National Training Collaborative for Social Marketing

Session TwelvePublic Health Message

Design

Objectives Describe five relevant principles of persuasion Discuss what makes a public health message

effective Describe how the public views health messages Understand important components of message

design including structure, content, appeal, and format

Communication - definedA transactional, symbolic process: interaction between two or more people mutually influencing affecting emotions, thinking, and/or

behavior

General Principles Takes place in receivers’ terms Language used reflects and reinforces thought Linguistic universals and cultural variation

(communicative codes) lead to multiple meanings Believability depends on source credibility (expertise,

trustworthiness, dynamism) Receivers incorporate emotion and logic Campaigns require feedback Redundancy preferable to one-shot messages

Good Message Characteristics Clear, detectable goal Easily understood Consistent Tone and appeal Credibility What public needs/wants to know

Public Perception of Health Messages

Health risk is an intangible concept People want

Easy solutions Absolute answers, not probabilities

May not like fear appeals Skeptical about science Do not feel, nor do they want to feel, personally susceptible Contradictory beliefs Lacks future orientation Personalizes new information Does not understand science

Designing Messages (Debus, 1994)

1. Aspects of problem versus consequences for consumer

2. “Concern arousal”3. Attributes vs. benefits

• Attribute: characteristic of a service or product• Benefit: exists in mind of target audience• Goal: translate attribute into a benefit

4. Tone and manner• Tone: affect or emotion of message• Manner: presentation format (testimonials, etc.)

Persuasion, definedThe conscious intent by one person to

influence another person or other persons (see Burgoon, et al., 1981)

Cronkite Model

Structuring Persuasive Messages Place emphasis on…

Felt need Workability Relative advantage

Give individuals the ability to visualize the behavior change being promoted

Determine message sidedness

One-sided MessagesBest when… The product/service is”liked, known, and

has loyal followers” Receiver is already in agreement Not likely to be exposed to

counterarguments

Two-sided MessagesBest when… Audience initially disagrees with source

position Possible exposure to counterarguments Audiences are better-educated (mixed

findings)

Behavioral Inoculation, definedThe process of developing belief resistance

in people (like disease resistance) by exposing to weak dose of attacking material, sufficiently strong to stimulate defenses but not so strong as to overwhelm.

Behavioral Inoculation Goal: to strengthen an individual’s attitudes

making them less susceptible to change Features:

Threat• Forewarning of impending challenge to existing attitudes

Refutational preemption• Person initially raises and directly refutes one or more

specific challenges to existing attitudes

Message Repetition Aids consumer learning Helps establish new services or products Groups of messages don’t wear out as fast as a

single message Only good messages wear out Humor/gag/punch lines wear out faster Single messages can run longer if there are

greater time spans between airings Second airings wear out faster than first

Message Appeal Appealing messages are often…

Rewarding (benefit to be accrued) Motivational Emotional Humorous Warm Fearful

Warmth Create an actual, physical response Experience changes quickly - often short-

lived Associated with liking the message,

positive attitudes toward product, intent to use (feelings of love, pride, affection, etc.)

May increase recall of message

Fear Appeal, definedEmphasizes the harmful physical or social

consequences of falling to comply with message recommendation.

Parallel Response Model (Witte)

Fear appeals trigger two responses: Emotion of fear and need to manage fear

• Fear control• Accomplished by denial, avoidance, distraction

Desire to eliminate the danger posed by the message

• Danger control• Results in compliance

Organizing Fear Messages Four components:

Indicate what the threat is Personalize feelings of susceptibility,

vulnerability Promote personal efficacy

• Target’s perception Trigger response efficacy

• Ability to eliminate or reduce threat

Summary Remember the general principles of

message design Focus on consumer consequences,

translating the attributes of a problem into consumer benefits

Consider the tone and manner on which messages are being delivered