Get Under the Umbrella: Designing Integrated Communication Campaigns for Effective Delivery of Health Messages

Summary

Strategic communication plays a key role in health promotion and the subsequent adoption of healthy behaviors. The increase in the reach, perceived influence, and diversity of commercial media has resulted in a great rush of advertisers to reach their consumers through multiple media channels. An average consumer is exposed to a very large number of messages every day making it impossible to take note of all of these messages. Adding to the noise in this near-saturated market, is the proliferation of health promotion campaigns and messages resulting in disinterest and fatigue. To overcome these barriers, health managers need to use alternative pathways to keep consumers interested and gainfully engaged with the messages being delivered. Integrated and branded health communication campaigns are a novel and potentially impactful way of designing initiatives. Breakthrough ACTION Zambia designed a branded, integrated multimedia communication campaign to address five health areas, namely maternal and child health (MCH), family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH), HIV, malaria, and nutrition. Launched in June 2019, the campaign is innovatively engaging the Zambian family holistically, by not only integrating these health areas through the life-stage model, but by also unifying mass media, community media and social media under a single brand, or umbrella, to reach its diverse set of audiences.

Background/Objectives

Vertical health messages delivered through various media channels can result in message fatigue and confusion. Various knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) studies conducted in Zambia indicate a low level of knowledge coupled with a high prevalence of myths and misconceptions, about critical health areas, including MCH, FP/RH, HIV, malaria, and nutrition. We used formative research, learnings from similar campaign in the region, and marketing insights to design a branded, integrated communication campaign to deliver messages about each of these health behaviors across the life stage (adolescence, newly married, young family, etc.). The campaign targeted semi-urban and rural Zambian families.

Description of Intervention and/or Methods/Design

We conducted a literature review, followed by formative research to understand health practices and gaps in knowledge about the five health issues. This was followed by a review of best practices to come up with possible unifying themes across the five health areas targeted at Zambian families. Eight initial themes were developed based on this review, and these were pre-tested to shortlist down to three. These shortlisted themes were pre-tested with various groups of intended audiences, and the final campaign theme, Life is precious - take care of it, was selected based on overwhelming support. The theme has been adopted by the Ministry of Health Zambia as a platform for delivering multiple health messages. The intervention includes a branded integrated health campaign using mass media, social media, community channels, and service delivery by rebranding of health services for men and adolescents and nutrition interventions for children under 5.

Results/Lessons Learned

The intervention is the first of its kind in Zambia and has provided a unified platform for a variety of health messages. The campaign is unique in its integration of both health behaviors and media channels to reach Zambian families with a cohesive set of messages around how to live a healthy life. The campaign ensures that messages about various health areas reinforce and complement one another rather than overwhelming the audiences. The campaign is being evaluated through surveys to measure logo and campaign theme identity and individual actions influenced by it. The results will be available in December 2019.

Discussion/Implications for the Field

Information overload can result in audiences ignoring or misunderstanding various messages. In order to address extensive gaps in knowledge across health areas, communications campaigns should seek to understand how their intended audiences prioritize health behaviors and how these behaviors and health outcomes impact their life and their goals. Integrated communication campaigns focusing on audiences' aspirations and geared to creating synergies between different messages have the potential to gain the required attention of the audiences, increase knowledge, and change attitudes vis vis health behaviors.

Abstract submitted by:

Fayyaz Ahmad Breakthrough ACTION

Peter Chabwela Breakthrough ACTION

Lydia Trupe Breakthrough ACTION