Despite a 33% drop in the teen pregnancy rate in Chicago, the city’s rate is 1.5 times the national average. To address the issue, Chicago has recently launched a new teen pregnancy campaign that is…unexpected.
The PSAs have gained local and national attention for their surprising take on drawing attention to the issue and reminding people that boys are also affected by teen pregnancy. The campaign has been featured on Good Morning America and The View.
Chicago Health Commissioner Dr. Bechara Choucair has stated the campaign is intended to be provocative and spark conversation. Clearly that goal has been achieved.
Shocking people with an unanticipated twist is not a new way to spur conversations about teen pregnancy, as seen in this PSA form the UK.
However, now the true test will be to see if the PSA catalyzes action as well as conversation. Will teens visit BeYouBeHealthy.org to learn more about sexual health, contraception, and relationships? Will they change their behavior?
According to Dove published survey data, over half (54%) of women globally—equating to an astounding 672 million women worldwide—agree that when it comes to how they look, they are their own worst beauty critic. The three-minute “Dove Real Beauty Sketches” video that launched last month has garnered more than 114 million total views, making it the most viral ad video of all time. In the video, a forensic artist sketches women’s faces first based on their self descriptions, and then based on that of a stranger. The stranger’s descriptions yield more attractive and accurate sketches. The video ends with “You are more beautiful than you think”—reinforcing the core message of Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, that women are often overly critical of their appearances and don’t see their true beauty.
Despite some criticism of the video’s approach and choice of women profiled, and evidence from psychological research suggesting the inaccuracy of women’s general dissatisfaction with their physical appearance, the video clearly resonated with a massive audience.
The ad was uploaded in 25 different languages to 33 of Dove’s YouTube channels and has been viewed in more than 110 countries. Additionally, 14 video parodies of the ad have been created and, to date, there are an estimated four billion PR and blogger media impressions.
Regardless of whether or not you agree with the video’s creative approach and message—what was it about Dove’s strategy that made this ad so popular?
I agree with the following three components mentioned in a recent Business Insider article on the ad:
Emotional appeal – The unique testimonial style video made the viewer a part of the featured women’s experience, eliciting a strong emotional response from viewers.
Shareability – Video virality increases when viewers don’t exclusively watch it on YouTube, but also share it with their friends, all of which is related to compelling content. Of note is the fast momentum starting the day of the ad launch. During the first two weeks, there were 3.17 million shares—more than any other ad has managed in the same period—including VW’s “The Force,” TNT’s “Dramatic Surprise,” and Melbourne Metro Train’s Dumb Ways To Die, the first, second and fourth most shared ads of all time.
Dissemination strategy – Dove did some careful media planning, first launching the video in four key markets: the U.S., Canada, Brazil, and Australia. Dove also partnered with YouTube and distributed the video to top media; initial placements were generated on the Today Show, Mashable, Huffington Post, and the Channel 7 Morning Show in Australia.
Physical appearance is obviously something we all can relate to, which most definitely contributed to the popularity of this ad. As health communicators, we don’t always have the most “sexy” topics or largest of budgets, but Dove’s success is a reminder of the importance of developing content in a creative and compelling way; thinking through how to maximize shareability; and securing relevant media placements. What other characteristics of the Dove ad have made it so popular? What other recent successful viral videos or campaigns can we learn from?
I recently read Peggy’s Orenstein’s thought-provoking New York Times article, “Our Feel-Good War on Breast Cancer,” and I’m hoping every social marketer will read it too.It has sparked widespread dialogue within the social marketing community, and left me feeling unsettled and with many questions about the meaning behind my work.
The article suggests that the spectacularly successful pink-ribbon campaign has ultimately made women less conscious of the facts surrounding breast cancer, “obscuring the limits of screening, conflating risk with disease, compromising our decisions about health care, celebrating ‘cancer survivors’ who may have never required treating”.Orenstein — a breast cancer survivor who benefited from early detection — suggests that the very notion of early detection contributing to a cure is actually a mis-truth or oversimplification.
Orenstein did a thorough job of sharing facts and statistics that were very surprising (to me at least). For example, I didn’t realize that since mammograms/screenings have been introduced there haven’t been corresponding decreases in incidence of metastic cancer.And, that while there has been a 25% drop in breast-cancer death rates since 1990’s, many researchers attribute those declines to treatments, not screenings.Apparently mammograms are not as good at detecting the most lethal forms of breast cancer at a treatable phase.There was much more in the article, and I learned a lot about the history of breast cancer science, treatment, and prevention.
Still, the article was not just about the science behind breast cancer – it analyzed the marketing of the awareness of this disease and definitely took the stance that awareness initiatives like Komen’s pink-ribbon contribute toward overselling “both the fear of cancer and effectiveness of our prevention and treatment”.It posits that being over-aware of our risks for breast cancer can lead to unnecessary screening and preventive treatments.Orenstein goes on to suggest that while fear of cancer itself is legitimate, how we manage that fear, responses to it and emotions around it, can be ‘manipulated, packaged, marketed and sold’.The suggestion is also made that many social marketing/public health initiatives (prostate cancer’s Movember, testicular cancer’s yellow bracelet, heart disease’s red dress) all share a similar superficiality in terms of the response they require from the public.
Paul Holmes recently made a similar argument in an article for The Holmes Report, in which he references the New York Times article and indicates that social marketing interventions may have “ taken a huge step backwards in recent years.”
I bristle at this perspective. I’ve worked on social marketing initiatives for more than a decade, and know the rigor of behavioral theory and planning that is at the heart of much of this work. By applying behavioral science, we drive actual changes in behaviors, beyond simply creating awareness of an issue. Maybe the issues I work on are different by their very nature, where there is no one screening to detect, etc.Still, Orenstein makes a very strong argument for how, in the case of the pink ribbon and breast cancer, the level of awareness does seem to contribute to heightened levels of screenings and diagnoses that may not in fact require treatment.
So, I am left with questions.Are the initiatives we intend to be preventive actually doing harm? How do we protect against that and ensure they are not having a backlash that is unintended or expected?Is raising awareness as a first step toward behavior change justified, as long as the ultimate goal is an actual behavior change?What implications does this analysis hold for our work?
In April 2013, Kickstarter celebrated its fourth anniversary, marking four years of bringing to life the projects of ambitious filmmakers, musicians, artists, and designers. The accolades are pretty impressive—10% of the 2012 Sundance, Tribeca, and SXSW film festival acceptances were funded on Kickstarter; six films have been nominated for Academy Awards (and one won!); one artist’s album debuted in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart in 2012; and dozens of projects have launched objects into space.
According to their stats, Kickstarter projects have enjoyed a 43.95% success rate, raising over $520 million for projects (most individual asks are $10,000 or less). They have been responsible for funding more than 41,000 creative projects.
This year, Kickstarter has received more press–not about helping aspiring artists achieve their goals, but for their controversial support of helping the “rich get richer.”
On March 13, 2013, Rob Thomas (creator of Veronica Mars) launched his Kickstarter campaign to bring his TV show to the big screen. Within 12 hours, he raised $2 million, becoming the fastest Kickstarter campaign to reach its goal. By the end of his campaign, Thomas had raised more than $5.7 million.
In what some have called a bothersome and abusive trend, other celebrities have successfully used Kickstarter as way to launch their own projects—actor Zach Braff received more than $2 million to produce a sequel to his film, Garden State; Ren & Stimpycreator John Kricfalusi raised $137,000 to produce a cartoon; and Whoopi Goldberg raised $74,000 to film a movie on comedian Moms Mabley. There are even rumors of a Friday Night Lights movie Kickstarter.
But not all celebrity projects have been successful. Recently, actress Melissa Joan Hart cancelled her Kickstarter project after it fell woefully short of its $2 million fundraising goal—collecting just more than $51,000, proving that patrons don’t find all celebrity projects worthy of funding.
Still, critics argue that celebrity-initiated projects make it harder for lesser known artists (Kickstarter’s original muses) to meet their fundraising goals. For those individuals, crowdsourcing is the only way they can collect funding for their projects. Critics say it’s unfair to use Kickstarter as a means to fund something that you either 1) already have the money for or 2) have the professional connections to make happen. Celebrities, they argue, meet both of those.
Kickstarter founders, Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler, and Charles Adler, took to their blog to defend celebrities’ projects:
But seeing how Kickstarter makes 5% of the total funds from a successful project, it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which they wouldn’t support a multi-million dollar celebrity project as a way to boost their revenue potential.
Yet, there is something to be said for a person’s ability to choose which projects to back—they can elect to help fund an A-list actor’s movie or an aspiring singer’s new album. Isn’t that the democratic way? Still, I wouldn’t want my creative masterpiece stationed on the Website beside the Veronica Mars project. The long term effects of celebrities on Kickstarter has yet to be seen. But their presence does beg the question—is it fair?
¡Arriba. Abajo. Al centro. Pa’ dentro! If you’re not familiar with this Mexican phrase, now’s the time to learn it! Sunday is Cinco de Mayo, and margaritas are in order. In the U.S., we celebrate this day to recognize Mexican heritage and pride. As a native of South Texas, I’m usually one to take part – with tequila! What I love about this day is not only the significance for Mexico, specifically the state of Puebla, but also its meaning to the U.S. The date of May 5 originates from the Battle of Puebla, when 4,000 Mexican soldiers defeated the French, who stormed Veracruz with double the strength in 1861. Some historians believe this defeat also inhibited Napoleon from aiding the Confederate rebels during the American Civil War. But it’s not only in history that this day holds significance for both the U.S. and Mexico. It’s important today because of the intrinsic ways our countries are connected to one another through our people.
Mexican Americans comprise the majority of U.S. Latinos, and as experts in social marketing who specialize in helping Americans live happier, healthier lives, the U.S. Latino audience is one we inherently recognize and address in our day-to-day work. As we do, we take great care in approaching Latinos with cultural understanding and not simply the Spanish language―just as we would with any other population as fundamental to our country’s make-up.
The HHS’ Office of Minority Health demonstrates how important these efforts are in health care, in particular, and sets an example we should follow. In April, it released enhanced standards to help promote equity and remove ethnic disparities in health care. The National Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Standards in Health and Health Care offer guidance to health organizations on how to better deliver care to culturally diverse populations. A recent report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality states that the estimated cost of inequitable and inadequate care due to ethnic and racial disparities is $1.24 trillion!
CLAS Standard #1: Provide effective, equitable, understandable and respectful quality care and services that are responsive to diverse cultural health beliefs and practices, preferred languages, health literacy and other communication needs. The remaining 14 standards cover three categories: (1) Governance, leadership and workforce; (2) Communication and language assistance; and (3) Engagement, continuous improvement and accountability. You can read them in their entirety here.
HHS calls these standards a “blueprint” for delivering culturally and linguistically appropriate health care. As social marketers, we should develop our own blueprint, our own set of standards, for communicating with the U.S. Latino audience. This would ensure that the messaging and strategy we develop resonates culturally and is, in fact, effective among this important population. In addition, when programs call for outreach to Latinos, the strategy should be developed as a core pillar to the program rather than an add-on or afterthought. I’m proud to say this is something that Ogilvy is passionate about, and I look forward to seeing how our work grows stronger as we approach Latinos with thoughtful, methodical communications programs.
So, as you raise your margarita and dig into that guacamole this weekend, remember that Cinco de Mayo commemorates more than a date in history but also a rich and significant part of today’s American culture – one that deserves our consideration not only on the 5th of May but year-round.
Ogilvy Washington’s Social Marketing Practice offers Hispanic marketing services through Think Latino, an in-house group of bilingual and bi-cultural Latino experts.
I’ve spent much of my career advising on Web site design and content strategy. Essentially, I serve as the translator between the content lead at the organization and the Web site developer.
I’ve really enjoyed this role. I love finding creative solutions to help organizations get the dynamic and innovative features they are looking for within their budget. How does their often non-technical vision for a technical platform become actualized? And on the other side, I can help the technical experts understand why a new way to navigate or feature certain content may obscure key messages.
My first official Web project was in 2004—helping the organization I worked for conceive of and implement a better strategy to communicate research findings to the public and press. That first project helped me understand that, since the birth of World Wide Web, media is in a constant state of change and progress.
Email had just arrived on the scene during my sophomore or junior year of college (and you had to go to the library to check it!), I bought myself my first cell phone with my first pay check at my first job, and it was two years into that first job when we got on AOL Instant messenger (and AOL email) as a company platform. I’m not kidding when I say the first week we were all panicked by the constant dinging and “You’ve Got Mail!” resounding throughout the office.
Now, we have Twitter, Facebook, and apps (check out my colleague Lauren Littleton’s post about Snapchat, Instagram, and Vine) to convey information instantly through social networks.
In a world where a Tweet can cause trading companies to dump shares in a matter of seconds, Web sites can’t compete with being the source for breaking information. They need to provide context, tell a richer story. They need to do more than tell the story—they need to take readers on a journey through a series of customized stories.
Photo Credit: The New York Times
For example, TheNew York Times is redesigning their Web site to “encourage app behavior of moving through articles, rather than back to the home page.” Is TheNew York Times Web site going to get the information out into cyberspace first? Probably not. Their social media platforms (or those of their competitors) will. But their plan is that when social media leads you to their site, you’ll stick around, learn more, explore more, and then share more—through on your own social media channels. Even though you hear it first on Twitter, you’ll go to The New York Times Web site for their trusted, reliable brand experience.
Read this article by tech blog Mashable, Inside the ‘New York Times’ Redesign. You may have already seen some of these features emerging (sometimes sporadically) on sites you work on or frequent. What do you think of their redesign? Of responsive design? Of more white space? Larger images? The diminished traditional navigation bars? You can also experience the preview yourself and sign up to request access to the prototype through The New York Times.
Further, what have been your challenges and successes in encouraging clients to change the way they view media—for example, by mimicking “app behavior,” diversifying media, or re-envisioning their Web site as more than just a repository?
One of the debates this week during the World Social Marketing Conference in Toronto, Canada that stood out the most to me was the conversation around the need for the private sector to play a role in social change and the challenge presented to scientists, advocates, and the business community to work together to successfully create that change.
The dialogue was introduced by OgilvyEngage’s interactive panel discussion on the private sector’s engagement in Social Marketing and why businesses should foster behavior change. The panel helped sharpen perspectives on the issue and examined the multiple roles that the private sector can play as well as how to get the most out of private sector collaborations.
The panel featured key thought leaders in the social marketing field, including:
Nancy Lee, President of Social Marketing Services, Inc. and Adjunct Faculty at University of Washington;
Jay Bernhardt, President of Digital Health Impact, Inc. and Professor and chair of Health Education and Behavior at the University of Florida;
Celeste Bottorff, Vice President of Living Well at The Coca-Cola Company; and,
Tom Beall, Managing Director of the Global Social Marketing practice at Ogilvy Public Relations.
Overall, the discussion centered around how government and other traditional leaders of social marketing movements can benefit from private sector leadership and support on behavior-related initiatives. Kicking off the panel, Nancy Lee touched on the evolution of corporate social marketing and clarified how it differs from Corporate Social Responsibility and Cause Marketing, saying that corporate social marketing is perhaps the most important direction for Social Marketing. Tom Beall chimed in to shed light on the communications aspects of behavior change programs. Jay Bernhardt furthered the discussion by offering perspective on how important it is, when seeking help from the private sector, “to think of them as partnerships not sponsorships,” and further added that “starting small is key to building trust and momentum.” And in support of Jay’s comment on partnerships verses sponsorships, Celeste Bottorff noted that money represents the least powerful of corporate resources and that for Coca-Cola it’s “their voice, distribution, and customer relationships that add the greatest value in public private partnerships.”
But the most valuable takeaway for me was a point made by Jay – “the solutions to our society’s most wicked problems will only be solved with involvement of all sectors.” It is clear that there are many very strong, and sometimes opposing opinions on this issue, and as a practitioner I recognize that it can sometimes be uncomfortable to venture into this space. But as Social Marketing as a discipline is evolving, it’s going to be increasingly important for all of us to accept the new way forward and acknowledge the mutual benefit that comes through the private sectors engagement in social change. As Celeste noted, “both sides of public-private partnerships need courage,” but “it’s the right thing to do, and we should do it because we can do it.”
Our dedicated behavior change practice, OgilvyEngage partners with companies and organizations to help create customized communications programs that prompt and support shifts in attitudes and behaviors among target audiences and enhances return on investment for businesses. To learn more, check our paper From Cause to Change: The business of behavior, which discusses how businesses can harness the power of behavior change and show that what’s good for individuals and good for society can also be good for business.
In the few short hours since the 2013 World Social Marketing Conference concluded earlier this evening, I’ve found myself reflecting quite a bit on the presentations and discussions. So, while it’s all still fresh in my head, here are some of my personal takeaways (in no particular order):
1. Social change marketing, as I’m now referring to our discipline, is still brand challenged — most notably by the ever-growing confusion with “social media” and the fact that to some “marketing” is a bad word. Yes, we need to do a better job of “marketing social change marketing.” So let’s stop talking about it, and let’s start doing it.
2. It was refreshing to hear some presenters admit they don’t have all the answers and call for the field to collaborate on finding solutions to big problems.
3. It was disheartening to see the divide that still exists between academics and practitioners. As my colleague, Tom Beall, eloquently said: Let’s build on our commonalities and not exploit our divisions.
4. I wish there were more time to experience the culture of Toronto. To open the conference, we were treated to a beautiful blessing from a member of First Nations followed by a performance by a World Champion Hoop Dancer — something I’d never seen before and thoroughly enjoyed. Yet, I found myself wishing for more opportunities to experience the culture of Canada and the beautiful city of Toronto throughout the next 2 1/2 days. The next time we gather, I hope there are more opportunities to do so that are baked in to the conference agenda.
5. Presentations that rely heavily on visuals and compelling stories are far more engaging than text-heavy slides. (This is not a new learning but one that was re-confirmed after watching 2 1/2 days of consecutive presentations.)
6. Experts from outside the field of social marketing but who work in a related field bring a valuable perspective — we should strive to hear more from them.
7. The solutions to our society’s most wicked problems will only be solved with the involvement of ALL sectors of society. (Jay Bernhardt)
8. Both sides of public-private partnerships need courage for there are always detractors. (Celeste Bottorff)
9. Social and Marketing go together like a horse and carriage. Lyrics by Nancy Lee. Vocals by Nancy Lee’s Granddaughters.
10. There is amazing insightful, creative, and innovative social marketing work happening around the world. I’m inspired and am looking forward to getting back to work to apply some of what I learned this week!
In a few days, I’ll be joining more than 500 colleagues, academics, researchers, and students in Toronto for the third biennial World Social Marketing Conference. As the title sponsor, Ogilvy Public Relations is honored to contribute to this pioneering event. This is the first time the conference will be held in North America.
For those who haven’t attended this event in the past, the conference is a unique opportunity for social marketing practitioners to meet and discuss behavior change principles and techniques that ultimately help people lead safer, healthier and more productive lives.
This year’s theme – exploring new challenges and solutions to social change – spotlights how social marketing practitioners are overcoming barriers to designing and implementing highly effective, sustainable interventions. Panels, posters, and educational sessions on health, the environment, criminal justice, transport and finance will be presented with particular focus on sustainability, intra-disciplinary working and the relevance and application of behavior change practice and science.
The conference will feature notable speakers including: conference Chair Jeff French, a recognized global leader in the application of behavior change and social marketing, and Chief Executive of Strategic Social Marketing Ltd.; Nancy Lee, international economist, author, and president of Social Marketing Services, Inc.; Brian Wansink, professor at Cornell University and author of “Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think;” and Phillip Kotler, professor, author, and founder of Kotler Marketing Group, Inc.
The conference will also feature renowned author and environmentalist Ma Jun, Founding Director of China’s Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs, as a keynote speaker.
For those of who cannot attend this year’s conference, I encourage you to follow and spur discussions about the conference online through Twitter, using the hashtags #wsmc and #OgilvyWSMC. You can also follow the conversation here on the Social Marketing exCHANGE and through the conference website, www.wsmconference.com.
Do you have issues that you would like to see World Conference participants address next week? Do you have recommendations for how we together build a stronger global movement dedicated to capturing, spreading and nurturing even better and more effective social marketing practices? Leave a comment here and I’ll share it with the conference organizers and participants next week. We will do our best to get your questions answered and your ideas considered.
In the aftermath of any devastating event, whether it is the Oklahoma City, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, or Boston I’m always aware that I feel not only dumbfounded that such acts of violence occur, but also humbled. We live in a world where most days are spent ignoring each other either in the office, on the metro, on the bus, or on the street. Yet we are more connected now than ever before through social media. Why does it take monumental events such as yesterday’s Boston marathon bombing or Virginia Tech shooting six years ago, where lives are forever changed for us as people to take notice?
I’m guilty as charged when it comes to keeping your head down and commuting in silence. Take this morning for instance, while on my way to work I, like those around me, was looking at my phone. I read the Washington Post, read emails, and poked around Facebook. It was then that I remembered a post from a high school friend called, Stop and Hear the Music. It is particularly poignant to the observation that we as individuals no longer stop to take notice of the little things. We take for granted that those people we encounter on the street, on the bus or metro, the things we see in our structured schedules will be there for the duration. When did we stop smelling the roses, or listening to the music?
In an experiment initiated by The Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten on January 12, 2007, American Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua
Photo courtesy of http://www.joshuabell.com/photos
Bell donned a baseball cap and played as an incognito busker at the Metro subway station L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, DC. The experiment was videotaped on hidden camera; of the 1,097 people who passed by, only seven stopped to listen to him, and only one recognized him. For his nearly 45-minute performance, Bell collected $32.17 from 27 passersby (excluding $20 from the passerby who recognized him). The night before, he earned considerably more playing the same repertoire at a concert. Weingarten won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for feature writing for his article on the experiment. I challenge us all to stop and make the time to GO down to the Tidal Basin on your lunch hour,SAY hello to the person next to you on the bus, PUTyour phone away, andLISTEN to the music.
Below is a brief excerpt from Weingarten’s article:
“A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk.
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized byThe Washington Postas part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?”
Recent Comments