Designing concepts, messages and materials

Marketing techniques used effectively can guide the target population through the stages of behaviour change which lead potential scheme members to becoming actual scheme members who pay their premiums.

The stages of behaviour change

The 8Ps in marketing

There are eight major elements, known as the "8Ps," used to influence target populations. The combination of these elements are referred to as the marketing mix.

Product

In the context of microinsurance, the product can refer either to the idea of insurance (when the goal is to raise awareness on the concept) or to a tangible insurance product (the insurance policy, for example).

Price

Likewise, the price can refer to the monetary cost of membership, ie.. the premium, or to nonmonetary costs, such as time, effort, and energy that may be involved in being a microinsurance scheme member. The pricing objective of the social marketer is to ensure that the benefits offered to the target market are equal or greater to the costs.

Place

Distribution channels for your product are identified and established. This is where the target audience performs the behaviour (for example, paying a premium or signing a contract), acquire any tangible products, recieve services, and learn more about insurance membership.

Publics

Publics refer both to internal and external groups of people involved in the program, including the primary and secondary target audiences, and policymakers who influence the environment conducive to behaviour change. Internal

Partnerships

Steps in building successful partnerships

Promotion

Promotion contains two elements: the message and the channels for delivering the message.

Message design
Tips for developing effective messages:

• Develop culturally appropriate messages:
  • Considerprimary cultural factors linked to race, ethnicity, language, nationality and religion amd secondary factors linked to age, gender, education level, occupation, and income level
• Be respectful of attitudes and values of target audience:
  • Is the community or the individual of primary importance? – this will affect the acceptance of insurance as a form of solidarity
  • Accepted roles of men, women and children
  • Preferred family structure (nuclear or extended)
• Use the language of the target audience
• Be consistent – messages should reinforce each other and follow a single strategy, this includes for visual identity of the campaign – consist use of logos, colors etc.
• Keep it simple – clear, to the point messages often work best
• Make it clear what action you want the target audience to take – this is important if you want to move beyond the recognition stage
• Be relevant to the target audience – What’s in it for them?

Designing messages for low literacy target audiences
In the context of micro-insurance schemes, it is possible that target markets have low literacy levels. Alternatives to written communication such as streeet theater, video, or pictoral presentations have been used successfully to educate audiences on insurance.

Mimay and Jojo: Example of a brochure using cartoons

If you decide to use written communication materials for low literacy audiences, the following should be kept in mind when designing the materials:

• Limit the content to including only information needed to convey the desired action. Exclude any information that the reader does not have to know, such as information to promote your organization or general interest facts.
• Organize topics in the order the reader will use them to facilitate the flow of an argument.
• Present the most important points first and last - studies show these are the most often retained.
• Respect the intended audience – do not talk down to readers or assume they are not intelligent.
• Avoid jargon, technical terms, abbreviations and acronyms.
• Give the reader an action step that he or she can take immediately.

Channels of communication
In choosing the channel of communication, the social marketer must determine the percentage of the target audience it wants to expose to the campaign (the reach), how many times the average person in the target market is exposed (frequency) and the impact of using this channel. In the context of microinsurance where there is a strong component of solidarity and a need for trust, personal communication channels and word-of-mouth are very important.

Pursestrings

How much can your organization invest in marketing? Are there possibilities for external sources of funding?

Policies

• Internal communication policies.
• External policies affecting micro-insurance schemes.

  GIMI theme page on national policies and strategies

 

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Tools for designing: More examples of marketing brochures for health microinsurance schemes

 

Read more: Feasibility Study Guide