After watching the season 2 premiere of The Walking Dead, I did a search on Wikipedia for the genre called post-apocalyptic. While digging around, I clicked on the sub-genre called zombie apocalyptic (because the end-of-the-world could happen because of weather, aliens, a virus, etc. as well).
It was towards the bottom of the page under references, I noticed a link to a report authored by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) called Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse. I found that rather odd so my curiosity led me to click.
As I skimmed the page, I was impressed the CDC is using a new tactic to drive awareness about an old message. The report is designed to help people take emergency preparedness seriously. Ensuring that you have drinking water, a battery powered radio, small change and other essentials are necessary should society erupt into chaos due to a cataclysmic event, such as zombies.
What I found completely clever is that emergency preparedness is such a fearful topic, yet CDC found a way to draw attention to this important matter. No one wants to think that the world will come to the end and that we’ll need to fend for our safety while society decays around us. However, those who’ll survive the first few days of a societal meltdown are the ones who prepared an emergency kit in advance.
CDC’s method is similar to what the Alberta Health Services did with a recent awareness campaign called Plenty of Syph. It’s a fictional dating site, parodied after PlentyofFish, that connects singles with other singles suffering from syphilis. The high rate of syphilis in the Province of Alberta prompted the health department to try something different to help young adults understand the symptoms of this sexually transmitted disease. The video below is just one of the TV ads that was shown in Alberta to bring awareness to this campaign.
An old tale spun a new way to gain attention. What lessons can you learn from CDC and Alberta Health Services to help you spin your personal or business message in a new way? Do you have examples of businesses that have what CDC and Alberta Health Services have done? If so, please share in the comments area below.
