UNDERSTANDING
THE AUDIENCE
Emerson College Summer Institute for Social Marketing & Health Communication
June 2016
WHY
(can’t we just tell them what to do?)
RELEVANCE
Are you talking to me?
Hopes? Fears? Needs?
REACH
Where am I? To whom do I listen?
How do I interact with media?
REAL
You expect me to believe that?
RESONATE
Oh, now I get it…
READINESS
Am I prepared to change/adopt this behavior?
What Stage of Change am I in ?
RESEARCH = INSIGHT
INSIGHT
Beyond knowing the facts. Seeing intuitively.
She Already Knew.
He Couldn’t Control Himself.
They Think Milk Comes
From a Store.
“Milking Time”
Research-driven?
UNDERSTAND HUMAN NATURE
IF YOU WISH TO IMPACT IT.
PROFILE: LAURA
Laura is in the 7th grade at Barnstable Intermediate School.
She just turned 13 and is now officially (finally) a ‘teenager’. Along
with most of her female friends, she looks a lot more mature than
the boys her age. Not surprisingly, she hangs out with mostly older
boys from Barnstable High School. She enjoys partying with them
which means drinking some of their parent’s booze or getting their
own stuff from older brothers and ‘friends’ of the family.
Both of her parents drink heavily, especially on weekends, so
she doesn’t consider drinking is a big deal. She drank her first beer
with dad when she was almost 12. Laura feels like a different person
when she’s drinking and can’t always remember what goes on, but
she’s not sure how to party without drinking and wants more than
anything to be liked by friends.
This morning she got a text from a friend with a photo of her at
last night’s party looking slutty. She didn’t remember anything and
is worried now that her reputation is at stake. Laura is looking
forward to high school next year, but she’s already feeling stressed
out.
TARGET AUDIENCE PROFILE
WRITE A PROFILE
BEHAVIORAL THEORY
Why do people behave
the way they do?
Internal & External Factors
Internal Factors
•
•
•
•
Knowledge and beliefs
Values
Perceived risk
Self-efficacy
External Factors
• Policies
• Access to products &
services
• Social support
• Cultural trends
• Gender norms
The ABC’s of
Behavioral Theory
Give Me An
A
ANTECEDENT
A
Events that trigger behavior
Give Me A
B
BEHAVIOR
B
The targeted behavior
Give Me A
C
CONSEQUENCES
C
Events that follow (positive +
negative reinforcement)
Theory at-a-Glance
•
•
•
•
•
•
Health Belief Model
Theory of Planned Behavior
Social Cognitive Theory
Stages of Change
Diffusion of Innovation
Social-Ecological Model
HEALTH BELIEF MODEL
(Becker, 1974)
• Perception of threat to health
I’m at risk.
• Perception that actions can make a
difference (benefit outweighs cost)
It’s worth the trouble.
• Self-efficacy
I can do it.
The Health Belief Model
Theory of Planned Behavior
Behavior is
intention transformed
into action.
Social Cognitive Theory
Concept
Definition
Application
Reciprocal
Determinism
Behavior changes result from
interaction between person and
environment; change is bidirectional
Involve the individual and relevant
others; work to change the
environment, if warranted
Behavioral Capability
Knowledge and skills to
influence behavior
Provide information and training
about action
Expectations
Beliefs about likely results of
action
Incorporate information about likely
results of action in advice
Self-Efficacy
Confidence in ability to take
action and persist in action
Point out strengths; use persuasion
and encouragement; approach
behavior change in small steps
Observational
Learning
Beliefs based on observing
others like self and/or physical
results
Point out others' experience,
physical visible changes; identify
role models to emulate
Reinforcement
Responses to a person's
behavior that increase or
decrease the chances of
recurrence
Provide incentives, rewards, praise;
encourage self-reward; decrease
possibility of negative responses
that deter positive changes
Social Cognitive Theory
(Bandura, 1977)
“Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to
mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the
effects of their own actions to inform them what to do.
Fortunately most human behavior is learned
observationally through modeling.”
Stages of Change
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pre-contemplation
Contemplation
Preparation
Action
Maintenance
Relapse
Diffusion of Innovations
(Rogers, 1973)
The process by which an innovation is
communicated through certain channels over
time among members of a social system
Did you know who this year’s recipient of the Everett Rogers Award
given by APHA for ‘outstanding contribution to
advancing the study and practice of
public health communication’ is?
Diffusion of Innovations
Characteristics
of the Innovation
1. Relative Advantage
2. Compatibility
3. Complexity
4. Trialability
5. Observability
Social-Ecological Model
(Hawley, 1950)
• Recognizes the interwoven relationship
between individual & environment
• Individual behavior is determined to a large
extent by social environment
• Policy-Advocacy Approach
• Most effective is combination of individual,
interpersonal, organizational, community, and
public policy approach
Social-Ecological Model
F.E.P. Theory
(W. Smith)
FUN…EASY…POPULAR
BEHAVIORAL
FOUNDATIONS
Social Cognitive Theory in
Action
Following in
Dad’s
Footsteps
Deglamorizing Alcohol
Where Does Stages of
Change Lead?
One Product. Two Audiences.
Contemplators
Pre-Contemplators
Diffusion of Innovation
• Targeting the Innovators
• Adding a little social pressure (‘planned
behavior’) to the mix
• A foundation for peer education &
community mobilization
Health Belief Model
Raising risk perception & confidence
Sound of Paint
Lightning Can Strike Twice.
NAME
THAT THEORY
Safe Sex in Africa
“If I had asked my customers what they
wanted, they would have said a faster
horse.”
-HENRY FORD