Two groups taking a user-centered approach to getting the word out

I came across two interesting articles in the NY Times this morning. The first is called “Seeking to Save the Planet, With a Thesaurus.” The second article is “When the Cellphone Teaches Sex Education.” Both are about reframing problems and their resulting solution delivery in a way that better resonates with the audience intended to receive the message.

The “Seeking to Save the Planet, With a Thesaurus”article talks of how ecoAmerica, a nonprofit environmental marketing and messaging firm in Washington, is taking steps to redefine “global warming”, believing that the scientific nature of the term itself is promoting inaction amongst the American public. Focus group results advocate that ecoAmerica, and other groups of the like, adjust their language, suggesting they use more aspirational terminology and plain English when speaking to the American public. So, for instance, instead of advocating for “energy efficiency” in their literature, it’s suggested these groups speak about how turning off the lights or taking shorter showers might help a family to “[save] money for a more prosperous future.” By reframing the problem (i.e. “global warming”) into goal statements, action steps can be visualized. The problems become less abstract and more tangible for the American public.

Similarly, the the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina, has reframed their outreach program, delivering sex education through text messaging versus a telephone hot line or in a classroom setting. The sense of anonymity offered by text frees teenagers to ask the real questions that they have about sex, as there is not chance that they’ll be ridiculed, hackled, etc. And the one-on-one attention and personalized responses ensure that the teenagers feel heard.

There is apparently a bit of controversy around whether or not the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign should be funded or not. It goes against the abstinence curriculum taught in the schools. And it’s not the most scalable system as it requires one-on-one counsel. I personally believe, however, that this approach has much merit.

You can promote abstinence, but regardless there will be teenagers having sex. The Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign is giving teenagers a place to go where they can feel safe, after they’ve made the choice to have sex (or while they’re trying to decide if this is something they want to do). Delivering responses via text, is no different than the “hot line” of years ago in it’s scalability. But there is another layer of anonymity offered to the exchange, which is proving to be an advantage in getting teenagers to open up and share what’s really on their mind.

In each of these cases, I applaud these groups. They’ve recognized that maybe the “status quo” way of doing things hasn’t been sufficient and are taking a step back to ask, “How do we reach our audience in a way that works for them?” Congrats to you both!

Categories: User-centered approach