Building public awareness of an entire profession requires strategic planning – especially when it pertains to the exploration of ground-breaking marketing tactics that target new audiences with key messaging about the value of chiropractic care.
One of those tactics includes the September designation as Drug-Free Pain Management Awareness Month. This nationwide annual campaign, sponsored by the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, plays a fundamental role in educating Americans nationwide of drug-free chiropractic care as the preferred first-line approach to safe and effective management of low back, neck and neuromusculoskeletal pain prior to utilization of prescription opioids and over-the-counter pain relievers.
Billboards
For the first time in history, the foundation – along with a handful of its group member state associations – is taking its message to the streets in the form of billboard advertising! With the average American spending roughly 17,600 minutes driving each year, what better way to garner public attention than through billboard marketing?
Just in time for the Florida Chiropractic Association's The National, the foundation will place its first billboard in Orlando, Fla., with the message "Back Pain? See Your Chiropractor." The URL www.yes2chiropractic.org will appear as the call-to-action, directing consumers to the foundation's national Find a Doctor directory. Members of the foundation receive a listing in this directory, enabling their practice and contact information to display when a patient searches for a local doctor of chiropractic.
For those attending The National this year, the billboard will be visible to passengers on SR 528 as they leave the Hyatt Regency and head to Orlando International Airport.
As the month of September kicks off, five additional billboards will appear in high-traffic locations in Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tenn.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Detroit, Mich.; and Des Moines, Iowa. In total, these six billboards, spread out throughout the U.S., have the potential to reach nearly 8 million individuals.
Print Advertising
Another first! The foundation will place a full-page, color advertisement in Prevention magazine as part of its national drug-free awareness campaign this September. The ad, projected to reach more than 1.5 million monthly readers, will communicate the chiropractic trifecta: patient satisfaction, effectiveness and lower utilization of Rx medications when adults are receiving chiropractic, as reported in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
Additionally, two half-page ads will appear in The Wall Street Journal showcasing the foundation's proud corporate sponsors, and celebrating 123 years of safe, effective and drug-free pain management that chiropractic has provided.
And More...
As the foundation works to bring chiropractic to new heights, you can also expect to see national press releases, infographics, substantial social media postings and infographics, a nine-part webinar series available to the entire profession and more throughout the month of September.
It is an exciting time for the chiropractic profession, and the foundation looks forward to implementing strategic messaging to ensure the many benefits of chiropractic care rings loudly throughout the nation. For more information and to become a member, visit www.f4cp.org.
Dr. Sherry McAllister is a graduate of Palmer Chiropractic College West; practices in San Jose, Calif.; and is currently the executive vice president of the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP). Visit www.f4cp.com to learn more.