Physical Activity and its Benefits

Ques: Prepare a social marketing plan to influence behaviour change among an identified target audience.

Introduction.

What is social marketing and how is it helpful?.

Geographic location.

Target Audience. 

Segmentation of the Target group. 

Insight into the behavior of the target audience. 

Change in behavior of the target audience. 

Campaign of marketing and communication. 

   1 Approach of marketing. 

   2 Communication strategy. 

Implementation of the marketing plan. 

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Marketing Mix: 

1 Network mobilization. 

2 Modification of the issue.

3 Branding. 

4 Launching the advertisement.

5 Personalization of the issue. 

6 Changing the behaviors. 

7 Motivating people to change

8 Providing support to the people to change. 

9 Role of Press. 

Benefits of physical activity. 

Conclusion.

References. 

 Physical activity increases the bold circulation in the body. It is available in various forms. Exercise is a form of physical activity. Physical activity performed in a structured manner improves the physical fitness of the body. Participation in any kind of physical activity on a regular basis leads to reduction of the risk of physical health. Major diseases like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cancer can be prevented (Nhlbi.nih.gov, 2014). The modern environment in Australia promotes life style that is sedentary in nature. Obesity is a major issue that is affecting the young Australians. Obesity that leads to mental illness is one of the major issues that are affecting the lives of young Australians. Addressing these health issues will improve the livelihood of the young Australians. Awareness has to be developed among the young adults in addressing these fundamental issues. This will ensure long term well being of the young people. In 2010, it was found by Australian Institute of Health and Welfare that more than 25 % of the young Australian are obese or overweight. In the recent times the number has doubled. It has been predicted that by 2020 more that 65 % of the population of young Australians will be obese. The major reasons for being obese are the bad food habits and the lack of physical activity of the young Australians. This has led to short term and long term diseases. The young Australians are not aware of the health benefits of fruits and vegetables and indulge themselves in fast foods. It is important to have good eating habits during adolescence. Growth and normal development will take place if they consume food that is highly nutritious and promote normal growth and development. This has led to various diseases among at a young age among Australians. A social marketing plan has been developed in order to increase physical activity among the young Australians (Obesity Prevention Source, 2012).

 The application of the principles of marketing to achieve specific behavioral goals is known as social marketing. The process of social marketing will promote increase in physical activity among young Australians and result in overall healthy weight and healthy lifestyle by:

• A segmentation model is created. In this model the target individuals are identified. These people are the ones who need help. The attitudes and behaviors of the young Australians have to change as they lead a sedentary lifestyle.
• An insight is provided as to why the individuals possess the attitude and behavior.
• A communication campaign is created to change the attitudes.
• The behavior of the people can be changed by providing them with products (such as questionnaires, handbooks and web content).
• The campaign can be done with coalition with the non governmental agencies and commercial organizations that will bring the change in the behavior of the young Australians and increase their physical activity.

Obesity and its Impact on Young Australians

The impact of the behavior has to be long term. The scale of marketing has to be big. The marketing campaign should generate 1.6 million responses from the families where the young Australians lead a sedentary lifestyle. A customer relationship management program has to be developed with at least 1, 50,000 of the respondents to support the behavior change (Kotler and Lee, 2009) ; (Lefebvre, 2014).

 The marketing campaign will be telecasted in television and social media will be used as a platform for spreading the awareness. Apart from that printing media will be used to spread the awareness about the importance of physical activity. The marketing campaign will be carried on in the major areas of Australia. The campaign will focus on the areas like Sydney, New South Wales, Melbourne, Brisbane and Victoria.  The campaign will be carried on for a period of 12 months. It will focus on changing the behavior and lifestyle of the young Australians so that they can prevent the major chronic diseases.

 The target audiences for the marketing program are the young Australians. The focus of the program is on Australians aged between 20 to 30 years. They are  either school or college students or working professionals. They have a fast paced life. They indulge in a sedentary life style. Their fooding habit is unhealthy. They  most take fast food. The individuals of this age group hardly engage themselves in any kind of physical activity. This is increasing the rate of obesity among this  group and they are also facing major health issues.

 The emphasis is mainly put on the following group of audience –

1. School and College students who are aged between 16 to 25years.
2. Working professionals who are aged within 30 years and lead a sedentary lifestyle and the fast paced life.
3. Women who engage in less physical activity than men. They have unequal access to leisure time. They face certain personal and social barrier which prevents them fom any kind of engagement in physical activity.

 The families were segmented based on the level of riskiness towards developing chronic disease and obesity. The individuals with high risk of developing chronic diseases due to lack of physical activity fall into one group. The other group comprised of college students and the third group was women who faced certain barriers and thus could not engage in physical activity. The key influencers of the target audience are –

1. Parents and other members of the family who can influence the young Australians and make them understand the importance of physical activity.
2. Teachers and educational professionals
3. Health professionals
4. Colleges

The reasons for the increase in physical inactivity among the young Australians are numerous. The young Australians show a sedentary behavior. The major reasons are –

• The decline in the physical activity levels is because passive modes of transport are used by the young Australians.
• There are several environmental factors which have arisen as a result of rapid urbanization. This has discouraged the participation of the young adults in physical activity. The environmental hazards include increase in violence, increase in the density of traffic, poor quality of air, air pollution and lack of parks and recreation facilities for physical activity (Who.int, 2014).
• Increase in work pressure has also led to physical inactivity among young Australians. The young working professionals do not find time to work out and take care of their health. They are preoccupied in their professional and personal world.
• Young Australians prefer indoor games like video games and other computer games instead of the outdoor games. This has contributed to the sedentary lifestyle of the young Australians. They prefer watching TV, reading books, surfing the net instead of playing and roaming with friends. All these factors have contributed to the increase in physical inactivity among this age group.
• According to most parents, their children already very active and they are dependent on the colleges and other educational organizations to make sure that they lead an active life style.
• The sedentary lifestyle of the young Australians is encouraged by the parents. The parents lack the motivation to inspire them in physical activity as they are preoccupied with their own work.
• Short journeys are covered by using cars as it is more convenient and it adds status to the family.
• In Australia, for many families education is the top priority. As a result the college students spend their free time by doing their homework (Cdc.gov, 2014).

 There is no universally accepted model for change in behavior of the individuals in terms of increasing physical activity. Certain successful principles have been derived for the current program which has been found to be successful earlier. The two stages identified for change in behavior are –

1. Right preconditions are to be created for change in behavior.
2. The individuals should be supported in their behavior change journey.

In order to create the right preconditions, the following conditions has to be met –

• Reasons for dissatisfaction of the present situation
• Building a positive image of the future
• One should have the belief and confidence to change one’s ability.
• One should have triggers to implement the action
• One should be equipped with proper knowledge in order to change successfully

 Physical activity can be increased among the young adults if the following preconditions are met. Young adults can change their behavior by abiding by the following preconditions. Change in behavior can occur in the young adults if they are aware of the fact that physical activity can lead to physical inactivity (Obesity Prevention Source, 2012). The risk of the chronic disease should be understood by the individuals in order to bring a change in behavior. The individuals should know what they want to change and believe that change in sedentary lifestyle is possible.

Social Marketing for Behavioral Change

 The marketing plan will include the following elements –

• Questionnaires should be prepared to have face to face interaction with the target audience.
• Mass media can be used to spread awareness about the importance of physical activity
• Practical goals should be set by families to bring change in their behaviors in order to fulfill their aspirations.
• People should be reminded of their goals and they should recognize their achievement. In order to continue with the change incentives can be arranged (Matt Sloane, 2014).

The marketing approach can be successful with the collaborative effort of health professionals, colleges, government organizations, NGOs and advertising. The target group has to understand the importance of physical activity by their marketing campaign. Government can take active participation in the social marketing plan for increasing physical activity among young Australians by distributing the communication program across the various departments.

1. The department of transport can use materials that encourage walking and cycling as a means of physical activity.
2. Swimming can be encouraged by the department of Culture, media and sport.
3. Department of food will be responsible for campaigning the health benefits of healthy lifestyle.

NGOs can use advertising campaign to advertise the objectives of the program and the outline the reasons behind the program. Awareness should be raised via these programs that lack in physical activity will lead to gain in weight and disease. NGOs already understand the importance of physical activity in the lifestyle of an individual but the advertising campaign will reinforce the message that they want to communicate. The government campaign will receive trust from the public.

Locally, activists in the community can participate in the program. The involvement of the commercial sector is crucial for the large scale success of the marketing program. These organizations will be able to reach out to the target audience and make the campaign successful.

The commercial partners will promote the importance of physical activity and good diet. These marketing campaigns will inspire the young Australians in changing their behaviors.

 Fundamentals changes have to be brought in the lifestyle of the individuals in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Effective communication will act as a catalyst and implement fundamental changes in the behaviors of the individuals. Communication strategy will achieve the following objectives –

1. Increase the awareness among the individuals about the importance of physical activity.
2. Providing strategies to implement the change in the behavior.
3. Advice to be provided in order to change the sedentary lifestyle.
4. Creating awareness among the people that the lifestyle choices of the individuals are threatening and it can result in chronic diseases.

The marketing plan will be for a period of 12 months. It will consist the following of the following stages.

 Social marketing is often known as 1P marketing. Advertising and branding plays a major role in making the marketing campaign successful.

The campaign for promoting physical activity will be for a period of 12 months. The engagement with the partners, activists and the NGOs will be for 12 months. The network was build up by the participation of

1. The PR department will be responsible for highlighting the importance of physical activity.
2. The government agencies provided commitment of supporting the campaign.
3. Commercial partners like Coles , PepsiCo and Kellogg’s provided commitment of spreading awareness via advertising and setting up of programs that boost physical activity.
4. Networking can be done by using social media like Face book and Twitter to promote the importance of physical activity in the life of the young adults. This will prevent diseases at a later stage of their life. The individuals can lead a healthy lifestyle.

It should be launched to the public via television, advertising, PR agency and website campaigning that lack of physical activity among the young Australians is not a fault of the parents and the other family members of the young Australians but it is a result of the modern lifestyle of the young Australians. It is issue that is a major concern for everyone in the society.

The branding of the campaign should be effective. It should showcase the main theme that is inspiring. The name used for the campaign can be “Change for Good”. The name consists of words that will act as an aspiration as well as signifies that the change will be for a longer duration. The young Australians will find the brand name appealing and they will be motivated towards achieving the desired goal. The brand name does not contain any negative words. It signifies positivity as the way of life (Lauren, 2014).

 The advertisement will be launched to the public via advertisement i.e. by using television, newspaper, and social media. The advertisement will not talk about obesity or chronic diseases. It will talk about the importance of physical activity and how it can be easily achieved. The change that will be noticed in the life of an individual if one indulges in physical activity on a regular basis will be shown in the advertisement. The advertisement should be attractive and voice the major issue distinctly. The link between lack of physical activity and illness and reduction of life expectancy should be clearly outlined in the advertisement. The advertisement should be positioned in such a manner so that it will motivate maximum audience (Thackeray et al., 2008).

Target Audience and Influencers

An application can be used that will have questionnaire about the health issues that will result from physical inactivity. This will be published in Face book. It is seen that more that 80 % of the Young Australians are on face book and more than 50% of them surf it regularly. Thus this app will make them aware of the health issues that can result from physical inactivity. They will also understand the importance of staying fit. The application will also contain certain questions that calculate the percentage of physical inactivity of the Young Australian and show the implications at the end. The questionnaire survey can be conducted both online and as paper survey. This can be distributed through wide range of channels that will maximize the outreach. The awareness about physical activity can be spread via –

• It can be dropped in the doors directly in the high density areas.
• The survey can be conducted face to face via field marketing.
• Television media can be used.
• Distribution can be done via doctors, pharmacists.
• Magazines can form as an effective form of advertisement
• Campaigns can be published in online websites.

Parents and the family members can help their children to achieve their goals. They can indulge in physical activity with their motivation. They can devote at least minimum half an hour of their daily routine in any kind of physical activity. If the families are encouraged then the young Australians will be motivated. Once they incorporate physical activity in their daily lifestyle the young Australians will find it interesting and enjoy it. They will motivate their friends and in this will way the initiative will be successful.

In order to bring the change in the lifestyle, the young generation should believe that change is possible. They should incorporate physical activity in their daily activity like any other form of activity like eating and sleeping. The marketing campaign will be strategized in such a manner so that it is highly motivating. It should showcase some live examples that how physical activity has modified the life of individuals. The PR campaigning should be very strong. The health authorities should participate in the program and help in funding. The advertising has to be huge in order to make the plan a success.

The customer relationship management program will provide encourage to the campaign. Support and encouragement should be provided to the families from time to time to change the sedentary lifestyle of the young Australians. This will be possible by making the physical activity attractive and motivating the individuals in living a healthy lifestyle. They should understand that eating healthy is not enough. In order to live a healthy lifestyle they should understand the importance of physical activity (Change for Life – Marketing Strategy, 2009; p-10-50).

The press can play a major role in spreading the awareness about the benefits of physical activity. The press has been showing concern about addressing the social issues; they can also address this issue in a serious way. The press can present real stories related to the benefits of physical activity or presenting the negative aspects of sedentary lifestyle. The target audience will find these stories inspiring and gather motivation from these stories. People follow the press releases and news on a regular basis. Their content might be fake but still it is believed by the readers. Press will play a major role in bringing the change among the young Australians (Tapp and Eagle, 2008); (Guinn et al., 2012 ; p-1-20).

Reasons for Physical Inactivity Among Young Australians

Physical activity improves the blood circulation in the body. It improves the lifestyle of an individual. The individual can remain healthy for a longer duration of time. It will eradicate the chronic disease like diabetes, cancer and other major diseases. The benefits of physical activity can be outlined as follows –

Any form of physical activity leads to development of the brain. It enhances the cognitive functioning of the brain, improves memory and behavior of the individual. The academic achievement of the students is also enhanced. Physical activity is essential for the healthy growth and development of the young Australians.

Lack of physical activity leads to chronic disease. It has been seen that over 70% of the young population of Australia suffer from one chronic disease. It has impacted the health system of Australia and the inactivity has resulted in chronic diseases. The benefits of physical activity in reducing the chronic diseases are as follows –

1. Positive outcome has been found in case of organ transplantation for people engaged in physical activity.
2. The mortality and morbidity rate has reduced due to physical activity.
3. Physical activity has led to reduction and prevention of type 2 diabetes and other health problems.
4. The psychological distress like depression has been lowered by regular physical activity.
5. Physical activity helps in the management of the chronic diseases by reduction of the progression of any disease and improvement of the quality of life (Dunn et al., 2005) ; (Nhlbi.nih.gov, 2014).

Exercise is the best way to keep the bones and the muscles healthy (Health.gov, 2014). The joint related problems can be prevented by regular exercising. The strength of the muscles and the bone will increase with regular physical activity (Cdc.gov, 2014).

The immune function of the body improves by regular physical activity. It promotes circulation of blood. The risk of infectious diseases reduces. Moderate working out like cycling and jogging prevents the risk of diseases. An individual can lead a healthy life for a longer duration of time by regular exercising (Hsph.harvard.edu, 2014) ; (Better Health Channel, 2014) ; (Cheng, Kotler and Lee, 2011).

 Conclusion:

The main motive of the social marketing plan is to change the sedentary lifestyle of the young Australians. Physical activity is the key to healthy lifestyle. The campaign should be large enough to raise the awareness of the common people. The marketing campaign should reach out to the maximum audience in the period of 12 months. The success of the campaign has to regularly monitor. The marketing campaign will be successful if it is able to bring a change in behavior among the young Australians. The evaluation of the programme can be measures by the success in spreading awareness and changing the attitude of the young Australians.

 References

Better Health Channel,. (2014). Physical activity – it’s important – Better Health Channel.

Cdc.gov,. (2014). Physical Activity for Everyone: The Benefits of Physical Activity | DNPAO | CDC. 

Cdc.gov,. (2014). Physical Activity for Everyone: Overcoming Barriers to Physical Activity | DNPAO | CDC. 

Change for Life – Marketing Strategy. (2009) (1st ed., pp. 10-50). 

Cheng, H., Kotler, P., & Lee, N. (2011). Social marketing for public health. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett.

Dunn, A., Trivedi, M., Kampert, J., Clark, C., & Chambliss, H. (2005). Exercise treatment for depression. American Journal Of Preventive Medicine, 28(1), 1-8. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2004.09.003

Guinn, T., Allen, C., Semenik, R., & Scheinbaum, A. (2012). Advertising and Integrated Brand Promotion (pp. 1-20).

Health.gov,. (2014). 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans: Chapter 2. 

Hsph.harvard.edu,. (2014). The Benefits of Physical Activity | The Nutrition Source | Harvard School of Public Health. 

Kotler, P., & Lee, N. (2009). Up and out of poverty. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Wharton School Publishing.

Lauren, L. (2014). The Advantages & Disadvantages of Branding & Identity. Small Business – Chron.com. 

Lefebvre, R. (2014). Social Marketing and Social Change: Strategies and Tools For Improving ….

Matt Sloane, C. (2014). Physical inactivity causes 1 in 10 deaths worldwide, study says. CNN. 

Nhlbi.nih.gov,. (2014). Benefits of Physical Activity – NHLBI, NIH. 

Nhlbi.nih.gov,. (2014). What Are the Health Risks of Overweight and Obesity? – NHLBI, NIH.

Obesity Prevention Source,. (2012). Health Risks. 

Obesity Prevention Source,. (2012). Physical Activity.

Tapp, A., & Eagle, L. (2008). SOCIAL MARKETING-BASED STRATEGY FOR OBESITY INTERVENTIONS (1st ed., pp. 30-60).

Thackeray, R., Neiger, B., Hanson, C., & McKenzie, J. (2008). Enhancing promotional strategies within social marketing programs: use of Web 2.0 social media. Health Promotion Practice, 9(4), 338–343.

Who.int,. (2014). WHO | Physical Inactivity: A Global Public Health Problem.