With sleigh bells ringing and families mingling, the holiday season has arrived. So in an environment cluttered with stories about festive foods, perfect gifts and must-have toys, is there room for healthcare holiday campaigns?
Believe it or not, the holiday season carries with it a wide array of possibilities for health initiatives. It is an opportunity to insert your message into a context that is already meaningful to your audiences. Furthermore, it is a time for you as a health communicator to generate programs - or story ideas - that bring people together, help others through what may be a lonely time and provide an antidote to holiday excess.
Capitalize on the holiday spirit by considering these promotional tie-ins:
- The holidays can exacerbate symptoms of depression or anxiety; use this as a news hook to discuss the latest in a mental health therapy.
- Many people feast on eggnog, stuffing, and pumpkin pie during the holidays. Could there be a more fitting time to convey your messages about a cholesterol-lowering drug?
- The holidays involve vacation get-aways, and those traveling to distant places may need tips for avoiding and combating GI irregularity, insomnia or backaches.
- Cold winters can set the stage for programs and stories about conditions aggravated by frosty temperatures, such as dry skin, circulatory problems and respiratory ailments.
As you develop your programs, think about what life is like for you during the holidays.
For example, some of our staffers coming home from the crush of holiday shopping in New York last year realized what a nice public service it would be to send a free bus around the busy holiday shopping routes. They suggested the "Traffic Congestion Relief Bus," compliments of Claritin D® 24 Hour, an antihistamine that relieves congestion.
This year the program has been expanded into five markets.
While you may be a good resource for holiday activity, the season is alsoa a good time to take the pulse of the public at large. This year, for a new product that measures blood pressure, we surveyed people to find out who suffers the most stress during the holidays. This program also includes blood pressure screenings for holiday travelers at airports.
Extend a Helping Hand
Healthcare companies can generate well-being in more ways than one: Now is a good time to think about cause-related marketing. One year, for example, we developed and implemented a children's coat drive during the holidays for Kids "R" Us.
Consider a corporate program that can be updated during the holidays time so that it works for you every year. Remember that every anniversary started with a first. People across America have come to rely on "Butterball Turkey Talk Line - 1-800-323-4848," a program now in its 18th year that helps chefs navigate Thanksgiving dinner preparation.
A New Start
In addition to partying and vacationing, this is a time when people take stock of their lives and plan on turning over a new leaf. With the New Year approaching, it may be a perfect time to create a program related to improved health habits. Ideal health modification programs include smoking cessation, weight loss, and exercise.
If your client is in the diagnostics and device field, however, an anti-hypertension or cholesterol-lowering campaign may stand out. It's a good time to think about doing a 12-month program that truly starts at the beginning of the year.
Finally, remember that every time of year can be a holiday with several opportunities to enhance special efforts - whether it's an existing event, like a product or corporate anniversary; or a program that you create, like an annual survey or telethon.