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The most comprehensive and up-to-date textbook on public communication campaigns currently available Fundamentals of Public Communication Campaigns provides students and practitioners with the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to create and implement effective messaging campaigns for an array of real-world scenarios. Assuming no prior expertise in the subject, this easily accessible textbook clearly describes more than 700 essential concepts of public communication campaigns. Numerous case studies illustrate real-world media campaigns, such as those promoting COVID-19 vaccinations and social distancing, campaigns raising awareness of LGBTQ+ issues, entertainment and Hollywood celebrity campaigns, and social activist initiatives including the #MeToo movement and Black Lives Matter (BLM). Opening with a thorough introduction to the Fundamentals of Public Communication Campaigns, the text examines a wide array of different health communication campaigns, social justice and social change campaigns, and counter-radicalization campaigns. Readers learn about the theoretical foundations of public communication campaigns, the roles of persuasion and provocation, how people's attitudes can be changed through fear appeals, the use of ethnographic research in designing campaigns, the ethical principles of public communication campaigns, the potential negative effects of public messaging, and much more. * Describes each of the 10 steps of public communication campaigns, from defining the topic and setting objectives to developing optimal message content and updating the campaign with timely and relevant information * Covers public communication campaigns from the United States as well as 25 other countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, India, Israel, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom * Offers a template for creating or adapting messages for advertising, public relations, health, safety, entertainment, social justice, animal rights, and many other scenarios * Incorporates key theories such as the Diffusion of Innovations (DoI) theory, social judgment theory (SJT), the Health Belief Model (HBM), social cognitive theory (SCT), and self-determination theory (SDT) * Includes in-depth case studies of communication campaigns of Islamophobia, antisemitism, white supremacism, and violent extremism. Fundamentals of Public Communication Campaigns is the perfect textbook for undergraduate students across the social sciences and the humanities, and a valuable resource for general readers with interest in the subject.
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Cover
Title page
Copyright
Introduction
Public Communication Campaigns
Changes in the Media Landscape
What This Textbook Offers
A Comprehensive Focus
An Easy Focus
An International Focus
A Practical Focus
A Theoretical Focus
Summary of All Chapters
Notes
PART I Introducing Public Communication Campaigns
CHAPTER 1 Definitions, Strategies, and Background Information
What Are Public Communication Campaigns?
A Method of Reform and Governance
Public Communication Campaigns vs. Advertising
Two Main Types of Public Communication Campaigns
Communication
Definitions
Communication as a Mediator of Social Change
Community-Based and Interpersonal Communication
Messaging
The “Public” Aspect of Campaigns
Public Communication
Public Sphere
Segmented Communication
Personal Messaging
Focal Segments
Experiential Identity
Diffusion of Innovations (DoI): An Introduction
Five Steps of Diffusion
Four Elements of DoI
Diffusion of Innovations (DoI): Social Capital
Social Network Analysis
Centralized, Decentralized, and All-Channel Networks
Case Study: The Guy-to-Guy Project
Diffusion of Innovations (DoI): Opinion Leadership
Friends and Colleagues as Opinion Leaders
Social Influencers in the Internet Era
Public Communication Campaigns in History
Case Study 1: The United States
Case Study 2: The Temperance Movement
Case Study 3: Singapore
Current Strategies of Communication Campaigns
Social Marketing
Marketing Perspectives
Five Types of Social Marketing
Social Norms Marketing
Social Norms
Types of Social Norms
Peer Groups
Third-Person Effect
The Theory of Planned Behavior
Notes
CHAPTER 2 The 10 Steps of Public Communication Campaigns
Step 1: Define and Select Your Topic
Step 2: Set Goals and Objectives
Step 3: Analyze and Understand the Situation Beforehand
Planning
Formative Research
Communication Design
Step 4: Define Your Audience(s)
Audience Analysis
Audience Beliefs
Audience Values
Audience Needs
Audience Adaptation
Audience Perception
Step 5: Understand the Timeline and Budget
Allocating the Budget
Government Funding
Step 6: Choose Appropriate Media
What Medium to Use?
Media Advocacy
Audience Engagement on Social Networks
Building a Website for the Campaign?
Uses & Gratifications (U&G) Theory
Step 7: Develop Optimal Message Content
Keep the Message Simple
Emphasize Benefits over Risks
Avoid Confusion
Copyright and Intellectual Property Issues
Step 8: Avoid Monologic Communication and Interact with Your Audience(s)
Monologic Communication
Dialogic Communication
Communal Mindset
Step 9: Update the Campaign with Timely, Relevant, and Accurate Information
Boost the Confidence to Make Changes
Update Campaign Memes
Step 10: Evaluate the Overall Campaign
What Is Meant by “Evaluation“?
Beginning at the Outset of the Campaign
Different Platforms for Evaluation
Notes
CHAPTER 3 Persuasion in Public Communication Campaigns
Three Types of Messages
Three Paths of Persuasion
Logos, Pathos, and Ethos
Logos
Pathos
Ethos
Behavior Change Communication (BCC)
Behavioral Intention
Belief Change
Priming
Repeated Exposure
Self-Affirmation Theory
The Three Components
Self-Integrity
The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
Central Route
Peripheral Route
The Transtheoretical Model
The Five Stages
Application to the Struggles of Obesity
Understanding Attitude
Attitude Object
Attitude Change
Ego
Social Judgment Theory (SJT)
The Three-Part Latitude
Persuasion as a Two-Stage Process
Attitude Accessibility Theory
Examples
Biased Message Processing
Expectancy Theory
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
Three Components of Expectancy Theory
The 10 Ethical Principles of Public Communication Campaigns
1—Ethical Campaigners Are Factual
2—Ethical Campaigners Are Honest
3—Ethical Campaigners Act with Integrity
4—Ethical Campaigners Balance the Message
5—Ethical Campaigners Demonstrate Respect
6—Ethical Campaigners Give Informed Choices
7—Ethical Campaigners Do Not Violate Individuals’ Autonomy
8—Ethical Campaigners Avoid Conflicts of Interests
9— E thical Campaigners Avoid Unnecessarily Privileging One Group over Another
10—Ethical Campaigners Are Responsible
Persuasive Effects of Public Communication Campaigns
Five Positive Effects of Public Communication Campaigns
Unintended Effects
Indirect Routes
The 12 Negative Effects of Public Communication Campaigns
1—Low External Locus of Control
2—Messages that Produce the Opposite Behavior
3—Reactance
4—Widening Disparity
5—Opportunity Cost
6—Enabling
7—Loss of Self-Esteem
8—Less Enjoyment
9—Culpability
10—Increased Danger to One’s Health
11—Misunderstanding
12—Desensitization
Notes
CHAPTER 4 Thought-Provoking Public Communication Campaigns
The Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM)
Past Research
The EPPM as a Process Model
Sensation Seeking
High-Sensation Seekers
Sensation Seeking Targeting (SENTAR)
Case Study
Sensation Value
Effects of Alarmist Language
Negative Effects: Case Studies
Nonconsequentialism: An Argument against Alarmist Language
Visual Materials
Responsive Chord
Vivid Information
Case Study: Climate Communication Campaigns
Provocation: Definitions
Case Study: Antismoking Campaigns in England
Shockvertising
Controversial, Troubling, Explicit, and Crass
Selective Perception Theory
Perceptual Defense and the Salience Effect
Framing Theory
Framing a Campaign
Gain-Framed vs. Loss-Framed Messages
Case Study: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
PETA as an Organization
Techniques and Communications
PETA’s Campaigns
Campaign #1: “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur”
Women as Headline-Grabbers
Female Sexuality and Female Bodies
Campaign #2: “Holocaust on Your Plate”
Holocaust, Animals, and Himmler
Personhood
Criticism
Describing PETA’s Campaigns through Self-Efficacy Theory and Inoculation Theory
Notes
PART II Health Communication Campaigns
CHAPTER 5 Health Communication Campaigns: General Perspectives
Perceptions of Health over Time
Public Health
Communication Tools
Goals and Strategies
Noncommercial Aims
How Effective Are Health Communication Campaigns?
Perceptions of Mass Media Messages about Health
Five-Step Strategy for Better Health Communication Campaigns
Antismoking Campaigns
The Health Belief Model (HBM)
The Negative Effects of Stigmatizing Smokers in Campaigns
Case Study: The truth Campaign
“Finish It”
Methods
truth’s Most Recognized Media
Effects of the truth Campaign
Costs of the Campaign
Bar-Based Interventions
Harm Reduction Campaigns
Campaigns to Legalize Prostitution
Case Study: DanceSafe
Criticism of Harm Reduction Campaigns
Case Study: HIV Campaigns in South Africa
HIV Campaigns
World AIDS Day
Case Study: Examining Social Determinants of Health (SDH) and ABC Behaviors in Uganda
Risky Sexual Behaviors
ABC Behaviors
ABC Behaviors Campaign in Uganda
Tackling Gender Inequities
Situation Today
Fisheries
Case Study: The “Clean India Mission” Campaign
Notes
CHAPTER 6 Differences in Literacy and Culture in Health Campaigns
Health Literacy
Four Message Characteristics
eHealth and the Digital Divide
Bridging the Digital Divide
E-Inclusion
Case Study: UNICEF’s Reimagine Education Campaign
Bridging the Digital Divide
Examples across the World
Facing Cultural Barriers
Antismoking Campaigns
Understanding Culture-Specific Interpretations
Case Study: Jamaica
Patois or Creole
The Health Literacy Problem
Targeted Community Intervention (TCI) for HIV/AIDS
Interventions through Oral Culture
The Five Attributes of Culture
Habitus
Structure
Socially Constructed and Historically Transmitted
Software of the Mind
Learned
Case Study: Gerber in Africa
Differences within Africa
Considering the Broader Picture and Formative Research
Case Study: A Case for Cultural Competency
Cultural Awareness, Knowledge, and Skill
Reducing Cross-Cultural Misunderstandings
Ethnographic Considerations for Health Campaigns
Participant Observation
Discovering Symbolic Cultures
Implications for Health Communication Campaigns
Notes
CHAPTER 7 Public Communication Campaigns during the COVID-19 Pandemic
COVID-19: Definitions and Facts
The Great Lockdown
Suicides, Mental Health Disorders, and Alcoholism
Risk Communication
Risk Communication vs. Crisis Communication
Strategic Communication
Infodemic Management
Strategies for COVID-19 Communication Campaigns
Early Campaigns as Infodemic Management
The 12 Principles of Social Distancing Campaigns
Case Study: Vietnam
Quick and Appropriate Response
“Jealous Coronavirus” Video
Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)
Consistent, Truthful Messages
Messages of Unity and Community Responsibility
COVID-19 Vaccination Campaigns
Vaccination-Driven Campaigns
Avoiding Manufacturing Consent
The Threat of Vaccine Hesitancy
Case Study: Israel
Public Communication Campaigns
Ultra-Orthodox Jews as Change Agents
Arab Communities in Israel
Countercampaign: Anti-Vaxxers
Anti-Vaxxers
The Role of Social Media
Notes
CHAPTER 8 Entertainment–Education, Digital Games, and Celebrity Campaigns
Behavioral and Social Change
Social Impact Entertainment (SIE)
Case Studies
EE in the United States
EE in the Latino World
EE in Africa
EE in Asia
Narrative Involvement
The Sabido Methodology
Identification and Wishful Identification
Perceived Similarity
Parasocial Interaction
Liking
Markers
Digital Games as Health Communication Campaigns
Gamification
Games for Health Promotion Programs
Game Features
Games for Change (GfC), Serious Games, and Persuasive Games
Serious Games
Persuasive Games
Self-Determination Theory (SDT)
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
Autonomy
Competence
Relatedness
Dasein
Celebrity Health Campaigns
Celebrities’ Participation
Public Service Announcement (PSAs)
Case Study: Prince William’s Mental Health Campaign
The Heads Up Campaign
The Heads Together Campaign
Impact of Celebrity Health Disclosure
The Kylie Effect
The Selena Effect
Notes
PART III Communication Campaigns For Social Justice and Social Change
CHAPTER 9 Social Justice and Social Change
What Is Social Justice?
Social Movements
Social Justice Warriors (SJWs)?
The Ultimate Objective of Social Justice Campaigns: Social Change
What Is Social Change?
Manifestations of Social Change
Case Study 1: Campaign against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Africa
Statistics
The End FGM/C Social Change Campaign
Communicating Facts to the Public
Advocating for Human Rights
Absolute Rights and Natural Rights
Conscientization
Critical Questioning
Citizen Participation
Case Study 2: Campaign against Honor Killing in Pakistan
Beyond Individual Family Matters and across Cultures
Humanity Healing International’s Campaign
Citizen Participation
Campaigning for Environmental Policies
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Ecological Responsibility
Green Campaigns for Young Green Audiences
Nongovernmental Organizations
The Types of Nongovernmental Organizations
The Four Orientations
Notes
CHAPTER 10 The #MeToo Campaign
Sexual Misconduct: Key Terms and Definitions
Sexual Harassment and Rape Culture
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
Sexual Misconduct: Statistics and Facts
Situation in the United States
Situation on US College Campuses
Situation in the US Workplace
The #MeToo Campaign: General Perspectives
The #MeToo Movement
Hashtag Activism and User Generated Content
The #MeToo Campaign: Positive Impact in the United States
Removing Perpetrators from Positions of Power
Impact on US Employer Disciplinary Practices
Impact on US College Campuses
Impact on US Legal Reforms
The #MeToo Campaign: Positive Impact around the World
Australia
South Korea
France, Sweden, and the UK
Theories: Spiral of Silence
A Platform for Women
Battling Long-Established Traditions
Theories: Muted Group Theory
Marginalized or Muted Groups
Case Study: China
Theories: Intimate Publicity, Epistemic Injustice, and Critical Race Feminism
Epistemic Injustice
Critical Race Feminism
Theories: Social Identity Theory
In-Groups vs. Out-Groups
Male vs. Female Perceptions of #MeToo
The #MeToo Campaign: Negative Impact
Egypt and China
The Danger of Passive Empathy
Notes
CHAPTER 11 Public Communication Campaigns for LGBTQ+ Communities
LGBTQ+: Key Terms and Definitions
Gender Expression and Gender Identity
Opposition and Homophobia
An Introduction to LGBTQ+ Campaigns
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Institutional Actors
Signaling and Human Rights Language
Case Study 1: The GLAAD Campaigns
The “Be an Ally and a Friend” Campaign
The “Talking to the Middle” Campaign
GLAAD’s Campaign through Televised Productions
Applying Agenda-Setting Theory to GLAAD’s Campaigns
Implications for Campaigns
Making LGBTQ+ a Salient Issue
Queer Theory
Case Study 2: Campaign against Homophobia in Poland
Gay and Lesbian Organizations in Poland
Campaign against Homophobia
Challenging Ignorance
The Situation Today
Case Study 3: LGBTQ+ Campaigns in Brazil
The Situation Today
The Brazil without Homophobia Campaign
The Free & Equal Campaign
The Diversity in School Campaign
Notes
CHAPTER 12 Black Lives Matter Campaigns
Growth of a Movement
Roots in the Civil Rights Movement
George Floyd’s Death
Black Lives Matter UK
BLM Campaigns: An Introduction
Framing a New Visual Rhetoric
Symbolic Representation
Campaign against Police Brutality
Three Types of Victimhood
Campaign Zero
Campaign against Systemic Racism
Campaign against the Unfair Justice System
Combating the Four Domains of Power
Denouncing Respectability Politics
A Note on BLM’s Social Media Usage
Forming Coalitions with Like-Minded Activists
Slacktivism
Intersectionality: An Introduction
Rooted in Historical Marginalization
Embedded in Neo-Marxist and Feminist Scholarship
Allyship
Intersectionality and BLM
Case Study 1: Alicia Garza’s Herstory Campaign
Case Study 2: The BLMTO Campaign
Standpoint Theory, Critical Race Theory, and Critical Social Justice
Critical Race Theory
Disagreement with Critical Race Theory
Critical Social Justice
Notes
PART IV Terrorist, Extremist, And Anti–Terrorist Communication Campaigns
CHAPTER 13 Terrorist Communication Campaigns: Two Major Case Studies
Violent Extremism, Radicalization, and Indoctrination
Radicalization
Indoctrination
Terrorist Communications
Terrorist vs. Traditional Communication Campaigns
Terrorist Communications until and after the Twenty-First Century
Case Study 1: The FARC in Colombia
The FARC’s Ideology
The FARC’s Structure
The FARC’s Communications
Four Types of Audiences
La Voz de la Resistencia
Applying Speech Act Theory to the FARC’s Public Communication Campaigns
Locutionary, Illocutionary, and Perlocutionary Acts
The Bolivarian Populist Campaign
Using Human Rights Language
The FARC’s Propaganda
Institutional Theory and Organizational Legitimacy
The Deception of the Marquetalia Campaign
Case Study 2: The Rwanda Genocide
Why the Rwanda Genocide?
An Introduction to Radio Campaigns
Spreading Propaganda and Lies
Radio as “Truth-Teller” in Rwanda
Radio Machete
Kill-or-Be-Killed Frame
Valérie Bemeriki: Charismatic Broadcaster
Media System Dependency Theory
Euphemisms in the Radio Machete Campaign
Euphemisms: A Description
Euphemisms in Terrorism
Euphemisms in the Rwanda Genocide
Euphemisms for Killing
Euphemisms in Kinyarwanda
Euphemisms to Hurt Women
Notes
CHAPTER 14 Public Communication Campaigns of White Supremacism
A Violent Ideology
Statistics on Right-Wing Terrorism
Key Terms on White Supremacism
White Supremacist Campaigning through the Manosphere
The MGTOW Campaign
Global Participation
The Alt-Right
Leaderless Resistance
Case Study: “It’s Okay to Be White“
Social Media Platforms
Different Locations
White Male Victimization Narratives
The Proud Boys
The Proud Boys’ Ideology
The Proud Boys’ Campaign Tactics
Case Study: The “2020 Voter Fraud” Campaign
Opponents to the November 2020 Election Results
The 2021 US Capitol Riots
QAnon
Group Polarization and Groupthink
Notes
CHAPTER 15 Public Communication Campaigns of Islamophobia and Antisemitism
Islamophobia: An Introduction
Origins of the Word
Current Definitions
Satirical Cartoons
Case Study 1: Islamophobia in India
Hindutva or Hindu Nationalism
The Persistence of Islamophobia
Islamophobia during the COVID-19 Pandemic in India: General Information
Fears of Islamic Revivalism
From Unfounded Anxieties to Othering
Public Communication Campaign of Islamophobic Hashtags
#CoronaJihad
#TablighiJamatVirus
Disastrous Consequences
An Application of Terror Management Theory (TMT)
Cultural Survival through Prejudice
TMT and Islamophobia
Antisemitism: An Introduction
Antisemitic Ideology and Prejudice
Scapegoating and False Accusations
Holocaust Denial
Case Study 2: Antisemitism in Hungary
Past Perspectives
Contemporary Perspectives
The “Christian-National” Campaign in Hungary
A Reminiscence of Hungarian Complicity in the Holocaust
Hate Communication Campaigns
Intertextuality
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
Notes
CHAPTER 16 Antiterrorist Public Communication Campaigns
Winning the War of Ideas
Counterradicalization Campaigns
Counterradicalization vs. Deradicalization
The “Soft Power“ Approach
Moving to the Online Space
The Terrorists’ YouTube Effect
Strategies for Pushing Back
Case Study 1: Exit USA
Case Study 2: Exit Norway
Case Study 3: Building Community Resilience
Community Resilience
Building Community Resilience
Case Study 4: Average Mohamed
Targeting Muslim Youths
Emphasizing the Self, Not the Other
Case Study 5: Saudi Arabia’s Prevention Campaigns
Prevention, Rehabilitation, and After Care (PRAC)
The Sakinah Campaign
Case Study 6: Antiterrorism through Entertainment–Education (EE) in the Middle East
Case Study 7: Say No to Terror
Rejecting Violence
Exposing Jihadism through Videos
Case Study 8: Reparation Campaigns in Australia
Aboriginal Australians Today
Racist Violence and Indirect Terrorism
Reparation Campaigns
Study by Donovan and Leivers
The Mixed Results of Antiterrorist Communication Campaigns
Notes
Glossary
Index
End User License Agreement
Chapter 5
Table 5.1 Direct outputs of the Finish It campaign (2014–2016)
Cover
Title page
Copyright
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Glossary
Index
End User License Agreement
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Divided into 16 chapters, this textbook describes the fundamentals of public communication campaigns for beginners; more specifically, for large audiences like undergraduate students and readers from both the United States and countries around the world. Unlike most works on that subject, this textbook has a considerably high international focus, a thorough description of over 700 basic concepts, and numerous real-life case studies―all of which being infused with communication theories. While this is not a perfect volume and there is still progress to be made, the author makes the point that successful public communication campaigns are ones that diversify their strategies and discard the notion that information alone is the solution to induce individual and/or social change. Effective campaigns are no longer based on the erroneous perception that society will improve if audiences acquire more information. Rather, campaigns are increasingly paying attention to context and combining their traditional media and behavior change strategies with social media and direct, face-to-face community action. In the end, this makes the social and human environment more supportive of the desired campaign outcomes.1
Public communication campaigns are typically large-scale initiatives designed, sponsored, and run by state actors or nonstate actors to alter people’s behaviors, attitudes, social norms, and/or beliefs.2 As Gültekin and Gültekin (2012) reason,3 a campaign aims at mobilizing the public’s conscience and sustaining this conscience with solid strategies on communication platforms. Campaigns can influence people at the individual, the social, and/or the institutional level. The majority of them seek to change behavior at the individual level, and must take specific individual factors into consideration―those factors that underlie behavioral intention and behavior within a given target audience.4 Campaigns tend to be presented in different forms and serve various purposes, with the most prevalent ones created for promoting sociopolitical causes. Others are for public health, social programs, charitable causes, well-being, and safety. Most communication campaigns are supported by entities such as governments, private corporations, nonprofit organizations, communities, and social change promoters.5
In order to modify behavior, we need to understand people’s behaviors when designing campaigns. Understanding the reasons that affect intention and behavior is important for laying the groundwork for the creation, implementation, and evaluation of effective public communication campaigns.6 Communication scholars have devoted a great deal of attention to the content and impacts of messages on audiences. Public health campaigns, in particular, are often addressed in books and scholarly studies, arguably due to their purported intent to champion social good instead of harm. Nevertheless, other types of public communication campaigns―like those of terrorist movements or campaigns for Islamophobia―have been understudied for their potential to produce undesirable effects. In addition to social change, public communication campaigns can be an instrument of self-insight and remedy. Whether it is meant for good or bad purposes is contingent upon us and our value system—the approaches that we take to change people’s minds at work and at home, and how we consider the practice of persuasion with strangers and loved ones.
All communication is humankind’s fundamental symbolic resource for regulating the environment.7 Today, communication brings together media and persuasion to change social conditions. Mass media campaigns are often designed to expose high volumes of people to messages through regular uses of traditional media, such as TV, radio, and newspapers. However, exposure through existing media like these is generally passive.8 This is why a combination of traditional media, social media, interpersonal relationships, segmented communication, and culturally tailored messaging to audiences are more likely to make a public communication campaign efficient and thriving.9 Large-scale public communication programs today necessitate mass communication campaign strategies, as marked by the investments of time, money, and other resources in most of contemporary initiatives. Success or failure in campaigning depends mainly on campaign managers’ skills in crafting effective communication (including social media) campaigns. The strategies include opposition research, segmented targeting of audiences, continual adaptation of messages, and step-by-step tracking of issues. In this new era of digital communications and around-the-clock news cycles, undivided attention must be given to message delivery, audience feedback, and unintended consequences.10
The media landscape has metamorphosed since the dawn of the twenty-first century. Although long-established methods of communication are still important, new platforms of public communication are constantly emerging through digitalization, the internet, and social media.11 The media landscape in modern societies has gradually been saturated with a proliferation of media outlets and options, presenting audiences with alternatives to fulfill their media-related needs.12 Audiences frequently use a mélange of media and content types to absorb issues raised by public communication campaigns.13 Publics have split into subgroups across platforms to come into contact with various online communities around certain niche interests, politics, ideologies, or hobbies like music and sports.14 Online communities consist of cultures of participation in which members’ activities form a collective type of sense-making.15 Taken as a whole, owing to the changes in the media landscape, public communication campaigns need to be aware that they have to grow more sophisticated and strategic.
It is important to understand that, for a college textbook to be successful in the social sciences, particularly if it is intended for international audiences, it must meet five main criteria: A comprehensive focus, an easy focus, an international focus, a practical focus, and a theoretical focus.
This textbook is divided into four parts: (1) Introducing Public Communication Campaigns, (2) Health Communication Campaigns, (3) Communication Campaigns for Social Justice and Social Change, and (4) Terrorist, Extremist, and Anti-Terrorist Communication Campaigns. Each of the four parts contains four chapters. Most major works that have been available in the past and current literature only cover one or two parts. Under existing circumstances, it is important to teach students and practitioners alike how to create and implement public communication campaigns from a wide array of perspectives―including those produced by organizations like Black Lives Matter. Enter the last topic of the fourth part of the book: antiterrorist communication campaigns. Not only are counterradicalization communicators moving to the online space to counter (would-be) terrorists, but they can also assist volunteers or authorities in designing messages that help societies win the war of ideas against enemies (both external forces and enemies from within). Even communication campaigns against female genital mutilation (FGM) and honor killing are addressed. In a nutshell, this textbook is the most comprehensive one on public communication campaigns.
To date, no major textbook on public communication campaigns has been written for large audiences like undergraduate students and readers from both the United States and countries around the world. As will be explained in the next section (on the competition with other books), the few major volumes that have been published on that subject are certainly well written and thought-out, but the content is not written with the intention of explaining the fundamentals of public communication campaigns to beginners. Rather, the language is too elevated and theoretical for large publics or these volumes focus too much on one part of the world or other topics that fall outside the scope of this textbook. More importantly, this textbook includes over 700 fundamental concepts of campaigns that are in bold writing and clearly defined for readers. Each chapter is markedly different and includes case studies to which both young and older audiences can relate. For example, there are case studies on COVID-19 campaigns in several nations, LGBTQ+ initiatives in South America, and Hollywood celebrity health campaigns. At the end of this textbook, readers can look through a glossary that lists and defines all key terms and concepts used across the 16 chapters.
Most books on that subject tend to overly concentrate on projects in the United States. Although it is true that, for message designers and common citizens alike, the immense accessibility of both mainstream and social media in the United States facilitates the creation and impact of campaigns, most books tend to overlook the efforts made in other countries. As such, this volume includes public communication campaigns from both the United States and a whopping 25 other countries. These countries are Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, Hungary, India, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Uganda, and Vietnam. It is the author’s hope that this international focus will open the reader’s minds and perspectives in regards to public communication campaigns and how they become both a familiar and essential component of the civic culture of those nations and an important policy tool used by state actors and nonstate actors across six continents.
To make sound and educated choices and apply methods in the most optimal way, campaign designers need to be conscious of what is available and understand the fundamental principles and processes inherent to large-scale communication projects. Chapter 2, in particular, is on the 10 steps of public communication campaigns. It provides a detailed template for practitioners or scholars who need to create or adapt messages to scenarios in such areas as advertising, public relations, health, safety, personal well-being, entertainment, social justice, animal rights, and even terrorism and antiterrorism―among a myriad of others. Underlining the structure is the easy step-by-step process, which provides directions for all endeavors and suggestions for all types of messages. Chapter 2 explains how a public communication campaign is to be planned from start to finish by identifying what is to be done, for what purpose, by whom, for which audience, on what platform, within what time frame, and with what expected outcomes. The 10 steps show that substantial consideration must be exercised in crafting a campaign and that the key individuals involved in the implementation or supervision comprehend the overall purpose and the courses of action.
Many theories are integrated in this textbook because they help understand the procedures that actuate campaign effects and, especially for the discipline of communication, the theoretical foundations for the production of effective messages to inform, persuade, and inspire publics.16 Theories serve a diversity of equally important purposes, all of which are geared towards cultivating the ability to think about and understand the issues in question. In addition, reinforcing a campaign with a theoretical foundation can both sustain its development and serve as a basis for its application and evaluation.17 This textbook includes both mainstream communication theories and other essential theories that are often missing in the literature. The mainstream theories in this book include the Diffusion of Innovations (DoI) theory, framing theory, agenda-setting theory, social judgment theory (SJT), the Uses & Gratifications (U&G) theory, the Health Belief Model (HBM), the Transtheoretical Model, the Theory of Planned Behavior, the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), self-efficacy theory, social cognitive theory (SCT), social learning theory (SLT), and social movement theory (SMT)―to name a few. In most cases, the theories were applied to specific case studies of public communication campaigns. Other essential theories, like self-determination theory (SDT) and media dependency theory, have surprisingly been rarely included in major volumes on that topic. This is why this textbook has filled this gap by developing entire case studies around them. Other theories include self-affirmation theory, attitude accessibility theory, the theory of responsive chord, selective perception theory, inoculation theory, the spiral of silence, and muted group theory―again, to name a few. Chapter 8, for example, applies SDT to health communication campaigns created through digital games.
Chapter 1 provides definitions, strategies, and background information on public communication campaigns. It begins with a description of the communication process and the public sphere and then proceeds with a detailed account of the Diffusion of Innovations (DoI) theory. After giving examples of campaigns in history, it discusses current strategies like social marketing and social norms marketing. Chapter 2 lays out the 10 steps of public communication campaigns. As such, the steps are (a) define and select your topic; (b) set goals and objectives; (c) analyze and understand the situation beforehand; (d) define your audience(s); (e) understand the timeline and budget; (f) choose appropriate media; (g) develop optimal message content; (h) avoid monologic communication and interact with your audience(s); (i) update the campaign with timely, relevant, and accurate information; and (j) evaluate the overall campaign.
Chapter 3 discusses the role of persuasion in public communication campaigns. A large section is devoted to Behavior Change Communication (BCC) and related theories such as self-affirmation theory and the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). Another large section is devoted to attitudes and related theories such as social judgment theory (SJT) and attitude accessibility theory. Of particular relevance are the 10 ethical principles of public communication campaigns, the persuasive effects of such campaigns, and, conversely, their 12 negative effects. Chapter 4 is on thought-provoking public communication campaigns. The Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM), for example, explains how people’s attitudes can be changed through fear appeals. At the same time, the effects of alarmist language are mentioned as well. A special focus is also placed on provocation, including the theoretical concept of shockvertising. The end of the chapter provides a detailed case study on two campaigns launched by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Chapter 5 offers readers general perspectives on health communication campaigns. After describing what “health” means and the different goals and strategies of such campaigns, the chapter continues with a thorough analysis of antismoking campaigns (like the truth initiative) and harm reduction campaigns. The chapter ends with a detailed case study that examines the social determinants of health (SDH) and ABC behaviors in Uganda. Chapter 6 tackles the differences in literacy and culture in health campaigns. An important segment on eHealth and the digital divide highlights how communication technologies may fundamentally determine who has access to health information. What comes subsequently are the cultural barriers that audiences face when exposed to various public communication campaigns. This chapter ends with the key attributes of culture, cultural competency, and how ethnographic research can reduce cultural differences when designing campaigns.
Chapter 7 addresses public communication campaigns during the COVID-19 pandemic. After introducing fundamental concepts such as risk communication, a comprehensive section on the strategies for COVID-19 communication campaigns illustrate how campaign designers can concentrate on issues such as social distancing. Also significant is the information on both vaccination campaigns and countercampaigns like those of anti-vaxxers. Chapter 8 looks at Entertainment–Education, digital games, and celebrity campaigns as alternatives to traditional health communication campaigns. Of particular interest to readers are the multiple case studies contained within one chapter and the theoretical framework of narrative involvement. Equally important are the section on Games for Change (GfC), serious games, and persuasive games, and the section on self-determination theory (SDT). Lastly, an interesting point is the impact of celebrity health disclosure.
Chapter 9 is about communication campaigns for social justice and social change. After reading the list of important terms, including seven manifestations of social change, readers can learn about case studies on campaigns against female genital mutilation (FGM) in Africa and honor killing in Pakistan. The second part of this chapter focuses on campaigning for environmental policies and what nongovernmental organizations are. Chapter 10 addresses the #MeToo campaign. After an understanding of what constitutes sexual misconduct, one can see how the initiatives around the world have created a positive impact on both the United States and other countries. Long-established theories like the spiral of silence and muted group theory explain how minority groups are now part of the mainstream in their struggles against injustice. Other theories such as critical race feminism and social identity theory (SIT) are also included.
Chapter 11 is dedicated to public communication campaigns for LGBTQ+ communities. Three case studies―the GLAAD campaign in the United States (with an application of agenda-setting theory as well), the campaign against homophobia in Poland, and LGBTQ+ campaigns in Brazil―illustrate how grassroots initiatives and social media platforms can make waves even in countries with traditional beliefs that sexual rights are only for heterosexuals. Chapter 12 discusses Black Lives Matter (BLM) campaigns, particularly how BLM started and has evolved to what it is today. The two large sections on campaigns against police brutality and systemic racism will inform anyone interested in policy solutions for societal reform. What comes next is a description of the role of intersectionality and standpoint theory, critical race theory, and critical social justice.
Chapter 13 presents readers with two major case studies of terrorist communication campaigns. The first one is about the FARC in Colombia since 1964; this Marxist–Leninist terrorist group used various forms of communications to spread their ideology to peasants and lowly educated workers. The author shows how speech act theory has great value here. The second one is about the Rwanda Genocide in 1994. The role of “Radio Machete,” the genociders’ main vehicle for spreading hatred and propaganda (including numerous euphemisms for killing), is something to behold. Chapter 14 is about public communication campaigns of White supremacism. The concept of “manosphere”―a collection of groups and online sites that advocate male supremacy and subjugation of women―plays a crucial part for both recruitment and campaigning. Case studies on the “It’s Okay to Be White,” the Proud Boys, and the “2020 voter fraud” campaign exemplify the ability of social media platforms to amplify feelings of victimhood against what they call the “Evil Left.”
Chapter 15 deals with public communication campaigns of Islamophobia and antisemitism. A particular focus is placed on hashtag-driven Islamophobia campaigns in India and political campaigns that are antisemitic in Hungary. Both types of campaigns are immersed in historical events. The application of Terror Management Theory (TMT) to the case of Islamophobia serves to explain how campaigns are conducted to ensure the survival and growth of “natives.” Chapter 16 ends on a positive note. It discusses antiterrorist public communication campaigns and strategies on how to win the war of ideas through clever messaging. The battle is more likely to be won when campaigns are moved to the online space. Multiple case studies are offered, including the US government’s initiative on how to build community resilience within Somali communities in the United States. Of particular interest are the antiterrorist public communication campaigns in the Middle East and the reparation campaigns in Australia.
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Public communication campaigns are found everywhere and it is nearly impossible to elude them in our modern-day environment of traditional communication and social media. By and large, a campaign is a comprehensive and organized attempt at shaping the behavior, attitude, or decision-making status within a community of people. It is a strategic course of action carried out during a specific time limit and for a precise outcome.1 A public communication campaign consists of a set of coordinated messages or other communicative efforts aimed at accomplishing predetermined goals and objectives: to sway a high number of people’s beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.2 Atkin (1981)3 defines “public communication campaign” as a method that uses “promotional messages in the public interest disseminated through mass media channels to target audiences.” Public communication campaigns tend to be waged by state or nonstate actors who seek to inform or affect behaviors in large audiences through an organized set of communication processes. They are designed with two phases in mind. The first phase generates awareness about a certain topic. Thus, a campaign has a purpose; the desired outcomes can be diverse―ranging from individual-level cognitive impacts to social or systemic change. The second phase uses that awareness to instill behavior change and shape the thoughts or actions of the audience; it is typically aimed at a large audience. “Large” is an important concept here because it helps differentiate campaigns from interpersonal persuasive endeavors by one―or a few―person that seek to influence a handful of others.4
The element of reform is inherent in all public communications campaigns. Reform refers to action that improves society or the lives of individuals. In the eyes of campaign designers, change within the audience’s behavior will make life better. “Better” is aligned with emerging values in society during each historical era.5 “Better” implies that one group intends to influence other groups’ beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors on the basis of communicated appeals.6 Campaigns should also be viewed as a governance strategy. Governance is “conduct of conduct.” It motivates a group of people to govern themselves in a novel manner. Since requests for behavior change are usually not mandatory in modern societies, public communication campaigns need to employ the cleverest appeals to self-governance. This kind of strategy, “turning us into decent people,” can have moral and normative effects on a whole class of citizens.7 Overall, the concept of governance illustrates how public communication campaigns are prosocial in their efforts to influence behavior towards desirable social outcomes. The consequences of those behaviors may be that individuals, families, and communities are healthier, or that particular policy results bring about better outcomes for those individuals, families, and communities.8
Most public communication campaigns are not made to attain financial outcomes, even in commercial organizations. Rather, such campaigns are undertaken to raise awareness (i.e., of an issue, policy, or law), to transform attitudes, and/or to improve reputation. Almost half of public communication across the globe is undertaken by public-sector and nonprofit corporations that do not have financial interests.9 As Atkin and Rice (2012)10 put it, public communication campaigns contain “an array of mediated messages in multiple channels generally to produce noncommercial benefits to individuals and society.” The objectives and processes inherent in commercial advertising are not appropriate for public communication campaigns. The fundamental differences between advertising and public communication lie in the kind and quality of issues, the procedures involved in promotion and, evidently, in the type of audiences. In general, advertising by itself does not cause fundamental changes in behavior. It does not produce substantial effects on potential consumers, as some critics might believe. Nevertheless, incremental changes in market share for a specific product that are achieved as a result of advertising may lead to significantly higher sales and profits.11
There are two main types of public communication campaigns: (1) Individual behavior-change campaigns and (2) public will campaigns. Individual behavior-change campaigns attempt to change individual behaviors that create problems in society or promote behaviors that better individual or social well-being. Also known as public information campaigns or public education campaigns, they shape beliefs and information about a behavior and its impact. They influence attitudes in favor of behavior that will be perceived positively among one’s peers. In other words, they create social norms about the acceptability of a desired behavior (and the intentions to perform it). They are more likely to induce behavior change if complemented by supportive program elements. Effective campaigns of this type target behaviors such as smoking, using drugs, recycling, driving responsibly, using the seat belt, and preventing fire and crime. Many are found within the public health arena. This type of campaign has also evolved into other sectors like education, criminal justice, and early childhood.12
Public will campaigns serve to muster public action for policy action and change. Although less understood, they are growing in numbers. As long as they spread visibility of a social issue and its magnitude, they can shape perceptions of such issues―and identify who is responsible―and criteria that the audience needs to judge policies and policymakers. Hence, they impart knowledge about solutions (based on who is portrayed as responsible) and help determine what can be done for service introduction and public support. They engage and galvanize interested individuals into action. A public will campaign focuses less on the person who takes harmful actions (e.g., smoking, polluting, or doing drugs), and more on the public’s duty to make decisions that will foster an environment conducive to behavior change.13
A public will campaign searches for the various factors that are hurting communities and builds on current efforts or develops new ones to heal those communities. By definition, public will is a manifestation of how the community feels and acts. For instance, public will on problems that concern children and families may constitute a shared sense of community-based ownership of the welfare and comfort of children and families, as well as a collective commitment to make the indispensable changes to improve it. Public will has more commonalities with public engagement than with education and awareness. This is why it is also called a public engagement campaign.14 Public will entails more than public opinion or awareness. It entails the inclination to act in favor of how an individual feels about an issue. Effective communications campaigns want to be clear as to what actions people should take. As such, the actions should strengthen policy agendas and enable people to carry them out in their own backyards. Certainly, it is not unusual for campaigns to include both individual change and public will components within the same project.15
Communication is the fundamental pillar of our society. John Dewey (1916)16 famously said that “society exists… in communication.” Williams (1976)17 agreed with Dewey when he stated that “society is a form of communication.” Human communication is an exceedingly more multifaceted, ambiguous, and variable process than many of us would admit. We are well aware that communication is a practice that all humans do, to varying degrees, from the cradle to the grave. However, to presuppose that attempts at communicating are automatically, or even frequently, effective is to disregard the conflicts, divorces, breakdowns of relationships, family feuds, miscommunications, and other disturbances that take place on a daily basis in human society.18
Communication is the “process of exchanging information, imparting ideas and making oneself understood by others and understanding others in return.”19 It is the process of conveying a message from a sender to a receiver. The study of communication in Western civilization dates back to roughly 2,500 years and ostensibly originated in Ancient Greece with Aristotle’s Rhetoric and Poetics.20 He, too, thought that communication was an exchange of meanings represented by signs. The term “communicate” stems from the Latin communicare (“to make common”). Communication is an act that makes something common; it reflects the need to participate in shared or common action. What makes human communication exceptional among all species, and most likely not transferable to other species, is that it can take place through multiple media of transmission.21
Contemporary communication comprises both mass communication and networked communication. Mass communication diffuses information from a major source via consolidated media, like TV, newspapers, and radio. This category of mass-mediated exchange is regulated by big corporations, some of which are government-owned; it also disseminates information through mainstream vehicles of distribution.22Networked communication, on the other hand, sends information from a wide array of sources, including nontraditional ones (e.g., average citizens on the street) and, as such, reflects many different views. It can happen through a mixture of formats, such as email, teleconferencing, and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.23 By the same token, a network effect develops when individuals or groups are more willing to use a particular medium of communication if other people have done it successfully (and are fully associated with that medium).24 If truth be told, Devji (2005)25 calls this network effect the global media effect, because no single actor will have total control over the effects of other individuals or actions.
Since communication is the sharing and diffusion of information, it is also the enabler of the initiation of any contact and relationship within communities. From this perspective, communication is a mediator of social change because it must be theorized in terms of various parties involved in producing meanings, by way of dialogue.26 Change is a communicative challenge and appropriate communication approaches can abate the resistance to change. Since change is a communicative challenge, serious consideration needs to be paid whenever a change “project” is to be undertaken. Communication procedures are components of change implementation itself.27 Information technologies, media organizations, and effective media coverage contribute to the creation and preservation of such social change. Accordingly, communication plays a vital role on the social map.28 It allows the obtaining of new knowledge (as well as the reusing of old knowledge) for audiences and the persuasive appeals, based on that knowledge, to change their beliefs, attitudes, and/or behaviors.29
It is clear, by now, that public communication campaigns are (1) an organized communication enterprise, (2) directed at large audiences during a specific period of time, (3) designed to achieve definite goals and objectives, and (4) and ultimately attempting to create change. Such campaigns rely on the media, messaging, and a variety of communication activities to produce desired outcomes.30 To amplify their likelihoods of success, public communication campaigns often combine media efforts with a mélange of community-based and interpersonal communication means.31 Examples of community-based channels include, but are not limited to, TV, radio, newspapers, billboards, email, and social media. Examples of interpersonal channels include, but are not limited to, face-to-face gatherings, home visits, and workshops. Printed materials, such as brochures and pamphlets, are sometimes considered mass media or can also be incorporated in interpersonal contexts.32
Public communication campaigns have become more sophisticated and strategic. Messages are crafted on the basis of both form and content, and care is taken as to what appropriate communication channels and media should be selected. By combining media efforts with a mélange of communication channels, campaign designers can expand the reach and frequency of the messages and increase the probability that they will successfully lead to change.33