The Health Communication Campaign - Essay Example

Communicating Health Risks to Consumers: Search for a More Effective Strategy Introduction Vast amounts of money, time and effort are expended yearly to warn consumers of the health risks and potential dangers in certain products, as well as educate them on the benefits of patronizing other items. In the US alone, the government allots $1 billion per year to the Office of National Drug Control Policy to underwrite information and prevention campaigns in mass media on the ill-effects of tobacco, alcohol and against unsafe behaviors like unprotected sex, driving without seatbelt and breaking the prescribed speed limits. The activities include the development of package warning labels that could serve as caveat to consumers, along with the dissemination of educational materials promoting healthful consumer habits such as taking fiber-rich food to ward off colon cancer and arteriosclerosis, and keeping heart patients away from Viagra. This type of business communication comes under the heading Public Service Announcements (PSAs), which are carried out to foster healthful behavior among consumers. It is one thing to prepare and mount such a communication campaign; it is another matter as to whether such campaigns are invariably effective in changing the minds and habits of consumers, which are often deep-seated. Studies show that not all campaigns to communicate risks to consumers in fact yield the desired results (Rucker & Petty, 2006). The failed efforts include even those that were prepared with great to-do, contained all the proper information, and were implemented at huge expense. There is a rich literature on strategic business communication that examines in vivid detail why most PSAs fail to connect with consumers and why a few others do. One of the more successful health-oriented business communication campaigns is the PSA that links fiber intake with colon cancer prevention, resulting in an increased public awareness of the once ignored fiber supplements (Thrasher, et al., 2004). Another anti-smoking PSA that specifically targets adolescents has substantially achieved its objective of reducing the incidence of smoking among young adults in America (Hainkin, et al., 1998). The purpose of this discursive essay then is to draw from the existing literature on business communication the strategic mix that holds greater promise of increasing the effectiveness of risk communication to consumers. Having zeroed in on the choices, the essay proceeds to support their increased use in PSAs, moving on to defend these particular strategies against any and all objections from academic reviewers that may impute some flaws in them. Persuasion Through Advertising A health communication campaign is believed influential if it employs the psychology of persuasion through advertising, which is more elaborate and expensive. This clashes with the more popular view that package warning labels incorporating all the necessary information and warning will serve the purpose, at less cost and effort. Remember that the bottom line in every risk communication program is to change consumers' attitudes and behavior, a complex task that calls for designing methods that would yield optimal results (Stewart & Martin, 1994). The warning label strategy was primarily used in the anti-smoking campaigns in public places in some American states and in a nationwide alert against alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Both communication programs failed to realize measurable results (Pechmann & Reibling, 2000; Hainkin, et al., 1998). A cursory observation of consumer behavior shows that few if any read product labels for their risk content. For most consumers, product labels, as in the case of food products, are generally a source of information for their nutritional elements. It follows that a health warning squeezed into the product label is less likely to be noticed. On the other hand, a health warning disseminated through the regular modes of advertising offers greater chances of breaking into the consciousness of consumers. Advertising today is planned with increasing attention on the psychology of marketing, factoring in such considerations as age, personality, message relevance, consumer trends, social and group pressures. Advertisers also target specific markets for better positioning of the product or idea that is being promoted. Without market segmentation, targeting and positioning, advertising is conceded as a haphazard affair, unlikely to achieve its objectives. This supports the contention that communicating consumer risks through advertising has better possibilities of success than doing it through package warning labels. The effort becomes more effective if it draws on the rich literature on the psychology of persuasion (Rucker & Petty, 2006). It is resource-intensive, true, but it deserves nothing less, since PSAs are essentially forms of "persuasive communication" designed to perform the complicated task of alerting consumers to risks in a certain product, having them engage in a particular behavior, and changing people's beliefs and attitudes towards a product or activity, which could mean transforming their entire mindsets and lifestyles. In short, the goal of any PSA is to bring about a complete change in consumer thinking and attitudes, definitely a tall order. To achieve the goals of business risk communication, a PSA should thus be designed and executed like a regular advertising module - artistic and pleasing to the eye, socially relevant, and with a memorable message, catchy taglines and strong arguments. It should also adopt strategies that target a specific audience. Steps in PSA Planning In the literature, there are six steps usually observed in planning a result-oriented public service announcement. These steps involve the study of all the factors that could influence the performance of the PSA, after which the data are incorporated in the program. The six steps of strategic analysis are: 1) Consider whether the target audience is inclined to scrutinize the message or give it passing notice. Consumers will give any information serious thought or just a short shrift, depending on their levels of motivation and ability. Motivation is expected to be high when the issue has personal relevance, while ability relates mainly to the consumers' knowledge and intelligence. Thus, in a low-motivation scenario, the message must be developed in such a way that would strike a responsive chord among the target audience. As for a possible low ability situation, the strategy can be salvaged by the advertising technique of repetition (Cacioppo & Petty, 1979). 2) Evaluate the characteristics of the message and the audience's elaboration model, and then design the program on that basis. The message of the PSA may contain several arguments or it is the core of an expert finding and its incidental effects. A communication campaign with multiple arguments logically calls for a more elaborate strategy, developing as many reasons for consumers to favor the proposal. With the motivation and ability of the target audience expected to be low because of the many arguments and the expert message, the use of such advertising techniques as celebrity endorsers may be useful. 3) Consider whether the goal of the message is to create an enduring or immediate attitude change. If the goal is to bring about lasting attitude change, the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) of persuasion set by Petty & Cacioppo (1979) suggests the use of the central route to persuasion, which requires that policy makers examine all the relevant information and tie it with the data generated internally to determine if the proposal is reasonable. An attitude change here is effected by lining up strong and persuasive arguments. If the program can make do with a temporary change in attitudes, the peripheral route to persuasion is appropriate. This seeks to induce an attitude change by dressing up the message, the same way elaborate advertising is used to make up for an inferior product. 4) Evaluate the fit among the audience's elaboration level, the message's characteristics and objectives in a conceptual manner. There is a match between the message's goals and the audience's elaboration model if the message finds acceptance in consumers because of such factors as belief in authority. For example, a consumer will look at smoking as bad "because the Surgeon General says so (Pechmann & Reibling, 2000)." 5) Evaluate the same fit among the same factors in Step 4 empirically. This means testing the effectiveness of the message by comparing it with a no-message control or with alternative messages, and by gauging the possible consumers' attitudes, attitude certainty and thoughts about the message. Such measurement would give policy makers a better understanding of why consumers behave the way they do, which in turn would ascertain whether the message will be effective in changing attitudes. 6) Consider possible remedies if there is a discrepancy between the audience's elaboration level and message's characteristics or goals. With the data generated from Step 5, it will be possible to determine whether the message will achieve its intended effects. If it fails to do so in actual implementation, then the potential problems should be considered in the crafting of a new program. (Rucker & Petty, 2006). Altogether, the entire process calls for an extensive study and elaborate preparations. Attitude Change: Enduring or Immediate A risk communication strategy does not have the luxury of changing consumer attitudes that would have both lasting and fleeting effects. It needs to make a choice right from the decision making stage: enduring or immediate attitude change The literature on strategic business communication points out that under certain situations, such as the need to ban smoking and drinking during an election day, the effects of risk communication are necessarily immediate and temporary. That may be so but then again these time-specific communication methods do not call for strategic analysis or much of an expense and effort. As such, they do not really fall under the purview of strategic business communication. All the task needs is a city ordinance and an announcement for media pick-up and the public will comply under pain of prosecution. There is no need for designing and producing warning labels or mounting a costly advertising campaign to effect an attitude change among consumers. The problem with PSAs intended for specific occasions is that they do not promote consumer health and safety at all. In the case of the election-day ban on drinking liquor, for example, the primary objective is simply to ensure that voters are sober when they cast their ballots. After this "dry" period, people with predilection for drinking return to their vice without regard for their own health or safety. For this reason, risk communication is not worthy of its name if it does not seek to achieve longer lasting effects on the consumption habits, preferences and attitudes of people. The resulting change is believed enduring if a communication program seeks to shape attitudes through the central route to persuasion (Gross, et al., 1995), which is done by designing a strategy mix that considers all the factors likely to improve or diminish its chances for success. The strategy using the peripheral route, on the other hand, relies on often irrelevant but riveting clues like celebrities and sex objects, and is expected to result in a brief change of attitude. In that case, the central route is more preferable because it brings about a more permanent change of attitudes. Central vs. Peripheral Route According to the ELM concept set forth by Cacioppo & Petty (1979), people take the central route to message processing if they examine all the information that it presents. They then compare this with the information that is generated internally to decide if the proposal is reasonable and worthy of consideration. If the internally generated information does not tally with the ideas presented in the PSA, the audience comes away with negative thoughts about the risk communication, in which case the warning message achieves nothing vis-a-vis this type of audience (Ostrom & Brock, 1981). Obviously, the central route to processing applies to more discerning people with higher level of intelligence and knowledge who refuse to accept ideas at their face value. It is this type of people who dispute the warning message on regular alcohol consumption, among others, arguing to themselves that there are some sectors of the medical and scientific community that say a shot or two of martini a day is in fact good for one's health. For a business communication to be effective in this case, the message must contain strong and undisputable arguments or more elaboration, which in effect turns the central route of message processing into a peripheral one. The peripheral route, according to the literature, happens when the audience agrees with the message because of the many arguments presented in it, or the message comes straight from the mouth of an expert. These serve as cues, which can be effective in changing attitudes and guiding behavior. In other words, the audience complies with the message not because of its intrinsic value or central merit but because of the cues. As a result, the attitude change is mostly of short duration (Rucker & Petty, 2006). If that is so, then the more preferable option is the central route, whose resulting attitude change is longer lasting. This means that the warning message must proceed from a strong position, to be taken seriously by the more discerning audience. Simple vs. Substantive Message A warning message may be simple or substantive and high or low in elaboration. The warning "Danger!" or crossbones on a package label are examples of a simple warning message. Another such example is the message on cigarette packs that says: Smoking is dangerous to your health. There is also the "drink moderately" precaution that is required to be placed at the tail end of every liquor advertisement. As for the substantive warning message, there are more information and details written into the product package or TV and print ads (Gross, et al., 1995). An example of this more elaborate type of warning message is the advertising campaign against unprotected and indiscriminate sex. This contains a large amount of information on the pathology and spread of HIV-AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases as well as on the social problems posed by unwanted pregnancy and teen marriages. The question now is: Which of the two methods is most likely to usher in a more meaningful and longer lasting change in consumer attitude Studies show that the simple warning message characterized by the campaigns against cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption leaves much to be desired. In the US, for example, the warning labels on reducing alcohol intake during pregnancy and against smoking in public places largely go unheeded (Stewart & Martin, 1994; Bettman, et al., 1986). On the other hand, the success of the campaign against unprotected sex, which is carried out with substantive information, is there for all to see. Sale of condoms, for one, is at an all-time high and population growth remains at a more manageable level. In fact, birth control and family planning are gaining adherents even in Catholic countries, where the church frowns on such methods. For this reason, strategic business communication should lean on the use of a more substantive warning message. High vs. Low Elaboration In the literature, some marketing experts contend that high elaboration in the message position, which means going to the extreme, does not work all the time. Under high elaboration conditions, they argue, consumers may engage in biased processing, finding fault and disputing the message position with which they disagree (Lord, et al., 1979; Killeya & Johnson, 1998). An example of the high elaboration method cited by Wegener & Petty (1994), which may actually turn off consumers, is the advertisement that features movie celebrities. It is believed that knowledgeable consumers will see this as an attempt to prop up a weak message and thus end up taking a position directly opposed to the message being purveyed. Brehm (1996) calls this phenomenon "psychological reactance." What happens now to the Elaboration Likelihood Model that occupies a prominent place in the risk communication literature, which says that persuasive communication is important in public policy and marketing In this clash of opinions, the stand taken by Burton, et al. (1994) seems to be the more worthy of support. They insist that elaboration must be high so that the cues are present and strong. Without these elements, even a strong and compelling message cannot influence consumer attitudes or risk perceptions. The key to an effective and persuasive communication is finding a fit between audience elaboration and the target elaboration level for the message (Rucker & Petty, 2006). The literature suggests the use of a control or reference group to gauge if the message will be more effective under a low or high elaboration model. Elaboration is low if the target audience lacks interest in the subject that carries the warning message. For example, on the message that warns against food with high saturated fat, people with limited knowledge of nutrition generally ignore the message for lack of interest. What business communication strategists can do in this case is to bring personal relevance to the campaign, by providing sufficient tools for information processing and more powerful cues in the warning message. Common sense dictates that people who react negatively to any public service announcement are those with pre-conceived notions that will not be influenced by all amounts of persuasion. Only shock treatment will do it, which again requires some measure of elaboration. In sum, nothing beats high elaboration to make the resulting attitude change more enduring. 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