Why hesitate? Going beyond a single story in vaccine communication

When it comes to marketing, it’s a well-rehearsed truth that the best and most powerful communication is single-minded. But what’s the difference between single-minded and a single story?

In her seminal TEDTalk, ‘The danger of a single story,’ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie explains: ‘The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.’

In our time-pressured, soundbite-driven world, a single-minded focus on reaching those in need often becomes a single story we find easy to repeat—an elevator pitch that fails to scratch the surface for those most at risk. Isn’t it time we thought differently?

 

Tailoring communication and building trust

Vaccine rejection is driven by context-specific factors that vary across location, time, and type of vaccine. These factors are highly influenced by broader societal issues of trust, access and inclusion. Or, put more simply, how stories are told, where they are told, and who is telling them.

Our ability to deal with these ‘messy’ concerns is critical for reaching communities who fall outside the reach of a single story and patients that need our imagination—not just empathy—to help forge a connection.

 

Breaking out of the single story and into the messy middle

We need to find ways of breaking out of the templates and processes that forces us into a single story. We need to meet people where they are—geographically and emotionally—and tailor specific messages for their individual concerns and circumstances.

Google’s The Messy Middle provides a valuable framework for understanding the complexity of the consumer journey, which can be applied to vaccine communication as well.

According to The Messy Middle, people rarely make decisions in a linear or predictable way. Instead, they navigate an array of information, emotions, and influences in a “messy” process that includes exploration, evaluation, and re-evaluation that aligns with their needs, preferences and values. The framework suggests that, instead of offering a straightforward message, vaccine communication should engage with people’s questions, concerns, and unique contexts at every stage of their journey.

 

Six practical strategies for moving beyond a single story

Building a nuanced story is one thing. But how do we get it out into the world? Today an array of tools and technologies and approaches are available to help us build inclusive communication that is able to reach more people in need of vaccines. Here are our top 6 to consider along your journey to building more tailored experiences.

 

1. AI-Powered sentiment analysis: AI-driven sentiment analysis allows us to monitor public opinion, making it possible to listen to many voices at once. This approach is especially valuable in a field such as vaccines uptake, where sentiment can shift quickly based on news or social media trends. By tracking public sentiment, campaigns can tailor messaging to respond to emerging concerns or misconceptions
2. Content volume and variation: Content creation has traditionally been limited by budgets and resource constraints. However, AI now accelerates content development and improves efficiency, enabling the production of the high-volume, tailored messages required to engage diverse audiences. AI also enables us to create and deliver content variations that align with audience preferences across different formats and channels, fostering deeper relevance and therefore engagement.
3. Conversational interface: Chatbots, virtual assistants and voice search e.g. Alexa allow for personalised, interactive communication that adapts to individual needs and questions, managing content volume and variation. Using these AI-driven tools, public health campaigns can address the specific concerns raised by diverse demographics in real-time. This tailored approach demonstrates a deeper understanding of the audience’s unique challenges and ensures information is delivered in a way that is relevant and respectful of their concerns.
4. Blending micro and macro influencer campaigns: Influencers at scale are playing an increasingly important part of marketing campaigns but the number of followers is not the only important metric. Micro influencers with smaller, more engaged audiences, are often perceived as more authentic and trustworthy. Curating influencer input for maximum impact helps to drive both credibility and trust.
5. Geo-targeting and community-centric messaging: Location-specific data and community-based insights can help craft high impact messages. Forming partnerships with community leaders, religious groups, and local influencers help bridge cultural or social divides, lending credibility and nuance to messages which can be deployed through both digital and analogue platforms (e.g. in community places and spaces).
6. Ephemeral content: Ephemeral content posts that disappear after a short time, like Instagram or Snapchat Stories are especially popular with younger audiences and encourages frequent engagement. The temporary nature of these posts encourages viewers to stay engaged with fresh content without feeling overwhelmed and can be used to share short, myth-busting and topical posts.

 

Final thoughts

Embracing a multi-faceted approach that acknowledges the complex journey individuals take in making health decisions will lead to more effective and meaningful communication.

To build authentic campaigns that resonate with diverse audiences, we must shift from simply sharing information in the form of a single story, to actively listening, understanding, and adapting to the unique stories that shape health choices. By leveraging technology—such as AI-driven sentiment analysis and personalization, we can address the specific challenges of different audience segments, fostering greater understanding and empowering more informed health decisions.

 

 

References

• Adichie, C. N. (2009). The Danger of a Single Story. TED Talk. Retrieved from TED.
• Google. (2023). The Messy Middle: How People Make Decisions in a Complex World. Retrieved from Think with Google.
• World Health Organization (WHO). (2020). Managing the COVID-19 infodemic: Promoting healthy behaviours and mitigating the harm from misinformation and disinformation. WHO Publication.
• Krause, N. M., Freiling, I., Beets, B., & Brossard, D. (2020). Fact-checking as risk communication: The multi-layered risk of misinformation in times of COVID-19. Journal of Risk Research.
• Freimuth, V. S., Jamison, A. M., An, J., Hancock, G. R., & Quinn, S. C. (2017). Determinants of trust in the flu vaccine for African Americans and Whites. Social Science & Medicine.
• Hall, V., Figueroa, C., & Flowers, P. (2018). Community health and access to vaccination: Addressing the practical barriers to achieving immunization coverage. Vaccine.
• Digital Marketing Science (2023). Using Sentiment Analysis for Real-Time Campaign Adaptation.
• Sprout Social. (2022). The Power of Community Influencers in Health Communication. Retrieved from sproutsocial.com.