BREAKING BARRIERS, BUILDING BONDS
February 2, 2004 | 12:00am
A multi-targeted advertising campaign was recently launched by The Social Acceptance Project-Family Planning (TSAP-FP), with Secretary of Health Manolet Dayrit leading a prominent list of individual and group advocates from both public and private sectors lending unequivocal support.
Family planning communication is not new in the Philippines, which was organized programs on the subject began as early as the ’60s. But its impact has not been maximized because of the irregular and unsustained communications efforts over the years. Limited funding and resources eventually resulted in start-and-stop media programming.
The role of communication in a re-positioned FP is distinctively clear – overcome barriers to usage by changing attitudes towards it. FP must be embedded in the daily consciousness of the general public. It should be part of the Filipino lifestyle – easy and socially desirable – promoting a mindset that everyone who thinks, plans and achieves in life, does it.
Quoting from the best-selling book The Tipping Point, Sec. Dayrit remarked, "The re-positioned FP communication program, ran by a dedicated few, has the promise of spreadability, that can allow it to reach a critical point." The messages to be projected using various media vehicles, he added, carry a stickiness factor that can possibly ensure watchability and likability.
The Philippine population growth rate and total fertility rates are among the highest in the ASEAN region, with a recent report revealing that we are growing at an annual average of 1.7 million and will hit 84 million this year. The level of poverty is pushing to a high of 40 percent. And while the desired family size is 2.7 children, actual family size is registering at 3.7.
The 2002 Young Adult Fertility Survey (YAFS) disclosed that 2.5 million Filipinos, aged 15 to 24 are sexually active. More than a third of all females get pregnant before marriage, and 30 percent of all births and 74 percent of all illegitimate births are delivered by females, aged 15 to 19.
Recent studies have also unanimously shown high awareness and acceptance levels among primary targets for Family Planning (FP), but these high figures are not translated into the same high level of usage. Out of those who use contraception, only two out of three practice the modern methods of contraception (MMOC). The conversion rate from traditional methods (TMOC) to modern has been low, as usage discontinuation becomes prevalent. This can be attributed to pregnancy, and inadequate knowledge or misinformation. While friends, neighbors, and relatives are primary sources of data, they are also excellent breeding ground for myths and misconceptions.
Family remains to be the top priority in any FP decision. It is anchored on the future of their children, their dreams for them, the quality of their lives and overall well-being. To them, getting pregnant, per se, is not bad. In fact it is seen as a blessing, and a good thing. It is when it is unplanned that it is seen as bad. Unintended pregnancy is looked at as a disruption since it delays the achievement of their aspirations and poses a threat to the family’s financial viability and present relationships.
These astounding research data rationalize the need for effective communication. Lessons learned from past information, education and communication (IEC) campaigns tell us that this is critical for many reasons. Firstly, what many of us think about FP is wrong, and is based on myths and misconceptions. Secondly, a large percentage of the Philippine population is between the ages of 15 and 24. This is a country of young people who need help and guidance from solid information and education on reproductive health and FP. Thirdly, FP is not enough to educate the doctors and nurses, and other health providers. Current and potential users need to be properly informed and educated, too. Fourth, FP competes with opposing messages. There is a need for balance so the public can make intelligent, enlightened choices.
TSAP-FP saw the need for an individual yet integrated efforts to project the importance of FP through behavior change communication, advocacy, and social mobilization. Its specific goal is to increase the number of Filipinos who strongly support FP, provide information and induce regular usage, enough for them to endorse FP to others.
Part of the behavior change component of the TSAP-FP is a tri-media campaign that works to correct myths on MMOC, communicate, encourage the participation of the males, empower the women, and make FP a responsibility shared by couples. It also aims to popularize MMOC as the sure method or sigurado, and to project TMOC as chancy or patsamba-tsamba. This positioning is expressed in the umbrella theme line, "Sa modern methods, sigurado ka, walang patsamba-tsamba."
The advertising campaign basically talks to the D and E socio-economic group. It acknowledges the masses’ current beliefs and leads them to a new set of communications by talking their talk, as it tickles their funny bone. The campaign targets four audience clusters – young couples, "long-time marrieds," females and males. Each group was approached with varying insights, creative ideas, target responses and executional devices.
The advertising directed at young couples titled Kasal touches on the insight that when they get married, many of them don’t discuss their plans like the number of children they want to have. The idea is to make FP part of their wedding preparation executed in a surprising, humorous tone, gently reminding young couples to plan the future of their family.
The material aimed at the "long-time marrieds" dubbed Oops, conveys the insight that people are aware that TMOCs fail but they continue to use them despite the risks. Inertia prevents them from practicing MMOC. The big idea – traditional methods are perilous and chancy – filmed with a TMOC loyalist talking to a friend about her late realization that the FP methods she has been using do not work. Humor is evident in softening the blow, as she admits that the FP practices she has been adopting for so many years were wrong.
Gising, the TV commercial intended for the female audience revolves around the understanding that women put the needs of others before theirs, and they have no control over their situation. Even when they know that they’re doing themselves and their families a disservice, women have to fight the effects of all the conditioning they’ve been through. Empowering women to make decisions based on their wants and needs is the central thought, dramatized by showing a woman in close up shot playing up common excuses and rationalizations about her relationship with her partner. It ends with a surprising twist that leaves women thinking.
FP programs have progressively understood that men’s support and participation are essential to the ultimate success of any FP initiative. Increasing their involvement begins with the appreciation of their point of view and their perceived needs as distinct from women’s. Dyip, the spot addressed to men is anchored on the discernment that after a hard day’s work, men are entitled to a good time, mainly drinking with the boys and having sex afterwards. The consequences of their actions are not their immediate concern. This insight manifests itself in the creative idea – what if men could have their cake and eat it, too? The desired response is that if they use MMOC they can have great sex without the added responsibility. They can even plan for a better future for themselves and their families.
The new family planning advertising campaign incorporates a gender perspective. It actively listens to women – eliciting their opinions and preferences, inviting their voices, incorporating their experiences and understanding their roles. From a male perspective, the campaign positions men as caring partners, not as irresponsible adversaries. It avoids macho stereotyping that is counterproductive and that can limit the men’s ability to access information. It breaks barriers and builds bonds with targeted stakeholders.
Family planning communication program implementations almost always invite sensitive discussions and debates. This new campaign, however, can bring opposing camps to agree that the population issue cannot be ignored. It’s a ticking time bomb that should be detonated lest we see ourselves sinking deeper into poverty as we fight each other for the finite resources that become smaller and smaller.
Thank you for your response. Continue to e-mail me at bongo@vasia.com or bongo@campaignsandgrey.com for comments, questions and suggestions.
Family planning communication is not new in the Philippines, which was organized programs on the subject began as early as the ’60s. But its impact has not been maximized because of the irregular and unsustained communications efforts over the years. Limited funding and resources eventually resulted in start-and-stop media programming.
The role of communication in a re-positioned FP is distinctively clear – overcome barriers to usage by changing attitudes towards it. FP must be embedded in the daily consciousness of the general public. It should be part of the Filipino lifestyle – easy and socially desirable – promoting a mindset that everyone who thinks, plans and achieves in life, does it.
Quoting from the best-selling book The Tipping Point, Sec. Dayrit remarked, "The re-positioned FP communication program, ran by a dedicated few, has the promise of spreadability, that can allow it to reach a critical point." The messages to be projected using various media vehicles, he added, carry a stickiness factor that can possibly ensure watchability and likability.
The 2002 Young Adult Fertility Survey (YAFS) disclosed that 2.5 million Filipinos, aged 15 to 24 are sexually active. More than a third of all females get pregnant before marriage, and 30 percent of all births and 74 percent of all illegitimate births are delivered by females, aged 15 to 19.
Recent studies have also unanimously shown high awareness and acceptance levels among primary targets for Family Planning (FP), but these high figures are not translated into the same high level of usage. Out of those who use contraception, only two out of three practice the modern methods of contraception (MMOC). The conversion rate from traditional methods (TMOC) to modern has been low, as usage discontinuation becomes prevalent. This can be attributed to pregnancy, and inadequate knowledge or misinformation. While friends, neighbors, and relatives are primary sources of data, they are also excellent breeding ground for myths and misconceptions.
Family remains to be the top priority in any FP decision. It is anchored on the future of their children, their dreams for them, the quality of their lives and overall well-being. To them, getting pregnant, per se, is not bad. In fact it is seen as a blessing, and a good thing. It is when it is unplanned that it is seen as bad. Unintended pregnancy is looked at as a disruption since it delays the achievement of their aspirations and poses a threat to the family’s financial viability and present relationships.
These astounding research data rationalize the need for effective communication. Lessons learned from past information, education and communication (IEC) campaigns tell us that this is critical for many reasons. Firstly, what many of us think about FP is wrong, and is based on myths and misconceptions. Secondly, a large percentage of the Philippine population is between the ages of 15 and 24. This is a country of young people who need help and guidance from solid information and education on reproductive health and FP. Thirdly, FP is not enough to educate the doctors and nurses, and other health providers. Current and potential users need to be properly informed and educated, too. Fourth, FP competes with opposing messages. There is a need for balance so the public can make intelligent, enlightened choices.
TSAP-FP saw the need for an individual yet integrated efforts to project the importance of FP through behavior change communication, advocacy, and social mobilization. Its specific goal is to increase the number of Filipinos who strongly support FP, provide information and induce regular usage, enough for them to endorse FP to others.
The advertising campaign basically talks to the D and E socio-economic group. It acknowledges the masses’ current beliefs and leads them to a new set of communications by talking their talk, as it tickles their funny bone. The campaign targets four audience clusters – young couples, "long-time marrieds," females and males. Each group was approached with varying insights, creative ideas, target responses and executional devices.
The advertising directed at young couples titled Kasal touches on the insight that when they get married, many of them don’t discuss their plans like the number of children they want to have. The idea is to make FP part of their wedding preparation executed in a surprising, humorous tone, gently reminding young couples to plan the future of their family.
The material aimed at the "long-time marrieds" dubbed Oops, conveys the insight that people are aware that TMOCs fail but they continue to use them despite the risks. Inertia prevents them from practicing MMOC. The big idea – traditional methods are perilous and chancy – filmed with a TMOC loyalist talking to a friend about her late realization that the FP methods she has been using do not work. Humor is evident in softening the blow, as she admits that the FP practices she has been adopting for so many years were wrong.
Gising, the TV commercial intended for the female audience revolves around the understanding that women put the needs of others before theirs, and they have no control over their situation. Even when they know that they’re doing themselves and their families a disservice, women have to fight the effects of all the conditioning they’ve been through. Empowering women to make decisions based on their wants and needs is the central thought, dramatized by showing a woman in close up shot playing up common excuses and rationalizations about her relationship with her partner. It ends with a surprising twist that leaves women thinking.
FP programs have progressively understood that men’s support and participation are essential to the ultimate success of any FP initiative. Increasing their involvement begins with the appreciation of their point of view and their perceived needs as distinct from women’s. Dyip, the spot addressed to men is anchored on the discernment that after a hard day’s work, men are entitled to a good time, mainly drinking with the boys and having sex afterwards. The consequences of their actions are not their immediate concern. This insight manifests itself in the creative idea – what if men could have their cake and eat it, too? The desired response is that if they use MMOC they can have great sex without the added responsibility. They can even plan for a better future for themselves and their families.
The new family planning advertising campaign incorporates a gender perspective. It actively listens to women – eliciting their opinions and preferences, inviting their voices, incorporating their experiences and understanding their roles. From a male perspective, the campaign positions men as caring partners, not as irresponsible adversaries. It avoids macho stereotyping that is counterproductive and that can limit the men’s ability to access information. It breaks barriers and builds bonds with targeted stakeholders.
Family planning communication program implementations almost always invite sensitive discussions and debates. This new campaign, however, can bring opposing camps to agree that the population issue cannot be ignored. It’s a ticking time bomb that should be detonated lest we see ourselves sinking deeper into poverty as we fight each other for the finite resources that become smaller and smaller.
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