Population Health Strategies for Marketing Success
Learn How
Learn How
At ndp, we not only accept and embrace change, we make it happen. Every successful marketing or advertising campaign is designed to create change in how someone thinks, feels or acts. Whether it’s to increase awareness, improve perception or modify a health behavior, it’s all about change.
Your world is changing. We get it. We recognize that you’re pressured to accomplish more, often with fewer resources. Competition is fierce. Accountability and metrics rule. The healthcare field is in a state of flux, at times verging on chaos.
In particular, you’ve told us about one thing that keeps you up at night: what to do with population health. In fact, some of you asked, “What the heck is population health?”
The Academic Definition:
The health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group.
The Practical Point of View:
The process of facilitating changes in behavior and in the environment that will improve the health of individuals and the population as a whole.
Ask yourself these questions, and if you answer YES to at least four of these questions, you are ready to take on the challenge of incorporating population health thinking into your marketing plan.
And we’re here to help you achieve your goals!
Learn How.
If you are ready for a sound, strategic approach to the new frontier of population health, we just might be the change agent—or more precisely, the change agency—you’ve been looking for.
And we believe the perfect place to start is with our population health discovery process. We’ll help you identify opportunities and establish a plan for marketing to take an active role in your organization’s population health efforts.
To learn more, call Susan Dubuque at 804.332.5712.
We're pleased to provide you with two complimentary white papers. One contains excerpts from Gearing Up for Population Health: Marketing for Change, written by Susan Dubuque and published by the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development of the American Hospital Association. The other details ndp's response to new healthcare delivery systems.
See How.
Five of the most common “appeals” (based on behavior change theory) are humor, emotion, rational thinking, bandwagon and fear.
We’ll start with humor.
If we can make you smile or laugh, you are more likely to engage with the message, and even share it with your friends.
There is nothing funny about colon cancer. But using a touch of humor to promote screening colonoscopies may help prevent the disease in the first place. Humor offers an effective appeal to break down barriers when the subject is uncomfortable or embarrassing.
Next Emotion 
Appropriate use of emotion—never gratuitous, saccharine or schmaltzy—is yet another effective way we facilitate engagement and make messages memorable.
No emotion is stronger than a mother’s love for her child. This social marketing campaign—designed to reduce infant mortality by addressing smoking during pregnancy—was created based on focus group research.
The image of a robust baby, key messages and the call to action were all purposeful and informed by our target audience.
Our measurable goal of increasing the number of calls to the Quit Now Line was surpassed, and the campaign is now available through the CDC for use by any organization committed to keeping babies healthy.
Next Rational Thinking
For some people, there is nothing quite like a hefty dose of sound, rational thinking to prompt action (after weighing all the pros and cons and making a list, of course).
For a service like reproductive medicine that has a long conversion time, it is helpful to offer consumers a mechanism for rational decision making, such as the self-assessment tool—Are you ready for a consultation?
Next Bandwagon
The bandwagon appeal encourages consumers to buy a product or adopt a behavior because everyone else is doing so. (Just think of all those cool hipsters who have to eat the “right” foods and drink the “right” beverages.)
The greater Richmond area, like many parts of the country, has high rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
VCU Health understands that community health cascades down to individual health. In an effort to get local residents moving, the health system became the sponsor for an 8K race held in conjunction with the Richmond Marathon.
Individuals were encouraged to invite others with the clever double entendre, RUN? (Are You In?)
Next Fear
Finally, there is fear. Can a campaign scare you into taking a desired action and changing your behavior? Well, perhaps. Too little fear is likely to fail to arouse action. Too much fear can result in closed minds. But just the right amount of fear can serve as a strong motivational force when applied judiciously.
Sometimes we all need a reminder to be mindful and not take chances with our health. Baton Rouge General’s campaign employs slices of life with a little jolt of fear, which is used to support injury prevention and promote minor emergency care. These ads offer a good example of health enhancement and marketing working together.
Then let's talk.
If you prefer to talk to someone now, you can call Susan Dubuque at 804.332.5712.
