Communications are Not Enough

When people want to bring about health change on a broad scale, most think about communications campaigns.  While these can be very effective, don't forget about the P in the social marketing mix that stands for policy.  Governmental or organizational policies can create an environment that supports individual behavior change or that does not even require the individuals themselves to be the ones that do the changing. A study by the American Heart Association found this to be the case:

This policy led to 108 fewer heart attacks in Pueblo in an 18-month period, likely as a result of a decrease in the effect of secondhand smoke as a triggering factor for heart attacks, according to the AHA.

This result actually ties in nicely with part of Craig Lefebvre's recent post on critiques of social marketing, where he says:

Indeed, some of the earliest concerns of social marketers centered around the notion of ‘making the intangible tangible’ – a concern, I’ll point out, that exists to this day in the over reliance on developing communication products – whether they be posters, pamphlets, PSAs and publicity events (the 4Ps of not marketing, but communicating).

Before you invest lots of money in a media campaign or other communications (i.e., Craig's 4 Ps of communication - posters, pamphlets, PSAs and publicity events), think about how you can change the environment rather than just how you can change behavior.

Technorati Tags: social marketing, marketing, policy, smoking, heart attacks