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The Ryan Gosling Effect:Tapping intoViral Memes to Change Health BehaviorThe Ryan Gosling Effect:Tapping intoViral Memes to Change Health Behavior
Amelia Burke-Garcia, MA,Westat
Christine Cotter, MPS, Westat
HEY GIRL...
it’s really important
to use digital and
social media to affect
behavior change
www.westat.com
Digital & Social Media and Public Health Why Ryan Gosling? Real World Example
Public health communicators
consistently find it hard to show
that any type of communication
intervention really changes behavior.
In most cases, intermediate outcomes
are used to show progress along a
continuum with the anticipation that
these outcomes will lead to the desired
longterm behavior change.
When social media consumers show
an overwhelming preference for
such online
phenomena,
how can a
public health
behavior change
campaign
connect?
The CDC MeetUp.com program:
• 10,000 people reached with
vaccination messages
• 17 groups got vaccinated together
• 302 people got vaccinated
• 12% increase in intent to get
vaccinated
• 28% decrease in negative attitudes
towards vaccination
Digital and social media, as newer
communication channels with
opportunities for engagement and
real-time data collection, helps bridge
the gap between intermediate and
long-term outcomes.
You can measure behavior change as a
result of social media in a variety of ways.
One is the (S.O.C.I.A.L.)© Framework.
The CDC program proved that tapping
into social media platforms where
information sharing is paramount
can successfully encourage people
to change their behaviors and get
vaccinated. “We got the flu vaccine
thanks to your campaign.”
—Babies Born in 2011
Although digital and social media
provide platforms that go beyond
exposure and awareness, they still
present a challenge to public health
communicators, who struggle to
use the media to effect and measure
behavior change.
CDC’s 2011-2012
National Influenza
Vaccination
Campaign addressed
these challenges by implementing
an innovative social media program
with MeetUp.com, an online social
networking website where people with
similar interests organize themselves
online but meet up offline.
In addition, health
messages must
compete with viral
memes like “Is
Ryan Gosling cuter than a puppy?”
and “LOLCats,” which tap into our
obsession with celebrity and provide
entertainment
and humor.
CDC used MeetUp.
com to find the
campaign’s at-
risk audiences and
encourage these
groups to
share flu
vaccination
messages
and get
vaccinated
together.
“The interactive aspects of social
media suddenly provide…a wealth of
tools to understand their consumers
and build correlation models to
better comprehend what they do and
why they do it.”
—Darren Cahr, SocialMediaToday
“Interactive technologies can change
people’s attitudes and behaviors
using influence strategies established
by the social sciences… persuasive
technology is ubiquitous on the Web,
and many Web services are successful
in bringing about behavior change.”
—BJ Fogg, Stanford University
Reach through
Content Syndication
Value of the campaign
Insights through
consumer engagement
with content
Actions taken
by audience and
by brand
HEY GIRL... HEY GIRL...
I bet you’re
wondering why
I’m on a poster about
public health
Here’s how we made
this all work with the
CDC and Meetup.com
Digital Media
Planning Process
Through Publisher
Communication
Paid Digital to Support
Key Brand Events
Direct-to-Consumer
Communication
Sustained Paid Media
http://heygirlaffordablecareact.
tumblr.com/
Developed by Amelia Burke, Westat