product launch of nutraplus)

8/14/2019 product launch of nutraplus)

1/34

identify the target audience

The target population for an educational intervention forNutraplus is made up of several groups.In order to adapt the approaches to each group, it is necessary to differentiate between thesegroups.

Vulnerable Groups and Target GroupsIt is important to differentiate between the vulnerable and target groups for intervention. Thevulnerable group may in fact be the same as a target group of a communication program, butthis is rarely the ease. For example a vulnerable group at risk for protein-energy foodsupplement in nutritional product ct. The nutrition intervention for reducing this risk will not bedirected at the young children less than 18 years but rather at all those involved in the care ofabove 18-40 years working men and women in the urban areas and that also tier1 and tier IIcities .

An effective communication strategy takes into account activities at all these levels. Each targetgroup, especially the primary one must then be divided into its "segments" a term often used inmarketing.

Target Groups

Within the target audience there are primary, secondary and tertiary target groups.The primary target group is composed of persons whose behaviour is to be modified. In theseproduct given above, these persons could well involved in the care of above 18-40 yearsworking men and women in the urban areas and that also tier1 and tier II cities .

. In that case the aim would be to modify the manner in which they prepare their daily schedulein their busy life. (FOR e.g. call center employees, astronoauts, adventurous peoples going fortracking, business people, soldiers in the battle field)


2/34

The secondary target group is comprised of people who will be used as intermediaries to getthe message across to the first target group. In the same example, this could be health workers,chemist, medical representatives or journalists. It all depends on what the communicationnetworks are in the community.

The tertiary target group is made up of people who can facilitate the communication processand behaviour change. There include doctors but also those persons close to the mother - thefather of the child and the extended family.

This implies that the approach will vary for segments differing in terms of educational level,socio-economic status, etc..

The media and support materials used to reach target market who are functionally illiterateabout the product living in urban areas .

Example:

The product protein-energy food nutrition tablets, the target groups may be defined as follows:

VULNERABLE GROUP: people between 18-45 years .

TARGET POPULATION: persons caring for these target markets a nd .working male and female.

Primary target group: people between 18-45 years

Segment A: persons illiterate about the nutritional tablets living in the tier I and tier II cities.

Segment B: persons literate about the nutritional tablets living in the tier I and tier II cities.

Secondary target group: health workers, , doctors in tier I and tier II cities , journalists from the localradio station.

Tertiary target group: fathers of the target market, medical representative .

We must not forget that target groups should be participants in the process of socialcommunication and not mere receivers of information. A one-way communication system fornutrition education would defeat our aim for an effective global approach. Also, the targetgroups must themselves play a role in transmission of messages to other groups and to the"promoters" of the intervention.

Influential people in the community should also play an important part within the secondary andtertiary target groups. This group is a catalyst in social communication.

6.2 At what levels are the objectives to be defined?

Nutritional objectives

The primary objective of a nutrition intervention programme is the nutritional improvement of thetarget group. This may be measured by dietary, biochemical, clinical, anthropometric andbiophysical indicators. These indicators indicate different stages of nutritional status of apopulation.

Nutraplus is a daily health supplement with 20 essential vitamins and minerals thatsupplement your daily diet. Nutraplus has energy boosting combination of Ginseng and Bcomplex vitamins that keeps your body and mind active Nutraplus has anti-oxidants thatdestroy free radicals, promote good health and build immunityNutraplus is safe and non-additive - a food supplement packed in a convenient capsule format. It improvesperformance in activities which require skill, coordination, concentration, learning and memory.

Nutraplushas manifold benefits :


3/34

. It increases physical work capacity by countering fatigue and helping oxygen transport to tissue(for producing energy) during physical exertion.. It improves endurance, tolerance and compatibility during stressful states.. It improves performance in activities which require skill, coordination, concentration, learningand memory.. It replenishes vitamins and minerals (essential constituents of a balanced diet) and helpsmaintain good health.

What is the recommended dose ofNutraplus?

Just one capsule a Day.

The intake should be at the most 2 capsules a day. Nutraplus is completely safe and can beconsumed daily. It can be consumed for 2-3 months at a stretch and can ones again be startedafter 15-20 days.

Nutritional status is a complex phenomenon which is influenced by many factors external to aneducational intervention. The time frame within which different indicators are affected by

interventions differ. The nutritional objectives should, therefore, be defined with shorterm andlong-term objectives. An educational programme is basically designed to change behaviourwithin the long-term objective of improving nutritional status provided the other external factorsthat influence nutritional status are favourable; The immediate outcome is the direct result ofintervention independent of external factors. The improvement of parents and family membersregarding the health of their busy life partner knowledge

It is important to set nutritional objectives in measurable terms, but these objectives will beachieved only when factors external to communication interventions are conducive to theirachievement.

PROMOTION OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS

Indias nutritional supplement market is expected to more than double in the next four years at over

Rs9,500 crore, a study said.

According to a joint study by industry body Ficci and consultancy firm Ernst and Young, the growth in the

nutraceutical products business will be fuelled mainly because of the changing lifestyle and increasing

awareness about nutritional supplements.

Currently, the domestic market for nutraceutical is around Rs4,400 crore, which is just 0.9% of the total

global business in the category.

Nutraceuticals are dietary supplements which are generally used to fill nutritional deficiencies in food and to

prevent diseases.

Nutraceuticals are divided into three segments, functional foods, functional beverages and mineral

supplements.Out of these functional food has the maximum share while functional beverage has the lowest.

However, the total market size in India is still very small compared to the global market but there is a huge

potential for these products, Ernst & Youngs partner Health Sciences Advisory Services Muralidharan Nair

said.

There are certain issues such as lack of awareness and no regulations, which need to be sorted out and if

these issues are sorted out, the total market for these products in India can go up to Rs17,000 crore in the

next four years.

Nutraceutical is a term coined by Stephen DeFelice, renowned medical expert, in 1989 as a food, or part of a food,that provides medical or health benefits, including prevention and treatment of diseases.


4/34

Nutraceuticals include health foods, dietary supplements, medical foods, phytochemicals, functional foods, foodmedicine, designer food, herbal products, and processed foods.

Global markets are increasingly looking towards India for new and value-added nutraceuticals, particularly dietarysupplements.

India, with its rich history of traditional medicine, is clearly positioned to reap benefits from the huge opportunityoffered by US, Europe and other western markets.

Dietary supplementsBefore focusing on the advantages that India possesses, let us gain some insight into what is the definition of dietarysupplements and how big the global market is.

A dietary supplement exists in the form of a capsule, tablet, liquid or powder having medicinal or health benefits,which has to be taken orally. For example, vitamins, minerals, essential oils and herbal products.

The global market for dietary supplements was estimated at around $68 billion in 2006 by the Nutrition BusinessJournal, US, a leading publication on this industry. The global per capita consumption of dietary supplements comesto $11 per annum, while in Japan, Europe and US it is more than $75 per annum. In the next 10 years or so, theglobal dietary supplement market has the potential to reach more than $200 billion.

Right now, the Indian market share in the global dietary supplement market is miniscule. Even if Indian companiescould garner a market share of 5 per cent in 10 years, the potential is tremendous!

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has predicted that the dietary supplements market will reach $5 trillion or$5,000 billion by 2050, if the market grows at 11 per cent every year.

Factors that are contributing to the high growth of the global dietary supplements market include an increasedawareness of the benefits of having these products, increasing focus on prevention of diseases and maintenance ofgood health rather than on curing the diseases, modern lifestyles of high stress and reduced physical activity,improper food habits, etc., which are leading to a deterioration of health and an increase in lifestyle diseases such asdiabetes and cardiovascular-related ailments. Also, higher disposable incomes, increasing urbanisation, globalisationand awareness, changing demographics, awareness of limitations in pharma healthcare and the initiatives bygovernment bodies to increase dietary supplement consumption and thereby reduce healthcare costs, are allresulting in a higher growth in this segment.

Emerging opportunity

The US and Europe are going to be emerging markets for nutraceutical exports from India because an existing largemarket base is already in place and consumers are looking for better and healthier options to prevent lifestyle-relateddiseases.

The market potential for the US and European markets alone for nutraceutical exports from India by 2013 will be to

the tune of $75 billion.

A section of Indian companies such as Himalaya, Dabur, Charak, and Zandu, have been active in Ayurvedic exportsto selective markets. However, most of the large companies have not ventured into nutraceuticals or dietarysupplements due to regulatory confusion, lack of adequate awareness and understanding, and poor vision of themarket.

Advantage India

A trend is emerging, where western nutraceutical manufacturers and distributors are eyeing Indian nutraceutical ordietary supplement companies. They are on the lookout for tying up with Indian companies with innovative products.Their point is, India, with its rich 5,000-year history of traditional medicines from systems such as Ayurveda, Siddhaand Unani, has got an advantage over others to evolve a new medicine from the existing knowledge.

Indian companies also could combine global knowledge and evolve newer solutions.

India also possesses advantages such as cost effective manufacturing, availability of talented and inexpensivehuman resources, and is a hub to a large number of medicinal plants, trees and herbs (bio assets).

The regulations

Every country has evolved its own rules for dietary supplements. Most countries treat these as food supplements,while others consider them as healthcare products. Ingredients, labelling and claims, promotion, etc., vary fromcountry to country depending on their rules and regulations.

Although dietary supplements are referred to by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as foods, they areregulated differently from other foods and from drugs. Whether a product is classified as a dietary supplement,conventional food, or drug is based on its intended use.


5/34

Most often, classification as a dietary supplement is determined by the information that the manufacturer provides onthe product label or in accompanying literature. The Dietary Supplements Health Education Act was passed in 1994,which now controls the Dietary Supplement regulations in the US.

Since nutraceutical products do not pass through clinical trials the manufacturer is held responsible if the productsare unsafe or have hazardous content. Most countries have a checklist to follow before importation of the product intothat country wherein substances such as pathogens, metallic content, and chemical residue are checked beforepermitting imports.

Need of the hour

To grab a larger pie from this world opportunity, Indian producers of nutraceutical products should unite to form aplatform, to market India as a brand. There is a need for an increased collaboration on the manufacturing andresearch and development front among Indian manufacturers. There has to be coordination among all agencies,including policymakers, regulators and manufacturers. The manufacturing, validation, R&D and intellectual propertyprotection needs to be standardised.

Global Trends, Challenges

Globally, the industry is witnessing new trends, such as new marketing and communication methods, innovative R&Dand product development skills, new retailing programmes, increased validation and clinical research, heightenedawareness due to media and government focus, and greater corporate responsibility due to health awarenessprogrammes.

The unique challenges facing the industry are with regard to regulations, patenting, pricing, retailing costs, consumer

actions, validation, ingredients, R&D, consumer awareness and education, and false claims by manufacturers.

2.0 COMMUNICATION ANALYSIS

With fast changing consumer beliefs, values and aspirations the marketing executives

perhaps have a difficult task on their hands.

Professionals have gone to the extent of penetrating the consumer mind with technologies

like 'Neuro Marketing' to know what would really click with their identified consumers. Thechange is not only rapid but it is also of high magnitude affecting the multiple segments

including health.

However, thanks to this high involvement of consumers, Fast Moving Health Goods (FMHG)

is now a burgeoning market in India. More and more businesses from pharma, OTC,nutraceuticals and dietary supplements, functional foods and Fast Moving Consumer Goods

(FMCG) are entering into this high growth segment. Indian market is largely a prescriptionoriented market. While Rx to OTC switches are implemented more frequently by the pharma

majors, many other pharmaceutical and nutraceutical companies who were trying topromote their products through the doctor are now adopting a different route, the direct

route to the identified end user.

FMHG market represents products for health that are directly promoted to end users. For

eg. Saffola Gold a FMCG product is more like a FMHG product the way it is promoted andused; health drinks (like Complan and Horlicks) are categorically FMHG products along with

other health beverages such as fruit, energy and protein drinks. Equal, Sugarfree, Natura

and other low calorie sweeteners, Benadryl and Glycodin the cough syrups, Tums andGelusil the antacids, Vicks, Coldarin, Anacin, Listerine, Waterbury's Compound, Woodward's

gripe water, and Iodex are some of the other FMHG products. Rejuvenators, weight loss

products, dietary supplements, honey, joint pain relievers and even pregnancy test kits andemergency contraceptive pills have found their way in this segment.

Nutraceuticals is any substance that is a food or a part of a food and provides medical or healthbenefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease. They are healthcare products that areformulated and taken in fixed dosage form such as capsules, tablets, etc. They cover a widerange of products including dietary supplements and botanicals eg: vitamins, minerals, co-enzyme Q10, carnitine, ginseng, gingko biloba, saffron, ashwagandha, safed musli, Saint John's


6/34

Wort, Saw Palmetto, hoodia gordoni, Malabar tamarind, green tea, psyllium husk, bitter guardpowder, peepal, adatoda, garlic pills, tulsi, kalmegh, brahmi, etc and the list is ever increasing.

Educational Objectives

The specific objective of a nutrition education program is to obtain lasting changes in thebehaviours affecting nutritional status. Adoption of new behaviour depends on many factors

external to the communication program.Intermediate objectives are those concerned with changes in motivation, knowledge, selfefficacy, preferences for a particular behaviour and in the "savoir faire" -the skills required.These objectives are the independent outcomes - the promoters of the intervention must attendto these, in spite of external factors.

Educational objectives must be operationalized. This is described in a later section.

Communication objectives

For the communication program to be effective and bring about lasting change, it must focus onexposing the target population to the messages, and on the retention of the messages on theirpart.

In the field of communication, the methods are as important as the apparent results. This isbecause they forge lasting attitudes among the population.

For example, two communication programs can achieve the same objective of messageretention. The first program because of its top-down authoritarian approach results in arelationship of dependence while the second which is participatory, encourages the populationitself, to make informed decisions to resolve their problems. The second option is to bepreferred.

Summary

A hierarchy of objectives can be formed.

General objective: top of mind recall, trial and repeated purchase of the product Nutraplus.

Specific educational objective: Change in behaviour Intermediate educational objectives: Change inmotivation, knowledge, self efficacy, preferences, decision

Communication objectives:

Exposure to messages

Retention of messages

At what levels are the objectives to be defined?


7/34

6.3 How to define educational objectives?

Educational objectives should be operationalized as far as possible. These provide the basis forpreparation of an objective evaluation of the intervention.

To be operational, an educational objective should state clearly:

what observable behaviours will indicate that the objective has been achieved,

who will show the various behaviours,

what will be the results of the new behaviour,

under what conditions will the behaviour be shown, what criteria determine whether the desired result has been achieved or not.

Following are several illustrative examples.

How to define educational objectives?


8/34

Specific objective: The objective of the product is to go for the top of mind of recall and trialamong the working people with busy schedules going for work, war, any adventurous activity touse the product Nutraplus .

Breakfast: A Missed Opportunity. S Affenito.Journal of the Indian DieteticAssociation, 107(4): 565-569. 2007 Abstract: Breakfast has earned the title asthe most important meal of the day, yet it is the meal most often missed. Thisstatement is supported by research that has shown an association betweenbreakfast consumption and overall nutritional quality of the diets of children andadolescents (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7), and national data that document a decline inbreakfast consumption by youth in the United States (8). Moreover, relative toits energy contribution, breakfast provides a higher percentage ofmicronutrients than other meals consumed during the day (9). In addition tobeing a marker for an appropriate micronutrient and macronutrient intakepattern (3), regularity in breakfast consumption has been linked withimprovement in academic performance and psychosocial functioning (10) aswell as cognition (11) among children. Furthermore, breakfast consumption is

considered an important determinant of a healthful lifestyle (12), and itsassociation with healthful behaviors may favorably influence body mass index(BMI) (13).


9/34

Level of competition in the nutraceutical segment?

The Indian nutraceutical market, like the OTC market, is in the infant stage but isgrowing at a very fast rate. And though it is growing at a stupendous rate, India has

more prescription market as compared to OTC and major market players areconfined only to prescription market. The Indian nutraceutical market (excludingvitamin formulations) is likely to reach $270 million in the next three years. Thereare more than a dozen giants in this category with nutraceutical and drugcompanies, including Parry's, GSK, Novartis, Abott, Zydus, Raptakos, Paras,Herbalife, Banner, Amway, USV, Ranbaxy, Nicholas Piramal and Wockhardt andSami Labs trying to grab a bigger piece of the nutra pie.

Pharma companies (in the nutra segment) face stiff competition from Fast MovingConsumer Goods (FMCG) players having similar products?

This truly depends on the product type and the marketing strategy of the company.

In fact, the market for nutraceuticals for both pharmaceutical and FMCGcompanies is different. There is no head-on competition between the two sectors.For a nutraceutical product, a pharma company may launch it in a pharmaceuticaldosage forma capsule, tablet or a sachet, which is different than an FMCGcompany, which may launch the same product as a food item.

With FMCG companies entering into this segment with products, the major changethat might happen, is that these products may become OTC products in the nearfuture. FMCG/Fast Moving Healthcare Goods (FMHG) products operatedifferently from their pharma counterparts in terms of rules and regulations.

Nutraceutical products are governed by FDA and PFA laws, whereas pharmacompanies are governed by DCGI. Different categories within the nutra sectorhave different profiles so there are no chances of a clash. For instance an FMHG

product like Dabur Real will not have a competition with a protein supplement oran antixodant.

Pharma companies mostly stick to the traditional doctor-prescription route andtheir nutra brands complement their therapeutic range and hence help boost sales.The ROI is pretty predictable with pharmacos depending on doctors' prescriptions,the sales pull and pharmacy availability. So, you see there is no clash of interestmostly with FMCG promoted brands

Difference in the Target Group (TG) for both the sets of (FMCG and pharma) nutraplayers?

FMCG players usually talk to masses since they enter as either food supplements or OTC. Theapproach mostly is problem-solution based, and is put across on the basis of the route the brandprefers to take. Pharma companies, on the other hand, either reach masses through OTC channelor set a niche set of TG through doctor prescriptions. This also depends on the product, whetherit is indication-specific or a general supplement. Companies like Ranbaxy, which made Revital astrong brand earlier through prescription, are now taking the brand forward through result


10/34

oriented communication strategy, which is more positive in tone, though their audience is sameSEC A+, A and B.

Strategies for Nutraplus adopted to fight off competition?

For starters pharma companies need to take steps towards changing the popular consumerthinking. They also need to focus on the family as a whole. Additionally they need to also re-

look at their product offerings and sales and marketing strategies.

The popular thinking in India is, only medically unfit people require nutraceuticals. I take goodfood, so why do I need any supplements which are so costly? I can compensate by buying morefood for myself. Nutraplus need to fight this consumer perception first and then thecompetition. The hard fact is that even today most consumers do not relate to nutraceuticals. Onereason being, traditionally India has had sufficient herbs that are consumed on daily basis asnutritives.

As a result awareness has to go up, prices have to come down and perceptions need to changefor this sale of the product to make it big.

Nutraplus is going to offer consumers enough variety to prevent consumers from stopping their

usage due to boredom and tastelessness. All nutraceutical companies need to get more focussedon marketing these products within Indian masses. Another point to be noted is that whileperceptions are not canging, consumers awareness about their health is increasing. Also, theirawareness on product technicalities is gradually increasing as there is a wave of health awarenessamongst higher sections of consumers. Thus Nutraplus is to bring in more standardized productsand highlight these for a competitive leverage. Nutraplus is also looking at cutting in theirmargins a bit to make their brand affordable for consumers to start the initial trials, and then stickto usage.

Additionally, we need to run product usage and category awareness-based communication. Theidea should be to have our nutraceutical brand Nutraplus a part of the monthly ration.

Nutraplus also look at targetting working executives in their offices since they are most proneto lifestyle disorders - irregular eating, missing meals, eating junk food, smoking, drinking, dailyoffice stress, lack of exercises, etc. There are other potential set of consumers like women,adolescent girls, geriatric audiences.

Nutraplus could focus on strategies that encompass the entire family into daily consumption ofthese brands, and thus increase volumes. Companies should do lot more for women since theyare under lot more stress in India. For instance, they can run pregnant and lactating motherloyalty programs. The idea is to involve the entire the entire family. Special programs need to beworked out for the geriatric population as they form huge numbers and need high supplement

support as their systems keep getting weaker on a day-to-day basis with age.On the other side, heavy trade and sales force incentivizing, running interactive and interestingloyalty good health programs and starting consumer loyalty programs will help in the selectionof multiple communication channels to reach out to masses and constantly hammer the brand intheir minds. Adopting newer DTC and direct marketing channels will only benefit the brand

Nutraplus


11/34

Nutraplus, a rejuvenator (Vitamin Mineral Supplement) converted to OTC status in The targetaudience was the mass market, people in the lower income brackets, leading a hectic andphysically demanding lifestyles.

The core challenge, to convince consumers that fatigue is a disease that needs to be and can betreated.The challenge outlined is to create a need for the product, build a belief in itseffectiveness and results, and convince them to not only invest in a premium product, but tocomplete the requisite course of dosage.

Idea

We are trying to start off by targeting people straddling multiple roles, challenging life styles,and the persons who want to succeed in every venture. They would like to give everything theirbest and squeeze the most out of every minute available. This tends to drain their energy andslow down mental and physical alertness, thus compromising on their performance and ability tocarry on through the day.

The idea was to shake the TG out of their misconception, convince them that they needNutraplus and propel them to take immediate action to overcome the disease of fatigue

Solution

A 2-tier communication approach is to be adopted to build mass-scale awareness and relevancefor Revital in peoples lives with a creative tool to invoke disruption and a creative testimonialmethod to build empathy. In essence, to communicate to them that they can do better and feelbetter in life after taking Nutraplus..We are also introducing an incentive for trial ofNutraplus. A 3-week challenge is created. It isrevolved around rejuvenation in just 21 days of ingesting Nutraplus. Through this, weshowcased the signs and symptoms of fatigue that have turned into blind spotsForexample Do you feel like sleeping a little longer every morning? We also added anadditional hook on the proof of efficacy 21 days promise or your money back. Thestrategy isbrought alive with the popular phrases Fast food for life and Battery Full.

These is to be supported by theme communication on TV. A magazine promotion Free samplepacks in magazines. A rural van activity, Radio, POS, in-store and newpackaging. Limited period price off is to also be offered to lower price barriers and convertlight users to heavy users(repeated purchase).

Print Magazines is the lead medium which is also used for sampling.

Living it up with Nutraplus


12/34

Nutraplus is an health and food supplement product and rides high on apositive health concept giving the user mental and physical vitality.Nutraplus fits into the users hectic lifestyle empowering them withenergy strength & mental sharpness, enabling them to enjoy life to thefullest, hence making them live the brand punch line offast food for

life

Grey Worldwide is to come up with a series of ads forNutraplus. First phase of communication is to have 3 televisioncommercials called the Wake up ad, the bhangra ad and theGovind ad. Each sought to demonstrate the pre & post usage andbenefit scenario of Revital, where in intake ofNutraplus helpreduce all signs of fatigue and weakness.

The second phase of television ad the Husmukhbhai campaign,wherein the puppet portrayal of an everyday man namedHusmukhbhai is seen able to make the most out of life even aftera hectic day of work which his friends and colleagues are unableto because Husmukhbhai is a Nutraplus user unlike others.

The third & the current phase of television commercials isTestimonial creatives where a man & a woman talk about howtheir lives have been enriched with Nutraplus regular intakebecause it has helped them remain active throughout the day.

Television is a mix of mass reach and frequency channels with sponsorships of keyprogrammess on mass channels to deliver year round visibility.Radio: All India Radio during the News and Cricket matches. Other Nationalchannels such as Radio City / Radio Mirchi and are to be sponsored the hourlytime check section.

The four-pronged strategy

The plan is to leverage the scientific edge into a functional benefit to acquire ahuge part of the OTC pie. This is done through the following four stages:

Shift from a molecule towards a consumer solution: A need gap analysis of theproduct presented with an unmet need of its target audience. Today's lifestyle ischaracterized by stress and fatigue and Nutraplus is positioned as a solution, one

that helped in sustaining energy levels and promoting overall well-being.Building emotional Assurance: In order to develop emotional assurance, wehave to undertake advertising that would help consumers' to make an informedchoice. This is an assurance that is based on educating him, creating relevance andfamiliarity instead of making a blind choice based on prescriptions. GreyWorldwide would come up with a series of TVCs for the same. The first phase ofads looks at creating awareness about the benefits ofNutraplus, while the second


13/34

phase of TVCs aimed at building relevance and moving the product away from aproblem-solution image. The final and current phase of ads woud focus towardsbuilding familiarity and creating a feeling that many people are consumingNutraplus today as a part of their daily health regime. Some of the noteworthy adsare the wakeup commercials, Hasmukhbhai commercials and more recenttestimonial ads.

Creating brand authority: This involved building channels of trust forNutraplusboth professional as well as personal. With a view to induce trials, the targetcustomer is looked at the places where person feels tiredness and do not have thetime for food at the most.

A consumer contact program is to be launched in 75 cities across India. Directconsumer promotion is to be done in anaaj mandis, wholesale food markets,chemist outlets and high traffic areas where consumers are informed more aboutNutraplus and its benefits as a daily health supplement.

Enhancing Accessibility: With an intention to be accessible and available to theconsumers in their moment of need, the distribution network of the company isexpanded. Both pharma and FMCG distributors are brought into the trade ambit ofNutraplus along with efforts made to make Nutraplus available in morechemists.outlets through enhanced geographical spread and also along side make itavailable in all kinds of outlets (chemist and select retail stores). Nutraplus isexpanding distribution from chemist outlets to general stores to make it a part ofthe monthly grocery purchase.

For instance, in case of tablets and pills, while the patient might still purchase and consume a

particular brand (even though it is bitter) because the doctorprescribed it. But once the same brand goes OTC, the companyneeds to think from consumers point of view, who given achoice will not buy something that is as bitter, especially whenthere are substitutes available in the market. The pharmacompany has to take key decisions with respect to the taste,smell, appearance and the dosage form. If it is a tablet inquestion, then its size needs to be considered. If it is a liquid ina bottle, then the attractiveness of the bottle matters to theconsumer. "It is not mandatory that you have to changeeverything but if you do this, the OTC brand will 110 percentget benefited," asserts Chaudhari.

Also, once the brand moves to the OTC arena, its focus movesto the consumers from the doctors. "As a result, the entire focusof your brand and related activities shifts from inside the clinicto outside the clinic," elucidates Susan Josi, Managing Partner, Sorento HealthcareCommunications.

"When you havea prescriptionbrand, your liferevolves aroundthat doctor. WithOTC, you moveto a completely differentworld ofconsumer marketing"

- Susan Josi

Managing PartnerSorento Healthcare

Communications


14/34

Thus 90-95 percent of all the activities that are to be undertaken are done in an interestingmanner, and through innovative media like film shows, and the usual above-the-line media likeTV, print, radio and cinema halls. Then there are accreditation programmes implemented atdifferent touch points with the consumers depending on the budgets available for them. "I meanthe entire focus changes to an integrated 360 degrees way of communicating. When you have aprescription brand, your life revolves around that doctor and what you want to do with him, howyou want to pacify him and his ego.

Competitors

OTC medicines face competition from other brands that may be in the prescription arena, FMCGspace or in OTC itself. In the case of milk food supplements, there are some quasi ethical oneslike the Protinex, and nutraceuticals which, in a way, have the look and feel of the doctorprescribed medicinal product and then you have your FMCG counterparts like say Boost. In sucha scenario an OTC brand has to fight off competition from the FMCG players, who have thehighest of ad budgets and marketing spends. They also have to tackle the issue of being availablewhere needed. While the FMCGs are available at the grocers, OTC brands cannot be availablethere.

Doctor dilemmas

Another area of concern is the fact that a typical pharma representative meets 10 doctors andthree to five chemists everyday. But when the brand has to be taken OTC the chemist becomesextremely important and thus the representatives should be visiting a lot more chemists now andnot just 5-10 per day, to ensure availability, point-of-purchase activity and window display. "Allthese things are not possible if the medical representative officer is more used to detailing. With

respect to OTC, the medical representative is actually making the brand available and actuallypushing it to the retailer. And this is a completely different mind set," explains Chaudhari.

"The biggest challenge that companies face with OTC products is managing the media. Gettingthe frequency, getting the OTS (opportunity to see the product) are some of the challenges facedby OTC marketers, which are similar to those faced by marketer of any other product," opinesJosi. Another challenge for marketers is understanding the manner of presenting the product tothe end consumer without intimidating him or scaring him, yet making him a part of your entiremarketing story and bringing the product to him in a more engaging manner. "It cannot be thesame detailing story that we do in the doctors clinic, it cant be the same postering that we do,where we just use subtle messaging norm. We have to find a lot more interesting and involvingmanner or ways of getting the consumers involved with your brand," states Josi.

Lastly, the doctor, if he is not handled properly may pose a big challenge to the brand when itgoes OTC. "The doctor essentially plays the role of an endorser. He wont be a prescriber, he maynot even be an influencer but still he endorses," states Josi. This is because when a consumer(patient) goes and tells that doctor that he is using a particular brand that has gone OTC for hisailment, there are chances that the doctor will be okay with it. So he endorses it. "The worst iswhen he goes negative. Now the moment he voices an opinion that is negative, the consumer'sentire confidence in that brand is washed out," she adds. So it is important that the brand holdson to the doctor as a passive endorser of the brand.


15/34

An ethical to OTC switch sounds like a rosy idea for any pharma marketer. However, the journeyto building a great brand is full of hurdles, which if not overcome appropriately, will transform agreat prescription brand into an OTC disaster. While a successful switch may make aninteresting marketing case study, a failure too will be etched in the minds of all the stakeholders.

[email protected]

(With inputs from Sonal Shukla)

Chapter 7: Designing the messages

7.1 Messages, media and support materialsTo distinguish between messages, media and support materials:

"message" is the formulation of an idea or concept to be transmitted to a specificpopulation (e.g., "fish is a healthy food for the child");

"media" is the channel of communication through which the message is transmitted (e.g.talks at a health centre, school lessons by radio, etc.);

"supports" are the materials on which the message is transmitted (e.g., poster, radioprogram, flannelgraph).

In developing the message the first questions to be asked are: What words should be used andin what order?. In the choice of media: What type of media? What is the optimal media-mix, for

this situation?. In the development of support material: Which material? What images to use?Which colours? Which type of sound systems?).

These questions are closely linked. The contents of the messages influence the choice of mediaand support materials. These, in turn, influence how the message is formulated. The results ofthe pretest, however, may indicate that another choice of media has to be made. This issignificant as the selection of support material is dependent on the choice of media.

Nutraplus is to bag the creative duties for nutritional food supplement following a multi-agencypitch. Both the agency and the according to us the advertising budget for this brand alone is Rs10 crore.

Nutraplus would come in gel and tablet forms. The brand will be launched in October and the

advertising campaign will be rolled out in sync.

Since Nutraplus is a young brand, it will have to fight it out with veterans such as Revital, Superactive and Amway and other low cost Chinese nutritional tablets..
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


16/34

A source close to the development informs agencyfaqs! that during the pitch, the agencies wereasked to compute a complete strategy to firmly entrench the brand within the category. The ideais to position Nutraplus as a brand that consumers would like to reach out to as their monthlyration and thus create top of the mind recall.

The source reveals that Nutraplus products will have a completely different positioning fromtheir direct competitors. The media mix comprises of print and television.

Messages, media and support materials

7.2 How to ensure that messages are coherent?

Coherence with objectives

First, all the messages should be consistent with the objectives for behaviour change. Inpractice, the specific objective of a communication intervention should determine the messagesto be developed.

Nutraplus:

Specific objective: To shift from a molecule towards a consumer solution, creating


17/34

top of the mind recall, creating brand authority and enhance accesibility

Criteria: the said capsule should be consumed by target market in that age grouponce in a day to gain the maximum advantage.

The messages to help achieve this new behaviour must be oriented towards the use of

these products (nutraplus) in the absence of the meal for the target market in theirbusy schedule life.

The message must also be in keeping with the intermediate objectives.

On what basis is behaviour to be modified? Should there be focus on improvement inknowledge, in motivation or self confidence, or should there be emphasis on the values of thetarget group?

Depending on the nature of the intermediate objective, messages will be designed accordingly.These differences may be reflected in the message content. For example, a message for givinginformation will vary from one designed to raise self confidence.

Nutraplus:The challenge outlined is to create a need for the product, build a belief in itseffectiveness and results, and convince them to not only invest in a premium product,but to complete the requisite course of dosage.

Clinical trials help to overcome consumer and retailer skepticisim.

Positive clinical results provide the third party validation of the product efficacy.

Provide evidence to substantiate product .claims to retailers and government agency.

Essentially to compete against competition in the alternative category(for e.g.Boost)

DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY

NETWORK MARKETING

The network marketing means of distribution cuts out the advertising costs for the company.

Their distributors become the advertisers and bring in the customers to purchase the products.There is a business opportunity as the product is sold. It is a way for anyone to get into businesswithout a huge financial investment such as is required to start a regular bricks and mortarbusiness or franchise. Generally, no inventory is required. People can make a part-time or fulltime income from network marketing ventures. Although around 98% of people who sign up fornetwork marketing do not find any significant success in the business or even "fail" at it, thereare still many millionaires being made through network marketing.


18/34

Nutraplus is positioned to be the wave of the future, and network marketing is helping to bringthe products to the masses. Network marketing companies selling us in nutritional supplementsare helping people to earn the income to live their dreams. There are many opportunities outthere, and anyone can participate in this business.

Nutraplus is to turn to network marketing as their means of selling their products. Distributors

sign up to buy and sell the products. Those distributors sign up other people as distributors andcreate their "downline" in the company. They may earn money by signing up customers anddistributors who all buy the products for which the distributors receive a percentage of thevolume under them if they are buying or selling enough product themselves to be considered"active." Each company has its own compensation plan to pay its distributors for their efforts inmoving the product

This illustrates that messages have to be designed in accordance with objectives set during theconceptualization phase of the strategy.

The messages should be coherent. Quite often, it is not the only one but a number ofmessages are conveyed to the audience at the same time. Several messages which mutuallyreinforce each other may be used to achieve a common objective.

Social MarketingThe programs that produced these results derived from concepts of social marketing. Social

marketing is a consumer-oriented approach to defining, promoting, and making accessiblesocially useful practices and/or products. The approach places an exceptional emphasis onformative (planning) researchwith beneficiaries, major influencers on beneficiary behavior,and program implementers and supportersinorder to devise and implement an effective behavior-change strategythat will promote new or modified practices that will both have the desirednutrition and health impact and that are acceptable and feasible formost people.Too often, health and nutrition programs establish services that areunderutilized or not properly utilized, distribute iron supplements towomen who stop taking them and/or do not return for re-supply, or givetechnically correct and easy-to-understand nutrition education messagesthat people do not put into practice because of their own beliefs or perceptionsor those of people close to them, or because of some real orperceived practical problem. Following the social marketing methodologyshould minimize these dangers.Social marketing sprang from the success of commercial marketing inboth developed and developing countries, i.e. if particular audiencescould purchase and use toothpaste, snack foods, and analgesics, whycouldnt they use maternal child health services or the advice offered by


19/34


20/34

All nutrition education interventions in the same community must be coherent. This is oftendifficult because many institutions are involved, including those at the national level (school,health services, social services, agricultural extension, non-governmental organizations), and atthe international level (United Nation Agencies,

These three messages are coherent. They aim to achieve one objective: the immunization ofchildren eight months and older against measles, organizations for bilateral cooperation, (non-governmental organizations). How can coherence of efforts be ensured? One way of doing thisis to associate all concern in the planning committee during the planning phase.Representatives from all development sectors actively involved in nutrition education in the areashould meet for this purpose.

If there is no unity of effort between institutions the public may be confronted with contradictorymessages. They will not know which message should be followed. If this situation does notchange, there can be no expectations for any behaviour changes.

7.3 How to design persuasive messages

Well-designed messages reach their target audience. Although there is no one formula formessage design, there are several useful guidelines. A selected guideline is given below.

How to design persuasive messages

In designing a message, the following points should be kept in mind:

1. Keep it short and simple; include only a few key ideas.

2. Give reliable' complete information.

3. Repeat the idea many times.

4. Recommend precise, behaviour change.

5. Show the relation between the nutritional problem and the recommended behaviour.

6. Make use of a slogan or theme.

7. Ensure that the message is presented by a credible source (as perceived by the target group).8. Present the facts in a direct manner.

9. Make use of positive expressions, not negative ones.

10. Use humour without being offensive to anyone.

7.4 How to maximize the potential for effective messages


21/34

The potential effectiveness of a message is certainly enhanced by format. This concept hasbeen widely used by commercial advertisers so much so that advertisements today are rarely amere description of the qualities of the product.

How can we increase the persuasiveness of a message transmitted through images (symbolicmessage). Various procedures have been used in commercial advertising and to a lesser extentin public service communication. The reader may consult relevant manuals on communication,marketing and advertising for more information on the subject (10).

Some well known suggestions regarding style which can be helpful in designing more attractivemessages are presented in Technical Files 6 and 7.

How to maximize the potential for effective messages

TECHNICAL FILE N6: Seven elements of style for symbolic messages


22/34

Key Visuals

This technique makes use of a dominant visual around which the message is planned. The key visualcan almost carry the entire message and so the text needed is just a very simple phrase. e.g., Thepicture or drawing of a packet of rehydration salts with text "For your child's diarrhoea..."

When the key visual does not carry fully the essence of the message, more explanation is provided in

the text.e.g., A smiling child holding fish in his right hand.

Text: "Fish is good food"

Key Visuals

PluralityAn abundance of the proposed product or the beneficiaries using it, is used in this technique. It conveysthe idea that everybody is using the product.

e.g., A heap of cubes to be used in a sauce.

A crowd of children and their parents at the immunization centre.

Plurality

Symbolisation


23/34

The message can be represented by a symbol. The public is expected to make the necessaryassociation. For example, W.H.O. uses the umbrella to represent immunization. It is expected that thereader will understand that in much the same way that an umbrella serves as protection against rain,immunization protects children against disease.

Exchange

In this method one situation is paralleled with another. One of these should be well appreciated by thepublic. The situations will be mutually reinforcing.

Example: Preparing a palm sauce with grains in the village (we see a lady extracting the oil) isparalleled with the preparation of the same traditional dish, this time with a tin of preserved grain sauce(prepared by a woman who is clearly from an urban area).

Succession - Before and After

This technique makes reference to a positive change attributed to the use of a proposed new product.

Visuals consist of different pictures placed side-by-side or one above the other.

Example: the-picture of a man lying in a bed (the text says clearly that he is suffering from malaria). In

the next picture he is standing up, smiling and active. The text between the two pictures states that hetakes chloroquine tablets.,

Social Modelling

A well-recognized person when seen practicing a certain behaviour, using a specific product or


24/34

revealing a particular attitude, can incite the same reactions in an admirer. This phenomenon is usedvery often in commercial advertising, but not sufficiently in nutrition education.

Social Modelling

A well-recognized person when seen practicing a certain behaviour, using a specific product orrevealing a particular attitude. can incite the same

For example: A famous actress breastfeeding her child can be a way of persuading her female fans todo the same.

It should be noted that if the "reader" does not identify with the famous personality, it is not likely that hewill imitate the behaviour. Later in the technical file on television, the criteria for identification arediscussed in more details.

Series of images

A visual can be composed of several images in series. The arrangement may be simultaneous orchronological.

A series of simultaneous images can be used to illustrate the many benefits of eating a particular food.Images conveying the following ideas can be placed side-by-side: (first picture) Boiled food gives yourchild more energy, (second picture): elements of food necessary for growth of the child, (third picture):those elements in the food which provide protection.

The pretesting of messages focuses on five characteristics: attention (does the message have stopping power?)

comprehension (is it clearly understood?)

relevance (is the public concerne by the message, is it relevant to them?)

credibility (is the message or the source credible?)

acceptability (is the message acceptable to the target group, or offensive in any way?)

There are different methods for pretesting messages, some of which are similar to those presentedearlier for use in surveys.

Focus groups (Technical File N4) can be convened for pretesting messages to be used in thatcommunity. Also, in-depth face-to-face interviews with resource persons are also useful. These personsdo not necessarily have to be from the community for which the message is intended.

A very appropriate method involves testing within a family.

TECHNICAL FILE N7: Family trials

This method can be used in diagnostic research as well as in pretesting of message. It is concernedwith testing the first draft of the message in a target community. This methodology is justified by the factthat nutrition related messages concern the family first and foremost. It is wise to ask persons from thetarget population to make suggestions for improvement of messages.

This method, together with observation techniques, personal and group interviews were the reason forthe successful nutrition program in Indonesia (31).

What does it involve?


25/34

Well trained investigators recommend certain eating "health-enhancing habits" to improve the health ofthe family (especially the health of their children) to a sample of families from the target population.Through observation and survey the investigators make a note of difficulties encountered whenrecommending the changes. The product of this activity will be a list of appropriate modifications and alist of the factors which could influence mothers to adopt or to reject the ideas proposed.

This procedure enables the selection of appropriate content for the message.

Example: In promoting boiled food for weaning, the trials will help to determine what are the best

ingredients for the meal (bearing in mind certain factors like the mother's occupation, availability of theproducts, how easy it is to prepare, attitudes of the members of the family, etc...)

These trials will also reveal what utensils are available in the family for preparation of various dishes.Spoons, for example, cannot be mentioned in the message if they are not normally used by the family.Family trials are also helpful in determining the most persuasive way of stating the message.

Chapter 8: Choice of media and multimedia combination

8.1 What are the media?

The media are the channels of communication through which messages are transmitted. It isnecessary to distinguish between two channels of communication, namely, the face-to-face and

the mass media.

Face to face communication

Oral communication in the form of a face-to-face encounter may take place in two kinds ofcircumstances. The interpersonal face-to-face situation (e.g., an agricultural extension workerspeaking to a farmer) and the "face-to-face in a group" situation (e.g., a health officer leading adiscussion with a group of mothers).


26/34

The voice is the main organ of face-to-face communication but the use of other supportmaterials is highly recommended. These support materials can be printed, visual, and audio-visual. They reinforce the oral communication between the "educator" and his target audience.

Interpersonal Communication, in which two people are brought together in a face-to-facesituation, is of considerable importance in any strategy for public education. In fact, the mostsuccessful attempts to change nutritional habits have been based mainly on interpersonalcommunication used in conjunction with other methods.

Face to face communication

It was stated earlier that the aim of the intervention is to modify social communication withregard to nutrition in order to change what people say about nutrition. The result of anintervention in nutrition education must therefore encourage interpersonal communication. For

the most part this effort has to be voluntary. There is no real compensation for the mother whospeaks to her neighbour about the necessity of vaccinating her child. However, professionalswho are trained and paid for their interventions (health officers, agricultural adviser, socialassistants, teachers, etc...) must support these efforts.

Interpersonal Communication


27/34

In what context can such an intervention take place?

The most obvious time is during consultation in a health centre. The Health Officer takes timeout to speak to his patient (or the parent of the patient if the latter is a child), listen and help himto find a solution to his problem. This message must complement those transmitted via otherchannels of communication. Most people working in development programs are involved ininterpersonal communication. They can reinforce the messages relevant to the public. Theplanning committee for the nutrition intervention has to identify these channels and include themin their multimedia strategy.

Communication in a group situation has been the principal means of nutrition education for along time. It was referred to as "discussion" but was often the monologue of a Health Officerbefore a group of mothers of young children. Since that time, other means of education haveevolved. In particular, communication in a group situation has improved as a result of fieldexperience and scientific research.

Communication in a group situation

There is a significant amount of material available on training for group discussion which dealswith methods, group participation and material, and visual or audio-visual supports.

The emergence of special supports has led to the development of innovative training methods.This will be described in Chapter 11. Technical files will be presented for slide-language, Video-animation and Popular theatre.

The mass media

With mass-media communication, the transmitter and receiver are never in direct contact. Theinteraction is mediated through the visual image, print, or by a combination of these elements.

Radio diffusions use sound (music and words). The programmes come in many formats, talks,

debates, soap operas, advertisements. Regretably, for a long time health educationprogrammes were limited to debates between journalists and medical experts. Since then amore effective advertising campaign has been developed which makes use of other formats.Radio is a very popular media throughout the world. All countries listed in the "Report onCommunication in the World" (38) have at least one public or private radio station. In some ofthe poorest countries access to radio is estimated at between 2 and 4% of the population, but inmost of the developing countries, including Africa, the proportion of radios in use exceeds one inten. If the population pyramid, as well as collective listening, is considered, it may be inferredthat in almost every country, the majority of adults have direct access to this medium. However,


28/34

there is a need to determine the expected media coverage of the population in the country orregion chosen for a nutrition education intervention.

Radio diffusions

The radio may be looked at from two different perspectives: interactive and non-interactive. The

more common way of using radio is non-interactive. Messages are transmitted in one direction,from the transmitter to the audience. Here the transmitter has no direct feedback on the impactof his programmes except through opinion polls.

The radio

Conversely, experiences with rural radio have demonstrated the possibility of having livelyinteractions with the people in these communities. With this medium, there is a combination ofradio diffusion and direct oral communication with a group.

Television uses sound, moving images and sometimes the written text. Therein lies itsstrength. However, it is less accessible than radio. In 1990, 38 countries or territories did nothave a television service (38). In many countries no televised programmes could be received inany parts of the country. Moreover the number of receptors per 1000 people remains quite lowin most developing countries.

The television


29/34

While television is still not easily accessible to most people in rural areas, it continues to exertenormous influence in urban areas, as was the case in the Ivory Coast program "Tl pourTous."

The printed press has its shortcomings. These are linked to illiteracy on one hand and limitedcirculation on the other.

The printed press

The circulation of newspapers is quite low in most developing countries. The fact remains thatthe printed press cannot be seen as a popular media but rather as an elitist one. Newspaperscan be used in communication projects if the aim is to mobilize a social class comprising opinionleaders and their social networks.


30/34

Posters can serve as a means of communication. It is advisable, however, to use them inconjunction with other media. This channel associates fixed images with written text, and thuslimits the target audience to the literate population. Posters can be used without any text. Theprocedure is complex and demands a particular kind of literacy skill which most people do nothave.

Posters

The support material for a poster is the poster itself, but may also be in the form of a T shirt.

8.2 How to select media and support materialsThe selection of media and support is done through diagnostic research undertaken in thephase of conceptualization of the programme, where the channels and the activecommunication networks in the community are identified.

The planning committee should draw up a table with two axes, one for the different media, theother for supports in accordance with the criteria given below.

What are the criteria for the choice of media and supports?

1. Cost: Can the use of this media be accommodated financially? (cost of using themedia, training people for the relay, buying and producing the support).

2. Accessibility: to what extent does the target audience have access to the media?

3. "Ease of Use" of media (taking into account the competence already acquiredby the people responsible for the intervention) Is this media easy to use?

4. Credibility of each media type: Is this media credible?

5. Community participation: Does this media encourage participation?

6. Dissemination of the message with time: Does this media allow for extended, long-term dissemination of the message?


31/34

7. Relation to objectives of the intervention: Can this media tee used to achieve theobjectives?

For each criterion, each type of media is graded (good, satisfactory, bad). Once complete, thetable helps the reader to consider the best choice depending on the importance attributed toeach criterion.

In each situation, the criteria must be set in order of importance. The choice is then made withregard to the most important criteria.

For example, in a situation where finance is limited, the criterion for cost appears at the top ofthe table.

In another situation where the problem of financial means is less acute, but where moreimportance is given to the long-term effects of the programme, the duration for diffusion of themethod would be one of the main criteria.

The planning committee has to consider which media are best suited for achieving theintermediary objectives of the intervention.

The Table 2 summarizes the relative strengths and weaknesses of the various media in relationto changing improving the various parameters of nutrition education and Table 3 provides a list

of media and their effectiveness in reaching the various target groups. Both of these tables willhelp in the selection of a suitable media for reaching a target group.

Table No. 2 - Relative strength of the media in changing variousparameters of nutrition education

Acquisition of

Knowledgeof fact

Mentalimage

ConceptsPrinciplesRules

Procedures Verbalskills

Psychomotiveor skills

Attitudes

Only verbal

communication * 0 * * * 0 *

Verbalcommunication +fixed image

** * 0 * 0 0 *

Verbalcommunication +moving image

** ** ** ** * * **

Verbalcommunication +3 dimensionsobject

* ** 0 * 0 0 *

Verbal

communication +printed material

** 0 * * 0 0 *

Verbalcommunication+demonstration

* * * ** * * *

Radio (noninteractive)

* 0 0 * * 0 *


32/34

Television** * ** * ** * **

Written press* 0 * * 0 0 *

Poster* * 0 * 0 0 *

0 = little effect * = moderate effect ** = good effect

Below is a list of target publics that you may wish to reach and the different means ofcommunication.

Lets take the example of rural women. In order to reach them one can make personal contacts,use radio, organize cooking demonstrations, show flipcharts in the market, health centres and inother meeting places.

Lets now take another example of the Government authorities. The best way to raise theirinterest are circulation of information notes, meetings and debates, television, writtenpublications and may be also through radio programmes.

Table 3 - Comparative effectiveness of means of communication inreaching various target groups

Means ofcommunication of groups

Ruralwomen

Ruralmen

Urbanpopulation

Fieldworkers

Villageleaders

Government authorities

Schoolchildren

Generalpublic

Television++

++ +

Radio+ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Written press+ +

++ + ++

Posters+ + + ++ + + ++ +

Populartheatre

++ ++ + ++ + ++

+

Video+ + + ++

+

Means ofcommunication interpersonal

Ruralwomen

Ruralmen

Urbanpopulation

Fieldworkers

Villageleaders


Schoolchildren

Generalpublic

Practicaldemonstration

++ + + +

++

Fix film++ ++ ++ ++ + + ++

Audio casette++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++


33/34

Personalcontact

++ ++ ++ ++ +

++

Flanellographie

++ + ++ ++ +

++

Flip chart++ + ++ ++

++

Brochures+ + ++ + + ++ +

Means ofcommunication of groups

Ruralwomen

Ruralmen

Urbanpopulation

Fieldworkers

Villageleaders


Schoolchildren

Generalpublic

Meetings++ ++ ++

Information

notes

+ ++ ++

Inter-villagevisit

+ +

+ ++ +

+ = less effective

++ = very effective

8.3 How to determine the best multimedia combination

An essential element of many successful public education program has been to use of amultimedia combination.

This media mix involves an organized concomitant use of several channels of communication.One may speak of synergy if the overall impact of the intervention is increased through the use

of several types of media, each reinforcing the other, so that their collective impact is greaterthan the sum of their influences taken separately. The basis of a media mix is the association ofinterpersonal communication with mass-media communication.

Each channel of communication is specific in its own way. The challenge is to find the bestcombination which can result in the realization of the objectives for each target group.

To achieve this, the credibility of the message must be assured. In this regard, health workersare often the first choice because nutrition is considered a priority in their field. All the same, ifnutrition education aims at promoting food production, other categories of worker may bettersuited to the task (e.g., agricultural extension officers). It is often through communication on aperson-to-person level with members from the target community that the best source for themessage can be determined. These sources should be identified during the diagnostic research

phase.The other channels of communication can play an additional role in the communication strategy.Radio, for example, can spread the message to a much larger audience than that could becovered by the development agents. Posters can ensure long-term exposure to the message.Today, in many countries, T-shirts are still being worn years after they were distributed toadvertise the merits of oral rehydration.

It can therefore be seen that the ideal approach is to select not one, but several complementarymedia to maximize the potential for a successful intervention.


34/34

This also explains why intersectoral collaboration is necessary. No one sector can control all themedia-related elements of the intervention.
http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/T0807e/t0807e04.htmhttp://www.fao.org/DOCREP/T0807e/t0807e00.htmhttp://www.fao.org/DOCREP/T0807e/t0807e02.htm

product launch of nutraplus)

Documents