There has been a recent discussion of the marketing strategies of companies
manufacturing or distributing artificial baby milks. Actually, we should
emulate them.  They know how to "sell" a message (in order to sell a
product).  Their marketing messages now and in the past appear to be based
on listening and meeting mothers where they are at, emotionally, and
addressing concerns (to the company's commercial advantage).  If mothers
worry that they won't have enough milk, or that the partner can't feed the
baby, they address this by empathizing and offering a solution.  This is
exactly what the health services and professions *should* be doing - except
not for commercial advantage, but for health improvement.
We need to "sell" health messages, not simply state facts or give
statistics, as has always been done.  Too often health information campaigns
and routine handouts or posters are designed almost entirely on the basis of
"this is the message we want to get across to the community".  (There are,
of course, some good exceptions using appropriate "social marketing".) Sure
we need to provide accurate messages, but it is how we do it that can
encourage the mother to accept it.  Health services need to:
1) conduct focus groups from time to time to see what the public's concerns
are,
2) look closely at advertisements to see what the manufacturers are homing
in on, and then
3) use the "you" factor in providing information to Mums.
Just because the baby-milk sector uses these methods for nefarious purposes,
doesn't mean we should shun their methods - we should embrace them.
Virginia
PS I am currently "nomail" and I would appreciate any replies to be copied
to me. Many thanks.

Dr Virginia Thorley, OAM, PhD, IBCLC. FILCA
Private Practice Lactation Consultant
Brisbane, Queensland

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