Conferências ISEC Lisboa, 6 CIDAG

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A look into social marketing and risk communication in Latin America
Fernando dos Santos Almeida

Last modified: 2021-06-16

Abstract


The 2020 pandemic brought the rise of old and new names of important people. We, as the public, get used to seeing those people in the media who are in charge of helping us understand not only what is happening, but also what is likely to happen in the future, how to behave to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus and why. Through these and other educators, health agents and politicians, millions of people around the world have listened about physical distancing, "flattening the curve," wearing proper masks, vaccinations, antiviral medications, and much more. Daily risk communication usually has to do with personal health issues, like smoking or things like sexually transmitted infections or other preventable problems. In general, it focuses on reaching high-risk groups of people. For that reason, there are audiences that can be reached through marketing reach. The difference now is: during an emergency, everyone is at risk, or at least everyone in a certain community. Most emergencies are regional or local, but they are collective: many people are at risk at the same time, and not necessarily because of something they did or did not do. And emergencies are newsworthy. However, the current pandemic is exceptional because it cooperated with all the media all the time, in a way never seen before. Therefore, there is no problem in making people aware of the problem; We can focus on what needs to be done: helping the audience adopt and maintain risk-reducing behaviors, such as wearing masks and social distancing. And that's where social marketing and communication design thrive: promoting behavior change through commitment to positive social impact.

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