Do Your Self Some Good Today

Not to scare but to share. Today - December 1, 2007 - is recognized as the 19th World AIDS Day. Tell a kid about HIV/AIDs...that includes the part about safe sex. I'm not sure kids are ever too young.

Thirty years ago, it was called "gay cancer" - today its a pandemic and it ain't so gay. Until there's a cure - and not just for those of wealth - the world loses far too many creative and imaginative fellow humans. Every day, 6000 children lose a parent to AIDs. The UK wants to start a conversation. And Australia is talking, too.

Here you can learn of 2007's "superficial celebration" - where a "reduction in number of people living with HIV/AIDS from 40,000,000 to 33,000,000" and "new" infections have fallen since the late 90's from 3,000,000 to 2,500,000. Check the official word and stats. My stomach turns when I hear claims of success and battle won.

Last I checked a million was a LOT! Some progress means there is more to be done. Teach our children well. Silence doesn't work any longer.

Three bloggers with the message - Jeremiah, Jamie, Tiara.

About More Conversation

Somebody borrowed my copy of AoC and hasn't brought it back. Sadly, the pilfering coincides with a move to a new cube. Should have checked the neighborhood a little closer, I reckon. The good part is that the book is chock full of wit, wisdom and insight on conversational marketing so maybe it will rub off. All they had to do was ask! We still may have a point or two to talk about.

Right now I'm glad for my electronic version AND that whoever it was took the book before pricing changes. Drew writes about the changes - including a move to Amazon - here. You still have time this week to grab a couple copies at the initial price level. It would be nice for the book to get a good bump before holiday time descends upon us. I mean, when was the last time you were able to be part of the Internet crashing to a standstill? Everybody seems to be talking about the news - Chris even suggests trying to explode the web on December 14 :)

Remember it comes down to helping Variety - its mission is children.

The quality, breadth and diversity of these contributors continues to astound me.

Gavin Heaton, Drew McLellan, CK, Valeria Maltoni, Emily Reed, Katie Chatfield, Greg Verdino, Mack Collier, Lewis Green, Ann Handley, Mike Sansone, Paul McEnany, Roger von Oech, Anna Farmery, David Armano, Bob Glaza, Mark Goren, Matt Dickman, Scott Monty, Richard Huntington, Cam Beck, David Reich, Luc Debaisieux, Sean Howard, Tim Jackson, Patrick Schaber, Roberta Rosenberg, Uwe Hook, Tony D. Clark, Todd Andrlik, Toby Bloomberg, Steve Woodruff, Steve Bannister, Steve Roesler, Stanley Johnson, Spike Jones, Nathan Snell, Simon Payn, Ryan Rasmussen, Ron Shevlin, Roger Anderson, Robert Hruzek, Rishi Desai, Phil Gerbyshak, Peter Corbett, Pete Deutschman, Nick Rice, Nick Wright, Michael Morton, Mark Earls, Mark Blair, Mario Vellandi, Lori Magno, Kristin Gorski, Kris Hoet, G. Kofi Annan, Kimberly Dawn Wells, Karl Long, Julie Fleischer, Jordan Behan, John La Grou, Joe Raasch, Jim Kukral, Jessica Hagy, Janet Green, Jamey Shiels, Dr. Graham Hill, Gia Facchini, Geert Desager, Gaurav Mishra, Gary Schoeniger, Gareth Kay, Faris Yakob, Emily Clasper, Ed Cotton, Dustin Jacobsen, Tom Clifford, David Polinchock, David Koopmans, David Brazeal, David Berkowitz, Carolyn Manning, Craig Wilson, Cord Silverstein, Connie Reece, Colin McKay, Chris Newlan, Chris Corrigan, Cedric Giorgi, Brian Reich, Becky Carroll, Arun Rajagopal, Andy Nulman, Amy Jussel, Kim Klaver, Sandy Renshaw, Susan Bird, Ryan Barrett, Troy Worman, CB Whittemore, S. Neil Vineberg

Social Marketing and Health Care

This is grim yet full of hope.

Toby at Diva Marketing Blog has a thought worthy interview here. (cross posted at Daily Fix). She talks with Nedra Klein Weinreich who has written an entry on the Pandemic Leadership Blog. Health and Human Services Department has gathered 14 contributors to the blog. Early preparation in the event of a severe outbreak could result in better containment. Ms. Weinreich asks the question - "How do we persuade people to do the right thing"? (my bold marks)

"Generally, governments and organizations have used three ways to bring about social change or action on a broad scale. First, through education — telling people the facts and hoping they will do the rational thing to protect their families and others. Providing lists of supplies, statistics about likely morbidity and mortality, and medical symptoms are all part of the educational approach. Unfortunately, as we know from issues like smoking and exercise, knowledge is often not sufficient to bring about behavior change. Second, coercion by passing laws or enacting policies at the governmental or organizational levels can be very effective. This method might be necessary to enforce quarantines, but we can’t very well legislate the purchase of an adequate supply of emergency food by each household. The third approach is social marketing, persuading people to take action by appealing to their values and emotions by “selling” the desired behaviors using the same effective techniques as companies like Apple or Nike."

I've not given pandemic flu more than passing consideration. I wash my hands and don't mess around rubbing my eyes too much. I get a flu shot each year. Knock on wood - the flu has avoided me for several years. The strains are getting more resistant to anything medical science has developed AKA avian flu. We all remember a few years ago when a vaccine was in short supply. And when you get to my age - well - you start taking extra precautions. Not to mention added concern for aging relatives.

So really what caught my attention with Ms Weinreich's post is the value she places on social marketing and the page link to "what is social marketing"?

"Social marketing was "born" as a discipline in the 1970s, when Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman realized that the same marketing principles that were being used to sell products to consumers could be used to "sell" ideas, attitudes and behaviors. Kotler and Andreasen define social marketing as "differing from other areas of marketing only with respect to the objectives of the marketer and his or her organization. Social marketing seeks to influence social behaviors not to benefit the marketer, but to benefit the target audience and the general society." This technique has been used extensively in international health programs, especially for contraceptives and oral rehydration therapy (ORT), and is being used with more frequency in the United States for such diverse topics as drug abuse, heart disease and organ donation."

Ms. Weinreich continues with a paragraph on the 4 P's of the marketing mix - Product, Price, Placement (distribution) and Promotion. Sound familiar? Then proceeds to give an example of this marketing mix strategy for breast cancer screening.

This is the potential that communities built around social marketing hold in changing the world. Its not necessarily as simple as posting and commenting - but it does offer a channel for education and hope.

Thanks Toby and thanks Nedra for leading the way.