Little Things Count

When you are creating health messages, small changes can make a big difference. A study by researchers at Penn's Annenberg School found that slight differences in how the new vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV) is described influence whether women decide to get the vaccination.

When it's all about preventing cancer, most of the women wanted the vaccine. But when you introduce the factor of it protecting against a sexually transmitted infection -- even while still preventing the Big C -- almost a third of the women opted out. Is this because they don't think it is something that they need (because, after all, THEY would never get an STI), or is it because it stigmatizes the vaccine recipient who wants the cancer protection but does not want people to think she is at risk of an STI?

This has huge implications for how the vaccine is marketed -- especially to parents, who will likely make the decision whether their daughters should get it or not (the vaccine is approved for girls as young as 9 years old).

I wrote about marketing this vaccine a while ago in response to a post that Seth Godin wrote about not wanting that marketing gig. Here's what I suggested should be done (which was endorsed by Seth in the comments!):

In light of these research results, I stand by my recommendations. Looks like Merck is too.

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