Communication Campaigns
Comm 314: Chap. 12, Communication Campaigns
Communication campaign: A systematic, organized effort to mold health and social attitudes through the use of communication.
Examples: Give a hoot, don’t pollute. Take a bite out of crime. Just say no to drugs. Friends don’t let friends drive drunk. Click it or ticket
• They have in common the purpose of improving individual behavior to improve individuals’ health, safety, and general life chances and/or to reduce or resolve a general social problem.
• They are generally non-commercial
• Are supported by a combination of government and non-profit agencies and organizations
• Usually combine mass media and interpersonal channels
They share many similarities with commercial advertising campaigns, with these major differences:
• They have much smaller budgets than ad campaigns, and are often in opposition to advertisers.
• They make more use of “non-paid” media (i.e., news).
• They make more systematic use of interpersonal and organizational communication • Ad campaigns usually try to get people to do something that will be fun or interesting, communication campaigns often try to get people to stop doing something they enjoy, or not start it in the first place (i.e., smoking).
• Advertisers go for people with money to spend; campaigns go for the hardest to reach members of the community.
• Campaigns involve political issues and can generate opposition (tobacco)
• Campaigns can involve values, both in the selection of “problems” to solve, the way such problems should be solved, and who is to “blame” for such problems. (Consider abstinence education)
Location of effects
The last point illustrates that there are at least two “levels” of effort and effects in communication campaigns:
Communication campaign: A systematic, organized effort to mold health and social attitudes through the use of communication.
Examples: Give a hoot, don’t pollute. Take a bite out of crime. Just say no to drugs. Friends don’t let friends drive drunk. Click it or ticket
• They have in common the purpose of improving individual behavior to improve individuals’ health, safety, and general life chances and/or to reduce or resolve a general social problem.
• They are generally non-commercial
• Are supported by a combination of government and non-profit agencies and organizations
• Usually combine mass media and interpersonal channels
They share many similarities with commercial advertising campaigns, with these major differences:
• They have much smaller budgets than ad campaigns, and are often in opposition to advertisers.
• They make more use of “non-paid” media (i.e., news).
• They make more systematic use of interpersonal and organizational communication • Ad campaigns usually try to get people to do something that will be fun or interesting, communication campaigns often try to get people to stop doing something they enjoy, or not start it in the first place (i.e., smoking).
• Advertisers go for people with money to spend; campaigns go for the hardest to reach members of the community.
• Campaigns involve political issues and can generate opposition (tobacco)
• Campaigns can involve values, both in the selection of “problems” to solve, the way such problems should be solved, and who is to “blame” for such problems. (Consider abstinence education)
Location of effects
The last point illustrates that there are at least two “levels” of effort and effects in communication campaigns: