign has ads specifically designed to have impact and runs them in prime time. TopRationale of Media-Based Public Health Campaigns In the traditional approaches to health promotion, the benefits associated with the success of the health promotion activity is evaluated without consideration of media coverage. In other words, the amount of media coverage is a by-product of an event, not a direct programmatic element. A public health media campaign, requires an extensive schedule of paid ads combined with carefully planned and implemented public relations events. In such campaigns, the media coverage by TV, radio stations, and newspapers is a greater community influence than the event itself. Media coverage gives the campaign credibility, prestige, and creates a “buzz” in the community. The more people see and hear the campaign message (both the number of ads and stories and the number of times they see it), the more likely they are to want to find out more about it, to be impacted by the message, and to ultimately get involved. The WHEELING WALKS media events were designed to attract attention and gather a crowd. Any time you have a crowd you get more attention from the media; and TV media reaches a lot more people with the message than one would with the public health activity alone. Of course, the converse is true as well: TV/radio/newspaper attention draw a crowd (during the event and over time). Successful media-based campaign planners know about and use all these concepts to good advantage. Your message and the people you want to receive it to are both worth it! Note: As a mass media-based campaign, WHEELING WALKS was high in intensity and short in duration (8 weeks). It was designed for high-impact and cost effectiveness to communicate a simple but important health message: regular walking boosts energy levels, helps people feel better, and improves overall health. And it doesn’t take much time. Once our activity was chosen, we then decided to model our walking campaign after the highly successful 1% Or Less milk campaign, now being utilized in many communities around the United States. The premise of WHEELING WALKS and the 1% Or Less campaign is: a simple message, delivered aggressively, primarily through the media. WHEELING WALKS was conducted on the airwaves, in the streets, and on the walking trails in Wheeling, WV. It used ads that aired frequently and during prime time to encourage people to walk 30 minutes a day on almost every day and to walk “as if you are going somewhere”(moderate intensity). WHEELING WALKS was a media-based campaign. TopThe Impact of Media Coverage at a Planned Event An event might gather 200 people, but the numbers that see/hear the radio, paper, and TV report may be 200 times that. When a campaign is designed around one simple message that is repeated over and over again, events related to such a commercial message become significant to local media reporters. And, if the media coverage is extensive even more community members get the message. The purpose of media coverage at planned campaign events is to further increase exposure to the campaign’s overall message. Exposure to the targeted campaign massage is the key. With such expanded coverage and exposure, more people are afforded the opportunity to learn about and understand that the campaign is encouraging them to walk 30 minutes or more on most days, beginning with as little as 10 minutes each day. The ads and the media coverage together then deliver this message over and over again. In this way, the public relations message and the paid advertising reinforce each other on a daily basis. The ad buyer is purchasing ad time to get the message to the target audience. Media coverage reinforces the ads by getting the message to everyone. For this reason, be proactive in designing the public relations events to re-enforce the paid advertising. The main purpose of media events is to garner earned media to further support the paid ad buy and to communicate the targeted message. TopDesigning a Campaign for Your Community In this manual, there are many ideas about how to organize a media-based walking campaign. What you choose to do will depend on 3 things:
Before implementing any health promotion campaign, you must identify your target population. The target population is the group or groups of people you hope to affect by your campaign. The WHEELING WALKS campaign targeted people 50–65 year olds who were insufficiently active. Note: We believe the WHEELING WALKS campaign materials would be effective for a broader adult population--35-65 years of age. Factors affecting your target population decision
Determine the channels they are most likely to use and focus on these.
Community involvement is invaluable to public relations, public health events, policy and environmental change. Even if a subgroup of the community is chosen as the target of a media-based walking campaign, it is important to involve the whole community in the public relations, the public health events, and almost any way you can. Involving the whole community will increase awareness about and participation in your campaign. Note: Even though WHEELING WALKS targeted the 50-65 year-old population, we did not ignore the rest of the community. Again, any time you have a crowd you get more attention from the media; and TV media reaches a lot more people with the message than one would with the public health activity alone. Behavior, belief, policy, and environmental changes will not happen without involving community members in the planning, design, implementation and evaluation of the campaign. The Community Health Participation Program (see Chapter 3) is a good means for helping this happen. TopSecuring Funding The simplicity and universality of walking is a double-edged sword. Because it is so simple to do and most everyone can do it, you may have a hard time convincing a funding organization/agency or county/city official of the importance of walking. This is why it is important to identify and gather information about the health status and behaviors in your community, especially focusing on overweight and obesity, which seem to be more emotional issues than other health conditions. Your state and county Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) information about walking will help you explain why a walking campaign is needed in your community. Funding Sources There are several funding options available for health promotion programs. Private foundations, local businesses, hospitals, HMOs, insurance companies, and community organizations are good sources of funds for new programs. It is important to network with community leaders to learn about the funding sources available in your community. As with many community programs, you may need to secure funding from more than one source. In addition, do not overlook the value of in-kind contributions in the form of labor, materials, and technical assistance. Because the WHEELING WALKS Campaign was an intense, multimedia campaign that developed and communicated the message to 418,000 people, a large amount of funding was required. Our funding sources were:
Writing the Proposal Before requesting funds, be sure your walking program meets the criteria of the funding source. Do your research. Each funding source has a specific set of criteria that must be met in order to receive their funding. Once you generate a list of funding sources whose requirements you and the campaign meet, prepare the appropriate information for the funding request. Most funding sources require you to submit a proposal. The proposal criteria are usually quite specific. Be sure to follow the directions exactly as written. Provide the information that is requested and meet the deadline. In addition, look to the local colleges and universities in your community for assistance. Academicians have a research, service, and education commitment. A community walking campaign may match well with their professional commitments. Note: A copy of the WHEELING WALKS Grant Proposal to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is available. TopTo measure the impact of your efforts, you should carefully evaluate your overall campaign, as well as the individual campaign programs. The evaluation should help you determine the strengths, weaknesses, and overall effectiveness of the campaign. In addition, the evaluation results can be used to help elicit support for the campaign, as well as future health-promotion programs. The WHEELING WALKS Campaign used two methods of evaluation: a telephone survey questionnaire and trained observer counts of the number of adult walkers. Telephone survey questionnaire: A telephone survey questionnaire was used to measure physical activity and walking habits in a random sample of 1,500 households. (750 in the intervention community of Wheeling, WV and 750 in the comparison community of Parkersburg, WV.) (The Baseline and Post-Intervention Telephone Questionnaires are available.) The households were randomly selected. We interviewed the first available adult, age 50-65. The survey was administered to this individual on four different occasions—baseline, immediately post-, six months post-, and twelve months post-campaign. Trained observer counts: Trained observer counts of the number of walkers and other exercisers at five pre-selected popular community walking sites were conducted. The counts were recorded for two hours per day for one week at baseline, immediately post-, six months post- and 12 months post-intervention in both communities. Observers recorded: (1) gender of all exercisers, (2) count of walkers, (3) count of other exercisers. Note: For more details on the methods of evaluation and the tests used for data analysis, please refer to the Evaluation section of the grant proposal located here. Earned Media: In addition to the above methods, the amount of earned media generated by the campaign was also used for evaluation. Earned media refers to the number of free news programs, interviews, print stories, etc., generated by the campaign. TopCampaign Staffing and Job Descriptions Job Descriptions are included in this Chapter’s Appendix for: Local Program Coordinator (Appendix 1a) Local Program Facilitator (assistant to Local Program Coordinator) (Appendix 1b) Also needed: Media Developers / Ad Buyers Special guests for media events In addition, if managing a grant and/or conducting research (evaluating the project) you will likely need: Principal Investigator/Project Director Bookkeeper Comparison Community Coordinator Data Analyst Top
Local Program Coordinator This person must be familiar with the local community, its resources, its media and its social, labor, and governmental functions. The position requires skills in public relations and community organization tasks. Also needed is personal initiative, the ability to work with limited direction, outstanding skills in interacting with the public, an ability to mobilize other personnel, to delegate, and to follow-up once delegations are made. The position necessitates the accomplishment of creative tasks in a sequential manner and on a specific timetable. Possession of the combination of these skills is as important as the separate skills for the performance of the required duties. The roles and tasks of the coordinator may vary. The following information outlines the job responsibilities of the WHEELING WALKS Local Program Coordinator.
WEEK 1--a campaign kickoff press conference. WEEK 3--a press conference of prominent physicians urging the community to walk. WEEK 4--a mid-campaign press event. WEEK 6--a community walk for heart (the Mayor’s Fitness Cup). WEEK 7--the popular local distance run that includes a walking division. WEEK 8--a campaign finale press conference.
The following information outlines the job responsibilities of the WHEELING WALKS Local Program Facilitator:
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