The Communication Strategies to Deal with Obesity - Report Example

Multimedia Multimedia Introduction Obesity is a social issue that needs the public to be actively involved in campaigns to fightit. Different types of communication are available but the most appropriate and effective ones will be those that act interactively between the campaigners and the audience. To this end, while determining the communication strategies and resources, the advantages, disadvantages, audience, budget, duration of the campaign and how critical it is to get the audience to participate must be considered (Littlejohn 2009, p. 99). Basing on information from both the business community and health fraternity, the 10 resources selected below will be evaluated and their advantages and disadvantages towards the cause of the campaign highlighted. The evidence and rationale for their selection will also be included. Resource Strengths /Advantages Weakness’s/disadvantage Evidence and Rationale Leaflet The ease of distribution gives them a large reach Enables campaigners to expose audiences to material not readily available or unpublished at no cost to audience Facilitates rapid communication in areas not sufficiently covered by electronic media or infrastructure Handed directly to the audience. No effort is required from them New leaflets can be printed after very short cycles because they are easy to produce Leaflets will initially be thought to be junk mail and the audience will not pay immediate attention to them Characterized by one way communication. Response and reaction is purely the initiative of the audience Short term impact on the audience and often discarded after the first read When used as newspaper inserts, they only serve limited demographics As marketing tools, they are not highly effective or persuasive and will require the campaigners to draw attention to them Leaflets have been used as an affordable means of reaching out to mass audiences, with a proven record of creating rapid awareness once they are read (Keely 2009, p. 185). You tube Easy to create and upload to the internet Includes colourful and attractive videos Includes voice communication and eliminates the need for the audience to read long paragraphs Postings can easily be re-ordered or saved on the users’ device for repeat viewing The campaigner can easily modify content (compared to leaflets and journals) to suit stages of the campaign Too many changes occur too fast (can overwhelm audience) Audience will require basic equipment Campaigners often overlook the fact that they are producing a presentation and that You tube is simply a tool. This shifts focus to the medium rather than message Not all areas are sufficiently covered by infrastructure to access internet at the pace the campaign may need May have demographic disadvantages since not people of all ages are regular users of social media The popularity of You tube has grown with technological advances and it has a global reach. Modern technological enthusiasts have proven to be advocates of the resource (Baruah & Handiqui 2012, p. 3). Blogger The online presence is a cost effective means of providing infrastructure for integrated multi-media campaigns and access to the campaigners’ news Quick, inexpensive and easy to set up and use even with limited technological skills The internet allows websites to cross all boundaries and keeps the campaign open every day of the week Bloggers provide real time statistics to evaluate the campaign’s success Saves time by eliminating the need of counselling on the cause of the campaign. This is because audiences can access frequently asked for information Attracting an initial audience is difficult especially when financial constraints do not allow directory inclusion Unless regularly updated, content on the website may be rendered unreliable. This also calls for commitment on the campaigners’ part Poorly maintained websites often crash and create downtime through which the campaign is locked out of the world Using bloggers is also attract bad publicity especially with the ability of the audience to post comments Bloggers are also exposed to SPAM especially. Since their e-mail addresses and contact forms are published on their website, they often receive hundreds of useless e-mail Blogging has in the recent past become an affordable way of reaching out to multitudes and also getting feedback (Baker & Moore 2008, 83). Journal More specifically targeted audiences than newspapers, which ensures readership among different professional and academic levels Longer shelf life than daily or weekly newspapers High chances of passing over to other readers over months, increasing reach Some journal titles command respect in their respective fields, which gives a campaign higher status and probability of acknowledgement Journal readers are more likely to get the concept of a campaign much faster than general readers of other print media Often one way and mostly suited for professional and academic purposes rather that social initiatives It takes a while before the next issue or volume is written Print media may be a cost-effective medium, but putting campaigns, advertisements of promotions in journals has a prohibitive cost Like other print media, it is also a cluttered landscape This is resource is recommended by CDC, which is a reputable organization whose results from surveys and studies can be trusted. Their report, after using Journal to create awareness, was that they reached specific targets (CDC) 2011, p. 97). Facebook It is a familiar application especially among the youth active on social media Highly interactive and draws immediate response Easily accessible and does not require sophisticated equipment Allows sharing of videos and pictures about the campaign Through the private inbox, campaigners can have discreet communications with both existing and potential supporters of the cause By being on Facebook, the campaign exposes itself to open criticism with the possibility of negative comments Inappropriate online branding can cast the campaign in bad taste at plunge it into a viral and massive social disadvantage Requires extra commitment to update posts. Gaps that last several weeks or months communicate lack of commitment of the campaigners This social media may not convey the seriousness or professionalism associated with the campaign and will require care to develop and maintain its presence The platform was designed for interactive online forums and the owner may determine what stays on the public profile, they cannot completely control who posts to it .Social media has a high potential of reaching the audience as well as receiving feedback. The research by (Ahmed, Sullivan & McCrory 2010, p. 1881) was specifically aimed at raising awareness at how social media impacts health trends and received desired results. Twitter Campaigners are able to contact the biggest advocates of the cause directly, and the advocates can also contact them The limit of 140 characters ensures the message is direct and concise, giving it a mature and urgent nature It is a familiar application especially among the youth active on social media Highly interactive and draws immediate response Has the “ripple effect” because users get to know what people they know are doing or reading. Hence, once one person becomes part of a conversation, many more will get the information Too many changes occur too fast and the feed can easily be hacked to damage the cause or spread misinformation A hash tag usually generates a lot of momentum but dies down too soon once another one is picked up Since twitter is busy, it requires plenty of time and effort for the campaigner to keep re-tweeting so as to keep the campaign alive and avoid getting buried in the followers’ feeds Generally based on text and not ideal for displaying visual content Allow campaigns and promotions are permitted by Twitter, approval must first be sought, with the possibility of rejection Has been used on several other causes such as political campaigns and drew the much needed attention (Baruah & Handiqui 2012, p. 4) Radio Stations target different and specific audiences at different times through their program schedules, which minimizes wasting airtime Provide options of local and national radio, so campaigns can be customized to match geographical details Easy to produce, air and modify to suit changing stages of campaign Wide availability on mobile devices, in the office, at home and in cars, improving coverage and reach Provides excellent cover of local and marginalized societies than any other electronic media for customized content Radio mostly uses background music on campaigns and advertisements, which may cause emotional distraction meaning the audience will not pay attention to the main message A significant number of listeners will be engaged in other activities at the same time, which will distract them and tune out the message For the audience to hear and retain the message, they must listen to it repetitively which means it must be aired repetitively Campaigns against obesity will most likely require messages to be demonstrated visually at certain points, but radio is restricted to sound Generally requires extra cost for writing script, editing and studio time apart from airing costs Users of the medium trust it as it has been in use for many generations, and its contents are capable of creating considerable awareness (Atkin & Rice 2013. P. 69) Newspaper Ability to reach a certain class of citizens that can influence others Affordable, costing less then radio or TV per every thousand readers Offer flexibility in frequency, placement and content, which can be refined and changed in two days Most trusted and traditional form of creating awareness Supplements feature pullouts that can be saved by readers Readership has been negatively affected by online options especially among the youth Contain hundreds of other campaigns and advertisements, so the campaign must compete for attention May require multiple insertions as they are discarded after their short life span Average time to scan through a newspaper is 20 minutes, so there is no assurance that all readers who receive the newspaper will read the campaign Often clutter information by mixing editorial content with campaigns A weekly or daily issue reaches more adults than 30 minutes of prime-time TV (Jacobson, L 2013, p. 103). Google Extensively used (over 250 million searches per day) hence reaches a huge audience base Gives campaigners control over their entire campaign including setting the budget, targeting the audience and creating their own content Costs are low because no minimum for spending is set Campaigners can set their own daily budget The effectiveness can be evaluated with the tracking interface provided Too many changes occur too fast Too many advertisements can lead to rejection of the campaign The campaigners can easily get banned for clicks that appear illegal even when done accidentally Further, each click on the campaign will come at a cost even if the person does not read it Does not provide platform for sharing status Everyone is seeking for information in the modern world and Google has emerged as the search engine of choice. Its coverage is global and not restricted to multinationals (Rowe & Ilic 2009, p. 501). Wikipedia Widely used in search of information, so has significant coverage Since content is instantaneous, the campaign does not have to go through publishers in order to update or create new editions Any user can edit and add their own contributions to the cause, making it truly interactive The same document can be accessed and worked on by multiple people from anywhere in the world The lack of a predetermined structure makes it a flexible tool that can serve different aspects and applications of the campaigns If not managed properly, it is exposed to vandalism and SPAM Since anyone can edit, it makes the platform too open for certain application and confidential information The flexible nature of its structure allows information to get disorganized as it grows, risking distortion of the cause Like other online resources, it requires internet connectivity, electricity and basic device, which can be a challenge to some demographics The openness, ability for anyone to edit without a publisher’s approval and potential for information to get distorted with growth puts to question the reputation of the resource Like Google, it also generates high traffic, which means viewership is high. It will therefore serve the purpose of creating awareness albeit amidst risks of distorted information (Laird 2009, p. 226). Conclusion Some general clusters of advertising resources actually have similar advantages and disadvantage, such as print media which includes newspapers and journals and online media which includes Facebook and twitter. However, a campaign can seek the best of the advantages and avoid the most detrimental disadvantages basing on the specific purpose of a campaign. References Ahmed, O, Sullivan, S & McCrory, P 2010, ‘iSupport: do social networking sites have a role to play in concussion awareness’? Disability and Rehabilitation, vol. 32, no. 22, pp. 1877-1883. Atkin, C & Rice, R 2013, Theory and principles of public communication campaigns, Sage, California. Baker, J & Moore, S 2008, ‘Distress, coping, and blogging: comparing new Myspace users by their intention to blog’, Cyber Psychology & Behavior, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 81-85. Baruah, T & Handiqui, K 2012, ‘Effectiveness of social media as a tool of communication and its potential for technology enabled connections: a micro-level study’, International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, vol. 2, no. 5, pp. 1-10. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2011, Strategies to prevent obesity and other chronic diseases: the CDC guide to strategies to increase physical activity in the community, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta. Jacobson, L 2013, Raising consumers, Columbia University Press, New York. Keely, B 2009, ‘Planning and creating effective scientific posters’, The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, vol. 35, no. 5, pp. 182-186. Laird, P 2009, Advertising progress: American business and the rise of consumer marketing, Prentice, New Jersey. Littlejohn, S 2009, Advertising theory, Sage, New York. Rowe, N & Ilic, D 2009, ‘Innovating professional knowledge transfer: from academic poster to Media Poster’, Medical Education, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 496-504. Read More