Health and Welfare in Canada - Case Study Example

Health and welfare Canada Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Executive Summary 3 Background 4 Problem ment 5 Analysis 5 Alternatives 7 First Alternative 8 Two Positive Points 8 Two Negative Points 8 Second Alternative 9 Two Positive Points 9 Two Negative Points 9 Recommendation 10 Implementation – Action Plan 11 References 12 Executive Summary The era of the 21st century is an era of high speed internet, heavy workloads and demand work schedules. As a matter of fact, this has led to the significant rise of economic progress through the significant rise of GDP and GNPs. However, in spite of all this economic progress, the social and family life of the modern day human beings has taken a backseat. The demanding job schedules as well as cut throat competition in the workplace has led to the evolution of families where the young members of the family are often left alone, thereby leading them towards the developing a feeling of being uncared and unwanted. This has culminated in a very serious problem in the Western countries, especially US and Canada, where the young population are highly vulnerable to drug and substance abuse, which is being taken as a shelter from teenage insecurity and depression. This paper is focused on addressing the problem of drug abuse by the young population of Canada and has as a result is focused on the process of identifying the particular target group that needs to be targeted for increasing the effectiveness of the social awareness campaign dedicated to raising awareness about the ill effects of substance abuse. Background The case talks about the Health Promotion Directorate of Health and Welfare Canada, an organization which is focused on the process of increasing the level of awareness among Canadians regarding various issues that may lead to the affecting of their health. Talking in more specific terms, it can be mentioned and discussed that the Health Promotion Directorate is more concerned about the masses of Canada in regards to their consumption behavior, usage and abuse of alcohol and various other drugs, that significantly have a negative and detrimental effect on the mental and physical health of the individuals of Canada as well as humanity as a whole. It can be said that the Health Promotion Directorate, in an attempt to increase the level of awareness regarding the ill effects of the abuse of alcohol and other drugs, which has a negative impact on human life focuses on the process of indulging in social marketing. The Health Promotion Directorate of Health and Welfare division of Canada strongly believes that through the process of going for value communication by engaging in social marketing they will be able to tackle the society problem and make the masses of Canada aware about the negative impacts of drugs and alcohol, on human health. In the recent past, the Health and Welfare Division of Canada, focused on the process of going for conducting an awareness campaign which was aimed at raising awareness about the negative impacts of uncontrolled intake of alcohol and drugs, while taking into account the feedback and valuable inputs received through the process of conduction of an extensive research. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the campaign revealed that the program received a massive success from the young target population of Canada, towards whom the campaign was targeted. Having achieved a high success rate by proceeding with the process of social marketing along with a proper market analysis, the Program Promotion Division of Health and Welfare Canada has concentrated on the process of initiating a new study to identify potential new target markets as well as identifying the various values and lifestyle of each segment of individuals. Problem Statement It can be said that the Program Promotion Division of Health and Welfare Canada, is focused on the process of building and developing the level of success of the previously undertaken marketing campaign. In an attempt to develop and generate higher rate of success of the marketing campaign, the Division has concentrated their eye sight in better understanding of their target market and therefore focused on the process of conducting a primary research to better understand the potential new markets and areas as well as better understanding of the values and lifestyle of the various group of respondents. The problem statement lies with the fact of deciding which segment to focus on for the purpose of developing high success of the social marketing and awareness campaign of Health and Welfare Canada, while taking into account the insights gathered from the recently conducted psychographic study based market research. Analysis In an attempt to properly understand the trends and patterns of consumption that are existent in regards to the usage and abuse of drugs and alcohol in the regions of Canada by its population, it can be said that rather than undertaking an industry analysis, it will be more relevant to conduct a nationwide analysis. Taking a nationwide analysis will help in the process of getting a clearer picture of the trends and patterns of drug and alcohol abuse that are existent in the various regions of Canada. Talking in these lines, it can be said that the country Canada has a population of over 34,000,000 along with a gross national per capita income of around 38,370 USD. As per statistical records available with regards to the year 2010, the country spends a little over 11% of the entire GDP on maintaining and running the health related expenses for the population of Canada (WHO, “Canada”). Talking in terms of demographic profile of the entire population of Canada, it can be said that of a total population of over 34,000, 000, around 68% of the entire population fall within the age group of 18 – 64 years. Now talking in line with the production of drugs, it can be said that the Canada market makes up as a biggest contributor of cannabis for the local drug markets, as well as making it up for supplying to bordering countries like the US. The usage of high technology as well as the well organized financing of drugs by the usage of highly advanced financial system of the country contributes to the production of drugs within the country (CIA, “The World Factbook”). The country in an attempt to address the threat emerging from the usage and abuse of drugs and alcohol has set up various drug and alcohol monitoring agencies that focuses on taking a measure of the national health in regards to alcohol and drug abuse by conducting various surveys and research based studies on regular intervals. Talking in terms of various inputs and insights gained from various research based studies, it can be said that as of the year 2011, there has been a significant amount of drop in regards to the consumption and abuse of drugs, which falls under the illicit category as well as the psychoactive pharmaceutical category. However, talking about noticeable trends with respect to the year 2011, it can be said that there has also be a significant drop on a year on year basis in the case of teenagers reporting for potential health related harm that they have experience after usage of drugs. Talking in regards to alcohol abuse, it has been noticed that there has been more or less the same trends that are existent in the recent years for alcohol consumption, with no major change happening in this particular area (Health Canada, “Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Survey”). Talking from the more specific and region based statistics point of view, it can be said around more than 239,000 school students in the Ontario region of Canada has come in the first contact with drugs in their school life. In most cases, it has been found that the contact process of the school students with the drugs happens through the process of selling, consuming or even being offered drugs at school. Talking about alcohol abuse on a state basis, it has been found that around 49% of school students of the 12th grade of the Ontario region have participated in the process of alcohol abuse, by actively engaging in binge drinking. However, on an overall note, it can be said that the pattern of substance abuse is comparatively increasing with regards to the increase in population in the Canadian regions in the recent years, thereby keeping up with the trend of substance abuse as is prevalent in regions all over the world (Teenchallenge.ca, “Canadian Drug Crisis”). Alternatives In an attempt to provide a probable solution to the current problem statement, two alternatives can be provided. First Alternative The first alternative is the process of raising awareness regarding the ill effects related to substance abuse is by targeting the young population located in Canada that increasingly comprises of the TGIF segment. Two Positive Points One important reason for selecting this particular segment is the fact of these group of respondents lead a highly erratic lifestyle, where there is no space for values and culture. Another important reason for selecting this particular segment is obviously the fact that this group of respondents is highly spendthrift in nature and don’t believe or develop the idea of saving for the future needs. With all of their earned money being spent over the weekends, this group needs immediate attention in order to prevent them from getting into financial as well as other troubles in the future. Two Negative Points One negative aspect that can be attributed to this group of respondents is that they are highly independent in nature and are highly undisciplined. Hence there are high chances that because of their present focused lifestyle they will complete ignore the message that is being conveyed through the efforts of the awareness campaign. Another negative aspect is that because of this group focused mostly in the Ontario region, the awareness campaign will automatically ending up by focusing only on the Ontario region rather than the entire geographical region of Canada. Second Alternative The second alternative that can be applied for the purpose of raising awareness regarding the ill effects of substance abuse is by targeting the segment which is termed as Tomorrow’s Leaders. Two Positive Points One very important point that can be mentioned for defending the purpose of choosing this particular segment is the fact that the respondents of this group is high ambitious in nature and possess strong leaderships skills. As a result, it can be said providing attention to this particular group will significantly contribute to the process of development of a huge pool of potential talent for the future. Another very important factor that needs to be mentioned in this particular case, is the fact that this particular group of respondents are highly tech savvy in nature. So, naturally it will be comparatively easy to continuously make them aware about the ill effects of drug and alcohol abuse and thereby raising the levels of success for the program. Two Negative Points One big negative point for targeting this particular group of respondents is the fact that they are mostly team persons, and as a result prefers to follow the crowd. So, naturally it will be very difficult to influence their behavior if approached in an individual case to case manner. Another negative point that can be highlighted for this particular group is that the respondents are spread all over Canada and hence targeting them through social marketing campaign will lead huge investments in terms of marketing and promotions. Recommendation After evaluating both the alternatives, from the positive and negative side, it can be said that targeting the TGIF segment of respondents, who are mostly located in the Ontario region will lead to a significant rise in the success rate of the social awareness campaign focused on raising awareness for the individuals. Also, analyzing the alternatives from the costing point of view revealed that it will be more methodical and will provide better value for money by investing and focusing on raising the level of awareness in the Ontario region rather than going for a broad based approach towards conducting an awareness campaign throughout the entire nation of Canada. Talking about the messages that can be sent to the selected target group, it has to be taken in to consideration that the message should be short, crisp and should be able to directly hit the negative aspects of substance abuse, in broad terms. Hence some of the effective messages can be: Be a responsible person, and hate drugs Party Wisely, Say No To Substance Abuse. Substance Abuse Takes Away Your Bright Side of Tomorrow. Implementation – Action Plan What Who Deciding the target market for the campaign and selecting the region for the campaign Director and Senior marketing Officer, Promotion Division Deciding and selecting the message to be conveyed through the campaign Director and Senior marketing Officer, Promotion Division Allocation of budget and financial resources to be used for running the campaign Director, Promotion Division. Deciding the communication modes to be used for running the campaign Marketing Department, Promotion Division. Monitoring the effectiveness of the campaign through the conduction of surveys and primary research Marketing Department, Promotion Division. References WHO Canada. April 2012. Web. 29 Nov 2012. CIA. The World Factbook. 14 Nov. 2012. Web. 29 Nov 2012. Health Canada, Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Survey. 3 July. 2012. Web. 29. Nov. 2012. < http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/drugs-drogues/stat/_2011/summary-sommaire-eng.php > Teenchallenge.ca. Canadian Drug Crisis. July 2012. Web. 29 Nov.2012. < http://www.teenchallenge.ca/get-help/canadian-drug-crisis > Read More