The BIG NHS Communications Challenge

www.nhsmarketing.co.uk is inviting NHS employees to share their communications challenges with us.

We hope to use the information to better understand themes, and common issues that NHS communicators are faced. Then, we will set our team the challenge of developing solutions to key problems with the aim of sharing them with NHS teams around the country.

We are doing this to help us understand what is causing NHS communicators pain, though if we can relieve this pain it should benefit all.

This is your chance to share the problem by voicing those issues that make your life more difficult than it needs to be!

What do we mean by a communications challenge?

Anything that causes barriers to effect two-way communication with your target audience.

The more specific the better, though here are some examples of challenges we've worked on in the past 2-months:

The need to reduce the cost per member for NHS membership schemes

> Collaboratively we've developed a 3-stage digital communication system that dramatically reduces print, post and admin costs, as well as greatly enhancing communication with members using multiple channels.

A way of saving time from the onerous task of uploading Trust Board Papers to websites

> We've developed a streamlined upload system that is saving communications teams between 1 and 3 full days per quarter.

A way of more efficiently emailing groups of people, and being able to measure reach

> We've developed a process whereby segmented groups can be emailed specific messages and with reporting on open rates, click throughs etc. all within the boundaries of data protection.

To participate in the Big NHS Communications Challenge, please sum up for us a challenge you need fixing, along with any supporting information.

You can do this by either emailing john@tmedia.co.uk or by calling 01482 327230

This is a chance to put a creative and technical team to work on your problem, without impacting on your budget. All communications will be held in the strictest confidence and will not be shared without your express permission.

If you've not dealt with us before, we'd be delighted to provide references.

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday 9th September.

I hope we hear from you - many thanks!

A further comment about social marketing and Social Media

I received this email from ICE Creates Ltd sharing similar sentiments to mine regarding the social marketing / Social Media debacle:

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There have been a number of articles printed recently looking at the relationship social marketing has with Social Media. Also linked to this, a number of comments have also been made that the NHS North West £30 million roster will be spent on marketing through these sites. Below is a response to these articles and comments from ICE CEO Stuart Jackson:

(The article is attached at the bottom).

I have been watching with great interest the recent unfolding debate around the role Social Media is playing in social marketing and how a recent £30 million social marketing roster by the NHS North West will potentially be used in this context, and I do feel there have been some inaccuracies printed that need to be clarified.

In the article, an MP was cited as criticising the notion that this £30 million pounds will be spent on using Facebook and Twitter, but the reality is, that at this stage, the NHS North West has not yet decided where the roster money will be spent.

Unfortunately, there also seems to be some confusion over what social marketing is. It begins with talking to the people you are trying to reach, finding out how they feel about the issues you are trying to address and helping them to create changes for the better. That could be in terms of young people and issues around alcohol and sexual health or by helping people in low socio-economic areas with high levels of alcohol misuse. Social marketing is about going directly into communities and helping them to remove barriers by creating choice.

Social marketing can also be described as the ‘systematic application of marketing concepts and techniques to achieve specific behavioural goals, for social or public good’.

There also seems to be some confusion here about the terms of ‘social marketing’ and ‘Social Media’. Social marketing is about positive behavioural change while Social Media relates to new communication technologies such as networking sites, including Facebook and twitter.

What we need to understand is that Social Media and social networking technology itself is still a relatively new and evolving area, and that means we're still in the early days of understanding how best to tap into and use this resource. I do think that social media sites can provide a tremendous opportunity for social marketers to explore new pathways for reaching out to audience groups, but whilst my social marketing team at ICE is currently on the cusp of delivering a cutting edge social marketing campaign involving social media sites to engage with school aged children and young people, it needs to be understood that this is only a very small percentage of our operation. Using Social Media to engage with an audience could be the outcome of a social marketing project, but equally, any number of other interventions may be selected as the most appropriate. On one recent alcohol awareness project we have worked on with Liverpool Primary Care Trust for example, the engagement method we selected was to employ two full time alcohol intervention workers who now offer ‘on the ground’ help and advice across a number of community settings in specific ‘hard to reach communities’. That’s hardly conventional marketing and communications, and may well be a first for a creative agency like us, but it’s proving very effective.

Ultimately, I do not believe that behavioural change can be achieved through Social Media sites alone, and the idea that the NHS might spend £30m on it with agencies such as ours is not only unwise, but also untrue. We are totally opposed to wasting public money which is why we are committed to working on programmes that will make a positive difference to people’s lives.

The Daily Telegraph

Stuart Jackson

CEO ICE Creates Ltd

stuart@icecreates.com

The Distinction between social marketing and Social Media – a telling point

Please see below for a story from today’s Daily Telegraph. This includes some pretty damning comments from a Liberal Democrat MP and the Taxpayers Alliance, completely missing the point about what social marketing is.

As well as misinterpreting this as 'Social Media marketing', in my opinion those commenting seem to be missing the point that effective social marketing in the NHS is largely about saving money!

NHSMarketing.co.uk is always happy to receive and publish the comments of others, so please contact mailto:john@eskimosoup.co.uk and we’d be happy to share your thoughts with the 300+ regular visitors to this blog.

Source: Daily Telegraph

By Nigel Bunyan

Published: 12:43PM BST 15 Jul 2009

Health officials spend £30 million on Twitter and Facebook marketing campaign

Health officials have spent £30 million on advertising campaigns that will include networking on Twitter and Facebook, prompting criticism that the money could be better used in frontline services.

The budget, which will be spent over three years, has been set aside by the NHS in the North West.

It will help 50 organisations raise public awareness on such issues as healthy eating, the dangers of alcohol, and sexual health.

Up to eight public relations companies are being hired to devise suitable campaigns.

Critics say the money would be better spent on more direct ways of making patients better.

Dr John Pugh, the Liberal Democrat MP for Southport, said: "Blowing millions on marketing and Twitter is not how people want money spent. This amount of money could be spent on far better things than social networking and flashy websites. These do not make people better. Better standards of basic care in hospitals and reductions in health waiting lists are the biggest problems in the North West and these should be the priority. There is a real shortage of basic staff in every hospital - not surgeons or sophisticated doctors, but basic staff who need to be around when people just need ordinary types of care."

The Taxpayers' Alliance also criticised the spending. Its spokesman, Susie Squire, said: "The NHS is under strain so we need to prioritise life-saving operations above frittering away money on this sort of PR. When it comes to delivering health care messages you should always go for the most efficient method and not the most fashionable."

She added: "The NHS needs to go back to listening to what patients want which is better quality health care and not swanky marketing. People are going to look at this and say 'Why are you spending £30 million on marketing and PR when I can't get the right cancer drugs or a hip operation?'"

NHS North West said the £30 million figure was an estimate of what might be spent if 50 or so organisations pooled their resources.

A spokesman added: "Social marketing is about influencing behaviour through different projects and different campaigns not just social networking or Social Media. The marketing may include social sites like Twitter and Facebook, but there is so much more (available). It works out at around £150,000 per year, per organisation, which is around £1.07 per year per head of population."

Link:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/twitter/5833895/Health-officials-spend-30000-on-Twitter-and-Facebook-marketing-campaign.html

NHS Hull Uses Social Media Marketing

NHS Hull has commissioned an innovative promotional campaign aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of measles and how to protect children from the disease.

The ‘Keep Measles Out of Hull!’ campaign has been commissioned by NHS Hull, and is delivered by Hull-based communications agency T Media with the support of staff and pupils at schools throughout Hull.

Central to the campaign is the production and online promotion of a series of humorous videos featuring pupils from St Nicholas Primary School, Spring Cottage Primary School and Highlands Primary School.

The campaign is the first time that NHS Hull has used online social networks as the main media for a localised health promotion campaign. Many school age children may not have been vaccinated against measles because of worries or fears about between the MMR vaccine and autism in 1998 – a claim that has now been completely discredited. Keep Measles Out of Hull! Aims to reach children, parents and carers of children who haven’t been vaccinated, and therefore remain unprotected and at risk of catching measles.

The videos will be promoted via traditional offline media, though primarily through social media sites such as YouTube and facebook. This media was selected because mums of young children are the UK’s largest user group on Facebook, the world’s largest social networking site.

The videos serve as a reminder to parents and carers to check if their child is fully vaccinated, and if not, to make an appointment for their unprotected children to receive the MMR vaccine.

The videos feature messages from children about the effects of measles and how to get vaccinated against the disease. Humorous features within the videos include children impersonating measles, ongoing mispronunciations of medical terms, as well as colourful creations of measles cartoon characters.

By working with local schools the campaign has engaged with children, and will then be used to engage with parents and carers as the campaign progresses.

Kathleen Young, Nurse Consultant for NHS Hull said:

“Many people underestimate the severity of measles. The dangers are very real, as was demonstrated by the outbreak in Wales and the North West which recently saw many children become quite ill. To date over thirty people have had to go to hospital in the past month alone.

“We need to help parents and carers of children in Hull understand the risk of not protecting their children against measles, as well as get the message across that no child is too old to be immunised. All children deserve, and have a right to, this free protection.”

John Gilbert, Marketing Director of T Media who were commissioned by NHS Hull to deliver the campaign said: “Although we are dealing with a serious health risk, there have been a lot of positives in working on this campaign already. The schools have been very helpful and the children have been creative and full of energy.”

“The videos don’t use scare tactics. That approach wouldn’t work in this case. We wanted the videos to be make you smile as well as think; this helps with the viral aspect of the campaign. As we’ve seen some of these kids have definitely got star quality.”

NHS Hull are working with T Media and other organisations to develop approaches whereby comedy can be used to appeal to certain members of the community and communicate serious health messages in an effective way.

The videos and more information about the campaign can be found at the main website www.keepmeaslesoutofhull.co.uk,

YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/keepmeaslesoutofhull,

and the Facebook page at www.keepmeaslesoutofhull.co.uk/facebook

NHS Hull will be monitoring the impact that this campaign has on the number of children being vaccinated against measles when compared to previous years.

Social Media Campaign Aims to Keep Measles Out of Hull!

NHS Hull has commissioned an innovative promotional campaign aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of measles and how to protect children from the disease.

The 'Keep Measles Out of Hull!' campaign has been commissioned by NHS Hull, and is delivered by Hull-based communications agency T Media with the support of staff and pupils at schools throughout Hull.

Central to the campaign is the production and online promotion of a series of humorous videos featuring pupils from St Nicholas Primary School, Spring Cottage Primary School and Highlands Primary School.

The campaign is the first time that NHS Hull has used online social networks as the main media for a localised health promotion campaign. Many school age children may not have been vaccinated against measles because of worries or fears about between the MMR vaccine and autism in 1998 – a claim that has now been completely discredited. Keep Measles Out of Hull! Aims to reach children, parents and carers of children who haven’t been vaccinated, and therefore remain unprotected and at risk of catching measles.

The videos will be promoted via traditional offline media, though primarily through social media sites such as YouTube and facebook. This media was selected because mums of young children are the UK’s largest user group on Facebook, the world’s largest social networking site.

The videos serve as a reminder to parents and carers to check if their child is fully vaccinated, and if not, to make an appointment for their unprotected children to receive the MMR vaccine.

The videos feature messages from children about the effects of measles and how to get vaccinated against the disease. Humorous features within the videos include children impersonating measles, ongoing mispronunciations of medical terms, as well as colourful creations of measles cartoon characters.

By working with local schools the campaign has engaged with children, and will then be used to engage with parents and carers as the campaign progresses.

Kathleen Young, Nurse Consultant for NHS Hull said:

“Many people underestimate the severity of measles. The dangers are very real, as was demonstrated by the outbreak in Wales and the North West which recently saw many children become quite ill. To date over thirty people have had to go to hospital in the past month alone.

“We need to help parents and carers of children in Hull understand the risk of not protecting their children against measles, as well as get the message across that no child is too old to be immunised. All children deserve, and have a right to, this free protection.”

John Gilbert, Marketing Director of T Media who were commissioned by NHS Hull to deliver the campaign said: “Although we are dealing with a serious health risk, there have been a lot of positives in working on this campaign already. The schools have been very helpful and the children have been creative and full of energy.”

“The videos don’t use scare tactics. That approach wouldn’t work in this case. We wanted the videos to be make you smile as well as think; this helps with the viral aspect of the campaign. As we’ve seen some of these kids have definitely got star quality.”

NHS Hull are working with T Media and other organisations to develop approaches whereby comedy can be used to appeal to certain members of the community and communicate serious health messages in an effective way.

The videos and more information about the campaign can be found at the main website www.keepmeaslesoutofhull.co.uk,

YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/keepmeaslesoutofhull,

and the Facebook page at www.keepmeaslesoutofhull.co.uk/facebook

NHS Hull will be monitoring the impact that this campaign has on the number of children being vaccinated against measles when compared to previous years.