Pandemic influenza: A global challenge for social marketing marketing

Abstract

Recent years have seen increased attention and concern regarding the potential for pandemic influenza, following large-scale outbreaks of swine flu and bird flu. Governments and health agencies have time to develop social marketing strategies and specific messages that have the potential to minimize fear, refute or inoculate against misinformation that the public may encounter, and enhance the likelihood of the public taking the recommended preventive and remedial actions should these become necessary. This paper presents an overview of how social marketing can be used to tackle the global challenge of pandemic influenza. The potential pandemic influenza poses a major challenge for social marketers (along with governments, health services, and businesses). There are a number of critical factors about a potential pandemic influenza that make it fundamentally different to the majority of issues to which social marketing has previously been applied. The underlying principles of social marketing are equally applicable to a global infectious disease outbreak (such as pandemic influenza). Even if the current strains do not become pandemic, social marketers should use this impetus to develop the skills and resources to address future communicable disease outbreaks. This paper applies the concepts of social marketing to a unique health issue which has the potential to become one of the largest global public health crises in history, but which can be tackled with effective global social marketing.

Social advertisements for public health and epidemic dynamics

“…In proactive marketing, instead of looking only at current customers as is the case of reactive marketing, firms develop also an exploratory learning of new market opportunities, observing actual behaviors to discover future needs and making adjustments. Social marketers should develop a proactive marketing orientation, looking at the epidemic trends and developing proactive prevention policies (Jones andIverson, 2012, Likatavicius andVandeLaar, 2012b). Proactive social marketing interventions have been crucial during the outbreaks of bird flu or swine flu, for example, promptly communicating the preventive and medical recommendations to the population, which may ultimately have adverted their potential of becoming a pandemic influenza (Jones and Iverson, 2012).…”

“…Social marketers should develop a proactive marketing orientation, looking at the epidemic trends and developing proactive prevention policies (Jones andIverson, 2012, Likatavicius andVandeLaar, 2012b). Proactive social marketing interventions have been crucial during the outbreaks of bird flu or swine flu, for example, promptly communicating the preventive and medical recommendations to the population, which may ultimately have adverted their potential of becoming a pandemic influenza (Jones and Iverson, 2012).…”

Improving Influenza Vaccination Rates— A Straightforward Task or a Multifaceted Challenge?

“…Communication strategies may include interpersonal provider-patient relationships and initiatives to incourage target groups (elderly, patients with chronic medical conditions, their families), or to increase awareness of the global community on the benefits of vaccination. Also important is action plan harmonization, the strategy which in many aspects may acquire the characteristics of the social marketing [43]. For these purposes, governments and health authorities need to join the efforts to fairly inform the public, by providing them with accurate, although well-balanced messages.…”