Getting some action
Posted by katya on Tue, September 25, 2007My mentor, Bill Novelli, once said to me, “If we’re simply in the business of ‘building awareness,’ we might as well be shoveling pamphlets out of airplanes.” He believes marketing is about motivating people to do something - not just think something. I couldn’t agree more. Never fall into the trap of saying “if people only knew (fill in the blank), they would (fill in the blank).” Information does not equal action.
Today I got an email from sharp-eyed blog reader Margaux O’Malley of Grand Junction Design, who writes,
I was wondering if you had seen the “Voice for the Uninsured” ads in the Metro Center station. It looks like the AMA bought every possible ad space in the station, and then some (banners hanging on the sides of the escalators, etc.). The ads are interesting, and do a good job of connecting with individuals. For example, they have a photo of a young woman with a statement about how she will be forced to deliver her baby in the emergency room because she can’t afford prenatal care. Another photo with a statement about someone who must choose her Parkinson’s meds over her blood pressure meds because she can’t afford both. This is all very compelling. But I didn’t see a call to action anywhere! All the ads list the Web site - http://www.voicefortheuninsured.org - but it’s unclear to me why I should go there. Just wondering whether you had seen this, and what you thought of it.
I haven’t seen the ads, but I think Margaux sums up their strengths and failings well. Sounds like they grab your attention by putting a compelling human face on a problem, but they don’t have a strong call to action. They are pamphlets from airplanes. The website is not much better - lots of facts and AMA’s policy position, but no easy way to take action that leaps off the page. They have some vague language about voting in November, but I don’t get it. They should have said in the metro ads, “Don’t like these choices? Demand better by (insert specific action here—like signing a petition, adding your email address to a website list, calling Congress, etc.).” Then the site should have clear actions. Instead, you get facts about “1 in 7 people” being uninsured, which doesn’t make me want to do anything at all other than shake my head at the sorry state of our health system.
Don’t ever settle for getting someone’s attention. Channel attention into action if you want to change the world.
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