Dumb ways to die; Laughing our way to public health

     I recently stumbled upon a great example of how technology and digital media have come together. A PSA from Melbourne Metro (the mass transit carrier) used YouTube via the internet illustrating how PSA's can be effective by utilizing popular entertainment communication channels. This digital video launched November 2013 as a PSA to increase train safety, went viral and the video had 11 million views in 4 days (Lister, 2013). Riding the coattails of the successful PSA, a mobile phone game was launched in 2013. The game app spouts 10 million downloads and is played by achieving higher levels by keeping dumb characters safe, at each level you are encouraged to take the safety around trains pledge.

 A new "Laugh Model" has been proposed for using social media for effectively targeting health promotion (Lister, 2013). A presentation at the National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing and Media in 2013 suggests that creating health messages that will reach today's audience will need to incorporate an edutainment centered approach. The model suggests the following core ideas; motive replacement, health need assessment, product development, non-traditional partners, behavioral monitoring and sustainability (Lister, 2013).  The presenters suggest this model will decrease the need for public funding for PSA's.

Reference

Lister, C. (2013, August). Laugh Model: Restructuring the Framework of Public Health in Social          Media. In 2013 National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing, and Media. CDC.          Retrieved from https://cdc.confex.com/nphic/nphic13/webprogram/Paper33216.html