DH streamlines public health social marketing for 2012

The Department of Health (DH) will shortly launch public health communications for 2012, taking a 'linked behaviours' approach. It will tailor social marketing operations to follow the life course, instead of focusing on individual behaviour issues.

The strategy, Changing behaviour, Improving outcomes, was published in April 2011 and aims to increase effective communication of public health issues. It was followed by the Change4Life Three Year Social Marketing Strategy which stated the 'alcohol harm reduction campaign will be brought more fully under the Change4Life umbrella, embracing not only the calorific content of alcohol but also the wider health harms of alcohol for adults in mid-life.'

Operations will be supported by two agencies from this month - Freud Communications will manage creative PR for all public health campaigns and MEC will manage media planning. Freud Communications, who already handle PR for the Change4Life campaign, may prove a controversial choice as they also manage PR for Walkers Crisps and KFC.

There are four strands to the strategy, two of which are directly linked with reducing alcohol related harms. Change4Life will focus on diet and exercise issues concerning families and middle aged adults, and from February 2012 it will also include drinking. The Young People strand will focus on 'binge drinking', smoking and risky sexual behaviours.