Seminar Held In Person

Learning objectives:

Objectives 8: Use communication tactics from story telling and marketing to entice people to join your K2A initiative, and act on your theory of change. Specifically, you will learn to

E. Make your call to action more relatable to your audience by selecting a “brand archetype” and describing the “quest” you are asking your stakeholders to take -- around which you organize your communications (per Sachs’ basic training).

F. Invite your audience to take action to advance your theory of change in service of their own aspirations for personal growth, mentoring them to be the “hero of the story” by improving their community through their actions to implement the evidence (per Sachs’ empowerment marketing, not inadequacy marketing).

Field Guide Tool on which we focus: Sachs’ Basic Training in Empowerment Marketing

Readings

Sachs, J. (2012). Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell - and Live - the Best Stories Will Rule the Future. Boston, MA, Harvard Business Review Press. Chapters 5 & 6.

Hannah Jim (former MPH student): Alternate Archetype Options

Gen Squeeze Brand Mentor: Excerpt from GS Voice & Tone Guide

Kreuter, M. W. and J. M. Bernhardt (2009). "Reframing the Dissemination Challenge: A Marketing and Distribution Perspective." American Journal of Public Health 99(12): 2123-2127.

Video

Class Slides

Lesson Plan

Students come prepared to discuss readings:
- Key questions include:
  - For Sachs, what is the difference between empowerment marketing and inadequacy marketing?
    - What is the difference between the Mentor, and the Hero in the story? Applying this to a K2A project, is the K2A team the Hero, or the Mentor?
  - For Kreuter and Bernhardt, what is the dissemination challenge?
    - What is the relationship between K2A planning and their insights re customer research & segmentation; packaging; promotion; transfer; distribution; inventory management; sales; communication; training; technical service; customer service; product service; coordination; and evaluation?

I do: Discuss the evolution of GS messaging over the years: from Captain, to Pioneer, to Rebel and now Megan’s “Herald”. I confess, that I’m not sure evolving the brand character is optimal…, but maybe it’s a reality for K2A initiatives that persist over years.
- Gen Squeeze Brand Mentor: Excerpt from GS Voice & Tone Guide
We do:
- Let’s examine these Dr. Bonnie Henry commercials during the pandemic: commercial 1, commercial 2.
  - How does she speak to the Hero? How does she present herself as the Mentor?
  - What, if any, brand archetype is she conveying? What alternatives might she have deployed, and why?
  - What is the compelling brand boon, and how does she offer it? How might her presentation of the boon be improved?
  - Does she offer a familiar moral of the story? How does this familiar moral of the story resonate with the audience? Why is that important?
You do: Submit an Online Discussion Post. What elements of Sachs’ Basic Training do you believe could have value to Public health campaigns? How do you see the distinction between the Hero and Mentor playing out in public health messaging? Would Sachs’ Basic Training affirm that approach to the Hero, or encourage refinement? Why? Can you think of an example in public health communication where it clearly conveyed public health as the mentor, rather than the hero? (Pass/Fail. 1/5 of 15% for Online Discussion. TA to Mark).

Assignment 4: Discuss the role of communication strategies in K2A (using the readings and discussion from the previous three weeks). Pick a K2A change initiative and apply one of the communication tools to it. You can work individually, or with a group. You can work on the same K2A change initiatives as the earlier assignments or choose a new change initiative.

Mortal Taste Buds: Analyze the current messaging of the K2A initiative from the perspective of Haidt’s moral taste buds. What taste buds is it sensitizing? What revisions would you suggest, and why? Or if your case study involves developing entirely new messaging, how would you use the moral taste buds to guide your communications work?
Public Narrative: Write a story of us/now/self for your K2A change initiative.
Empowerment Marketing: Write a dialogue inviting a stakeholder to engage in your K2A initiative. Clearly articulate who the hero is and who the mentor is at the beginning of the dialogue. Then pen a dialogue that engages with what the stakeholder thinks is broken about her world, and invite her to become the “hero” by joining in your K2A quest, rather than remaining on the sidelines (which can be viewed as villainous). What K2A boon will attract her participation? How does your theory of change achieve that boon? What obstacles must the Mentor anticipate for the Hero, and what solutions will you provide. What moral of the story will be key to attracting her to join?

Rubric: A level assignments accurately use the selected marketing tool, bring nuance and refinement to its deployment.

B level assignments accurately use the selected marketing tool; but do so in a simplistic way that requires more nuance/refinement before it would be effective in a real-world setting

C level assignments do not accurately use the selected marketing tool