When you woke up this morning, did you think of all of the possible ways you could be injured? …and then think of all of the things you could do to prevent that?
No one ever expects to lose their life when they head out in the morning, but too many people do not take proper precautions to ensure their safety. Due to the lack of general knowledge of preventable injuries a community was designed to raise awareness, transform attitudes, and ultimately change behaviors in an effort to significantly reduce the number – and severity – of such injuries.
The PSAs in this campaign are very matter-of-fact and use blunt honesty to shock viewers into questioning their own precautions (or lack there of). With taglines like “You’re not expecting to need a helmet today” and “You’re probably not expecting to drown today” being placed on bike racks or towels left on the beach, these ads are sure to catch some attention and at the very least, make viewers discuss the unique ad they saw while walking through town today with family and friends.
What do you think? Will this help lower the over 1,000 preventable injuries that happen per day in BC? Is it a helpful reminder or just plain depressing?
This past Friday night I was at the rehearsal dinner for a young couple to be married the next day. The party was in the groom’s parents’ lovely home. It was all pretty snazzy. The 45 or 50 guests were gussied up, tan, fit, multi-generational and probably mostly WASP. The menu was authentic Italian cuisine. There was staff. The over-the-top flowers were plentiful and stunningly arranged. A rented bartender served cocktails and champagne for the father’s welcoming toast to the guests and the young couple. Most of the party stayed indoors because the temperatures and humidity were tropical. Rain threatened and then showed up. So who went outdoors in the wilting heat and then the storm? Smokers. Who smokes any more? Not my friends and contemporaries. (I am old.) It was the kids. The twenty-something young professionals and of them, the young women, were the smokers. Hoping to look smart? Hoping to stay slim? Hoping to become addicted to the most dangerous chemicals you can ingest that are proven to be the most destructive to health and well-being? Probably not that one.
I said to one young woman—the hostess’ daughter, “Does your mother know you’re doing this? You shouldn’t smoke, you know.” She said, “No one should!” Laughed. Inhaled. Twirled her cocktail skirt. I felt bad. For the past 25 years, I’ve written and been involved in social marketing against smoking and secondhand smoke. Our agency, working with the Michigan Department of Community Health primarily, has targeted all ages, races, demographics with measureable successes. It’s discouraging to see any one smoking. Did you miss the messages? Apparently. We know the anti-smoking work is never finished. We know it’s tough to counter the glamorous smokers served up in movies and elsewhere. We won’t quit.
You’ll find our award winning and very effective anti-smoking tv commercials on psastation.com
When I see young women sucking on cigarettes in an electrical storm, risking the ruination of costly cocktail dresses, I don’t think smoking looks chic. I think it looks like addiction. And I feel sad. What do you think?
Have you ever used the Internet to search for medical information? Maybe even self-diagnosed yourself with a an ill-fated disease based on one of your symptoms (c’mon, fess up)? If you have been online searching for health-related data, welcome to the majority of the population. Sixty-one percent of Americans use the Internet to access health information - up from 25% back in 2000 (source: PewInternet). But, who is most likely to be searching on the Internet for medical information? According to PRIZM, a leading market segmentationtool, the PRIZM cluster most likely to be found listening to a health-related podcast, going to a medical website, and/or reading a blog or physician reviews is the nation’s most elite segment – The Upper Crust. A little bit about Upper Crust: their age range is between 45-64 and median HH income is about $114,000. They read the Wall Street Journal, Economist, and Forbes. They listen to NPR and ESPN radio. They watch tennis, golf, and horse racing. Think of Henry Higgins from My Fair Lady – but American and with Internet access. And if he had the latter, perhaps he’d spend more time focusing on his health and less time trying to change Ms. Doolittle. I happen to find her Cockney twang endearing.
Macy’s, Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, the Gap, Mayo Clinic – check.
The Mayo Clinic, one of the nation’s healthcare leaders - just announced that they will have a presence in the second phase of the Mall of America. I guess we won’t just be shopping for shoes anymore.
They haven’t yet announced what services will be provided, it could be diagnostic screenings, wellness counceling – things along those lines, but it will in the end all drive the shopper/patient to their main hub in Rochester. Talk about a great healthcare “retail” strategy.
As a breast cancer survivor, I spend quite a bit of time digging through the web on the latest and greatest breast cancer articles. I’m always looking for new tests, treatments, research studies and whatever else is out there. As I was doing some searching, I found some really clever non-traditional breast cancer advertising.
Take a look at some of my favorites.
These sticker placed strategically on fruit in India asked women if they check their breasts as carefully. Plays on the amount of time people spend making sure they purchase the perfect fruit. Source: Ads of the World
Reminds people that anyone can get breast cancer
Breast Cancer Mannequin combined with stickers in fitting rooms in a lingerie and swimwear boutique in Dubai
You don’t always see breast cancer and breast cancer doesn’t always show up on a mammogram. If you can feel something, get it checked.
Stress balls in Portugal
What do you think? Like them? Think their effective? Offensive? Or make you think?
We read about smartphones and all of the capabilities that they have now-adays, but the newest use for the smartphone that I just read about blew me away….
Apple is now looking at launching applications and morphing the iPhone into a diagnostic device for taking blood pressure, etc. Some medical apps would even offer a feature that would allow patients to check what procedures are covered under their insurance provider.
Talk about an untapped market.
I’m interested to see how this pans out. Not sure how I feel about taking my cholesterol with a phone. What do you think?
When I started my personal journey with breast cancer, I knew I had to do something to help other people someday. It wasn’t clear to me how I would help but I would figure that out in time. I was blissfully unaware that breast cancer could touch me at that—or frankly—any point in my life. I had briefly heard about a breast cancer gene but I had no cause or reason to dig deeper. Up to this point, every one of my close female relatives had thankfully avoided the big “c”.
My thoughts quickly shifted to marketing—after all it’s what I’ve spent the past 15 years doing every day. How I could I personally use marketing to bring awareness to the breast cancer gene (BRCA)? As the Account Director for the Michigan Department of Community Health for the past 13 years, I’ve had the opportunity to work on many great social marketing programs including breast cancer advertising. I know our work has continuously impacted and likely saved lives—we’ve seen results in decreased smoking rates, increased immunization rates, increased awareness in risks of cardiovascular disease among others. I’ve seen the power of social marketing first hand. And I know the difference it can make and the awareness it can generate. I had no idea how profoundly social marketing and advertising would impact my life. But I found my lump as a result of our award-winning breast cancer television spot for St. John Health. And I’m certain that television spot saved my life.
But what about the breast cancer gene and the risk it poses to so many women? If I had no idea I was at risk then certainly there were so many others out there in my position. That’s why my involvement with FORCE is so critical.
I was deeply energized and excited when I saw the Detroit Jewish News yesterday and the awareness of BRCA right smack on the cover. I couldn’t ask for more. I am so happy that a Previvor (a person at high risk who’s chosen surgery to avoid cancer) was willing to share her story. And the story worked well with my story (on the inside) as the person with the same risk factors that did not have enough awareness to avoid a cancer journey.I know that my personal blog, my speaking engagements and my open door policy have helped to increase awareness. But there is nothing like mass media—through advertising, social marketing, PR or a social media program to really drive awareness of risk factors we all face.
Do you have any personal stories of how social marketing or advertising has impacted your life? Would love to hear them.
I was inducted as a board member for the Rainbow Connection this month. This is a wonderful nonprofit that grants special wishes to Michigan kids with life-threatening illnesses. Family trips to Disney World, meeting sports heroes, even a recording studio set-up for one aspiring musician. I knew this was a great cause, which is why I thought it would be a good place to share my healthcare and cause marketing expertise. But I didn’t expect to feel the passion so quickly.
I learned in a 1-hour board meeting that it’s not the material things that make the Rainbow Connection so precious. It’s the connections it creates. A place for kids dealing with really tough problems to be with other kids just like themselves. Hanging out. Going to Tiger games. A recent group even got limoed to Kid Rock’s pad for pizza and some jamming. But more importantly, they got a chance to just be. And to see that they are not alone, and that maybe it’s ok to talk about this thing that has rocked their lives.
A “wish kid” mom shared her daughter’s experience. Her beautiful 16-year old has an inoperable brain tumor and refused to talk about it. To anyone. Period. Until she went on a Rainbow Connection event with others just like herself and was able to open up and connect with kids her own age, experiencing her own pain. And see with her own eyes that they were finding joy and rainbows anyway.
Even with this economy, the Rainbow Connection is holding on, fulfilling more wishes and sponsoring more college scholarships for wish kids than ever before. Maybe, hopefully, because people realize that a lower paycheck is less important than the health of our kids.
See the video below and share with anyone you think could use a rainbow of hope and gratefulness today.
You can find this and other nonprofit, cause-related videos on our new psastation.com website.
Here’s a site that does a world of good. You’ll see. I get daily reminders to click to fund free mammograms for women who can’t afford to get them. I do. And then I stay to click a few more boxes.
A friend just sent me this address to fund free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals. It’s the same site. Different cause. http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com
You’ll see there are lots of advertisers on the page. That’s how come your ‘donation’ is free when you click on the purple box.
You’ll also see along the top of the page tabs and a chance to click on the free mammogram site, a rainforest site, a literacy site, children’s health and a hunger site. Each page has many advertisers that support these efforts. There’s also information about how the funds get used, how the site works, so on. All they ask of you is that you click on the box so your view is counted. All it costs is a few seconds of your time.
It’s simple, fast, great. This makes it easy to give and give every day.
When I got this, my friend asked me to pass it along to some friends. I just did. Will you? Include me too.
All hospitals want to be innovative. Pioneering new technologies, treatments, and research is very important to them. But when it comes to innovative marketing strategies, hospitals are usually very conservative. They tend to play it safe and create ads that are category similar with either doctors, happy healthy people or tired testimonials. Our client Covenant Healthcare did something different. They said “yes” to a campaign that is truly a first in healthcare. Covenant’s differentiator is that they give extraordinary care to all generations from babies to grandparents. So one of the brand campaign concepts we created was to have kids deliver the message and talk about how Covenant will be there for them in the future like they are now. They loved it. Never in my 20 year career have I seen the agency, marketing client team, hospital executive leadership team, and every focus group all choose the same campaign as their favorite. There must be something special that connects emotionally across all these groups and all generations…and that’s exactly what we were shooting for. Here’s the spot, what do you think?
As a healthcare marketer for 20 plus years, I thought I’d seen or marketed just about every healthcare specialty. Not so. I just came across a new one called “wilderness medicine“. Think wild animal attacks, dive accidents, altitude sickness, heat and cold related illnesses. Think mountains, jungles, deserts, caves, marine environments. Think risk-taking, outdoorsy docs who blend their passion for outdoor hobbies with medicine. While relatively new, they have a Society with a Fellow credential, CMEs and 800 members. No surprise the Wilderness Medical Society roots are in CA with a Utah HQ.
Always on the lookout for new healthcare marketing ideas, I love the clear differentiation of wilderness medicine. I’d love to do their marketing campaign. Maybe we’d use Dr. McDreamy as the spokesperson straight from his mountainside Airstream trailer. Or perhaps you have a better campaign concept? Or another wild healthcare specialty we haven’t heard of? Please share with us.
Congratulations to the American Cancer Society for their Birthday spot getting top honors in a Nielsen ranking of the Top 10 Most-liked New Ads in Ad Age this week. It shows more people living to celebrate more birthdays because of the work the American Cancer Society is doing. And people like that idea. Doesn’t validation feel good? It feels good to be liked. And let’s face it, people like you when they can relate to your story. They connect with it. They feel you “get” them. It’s something I try to do every day when I write an ad or a PSA. If you want to see more great PSA’s for cancer, heart disease or any cause under the sun—check out the PSAstation.com.
