6 - A Social Marketing Perspective on Disaster Preparedness - Michael Newland

 Michael Newland

Reference:

Guion, D., Scammon, D., & Borders, A. L. (2007). Weathering the Storm: A Social Marketing Perspective on Disaster Preparedness and Response with Lessons from Hurricane Katrina. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Vol 26 Issue 1, Pg. 20-32.

Theme:

The lessons that we learned from Hurricane Katrina taught us that a social marketing approach to disaster management could increase the likelihood of positive outcomes for individuals and communities when a disaster strikes.

Summary:

·         Katrina suggests that improved preparedness for and response to disasters requires behavior changes on the part of residents in the disaster area and emergency management organizations.

·         The basic four-phase model of disaster management includes: Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.

·         Because natural disasters are so unpredictable mitigation mostly takes place with preemptive measures. Local, State, and Federal governments establish and enforce rules and regulations to achieve agreed on plans. “Mass media can play a critical role during the mitigation phase because media coverage contributes to the formation of public attitudes, which in turn influence legislative actions.”

·         During the preparedness phase, we focus on reducing the negative consequences of disasters. We aim to encourage people to make choices about protective behaviors and monitoring compliance with community plans. “Community education is an important goal of preparedness, and thus the media are essential partners in this phase of disaster management.”

·         During the response phase emergency teams make every effort to: Provide short-term disaster relief, rescue victims, and to provide shelter. Coordination between the many different agencies is vital. “Information is an important key to coordination, and the mass media play a major role in disseminating such information during this phase and the next.”

·         During the recovery phase, public organizations start to restore social systems and rebuild physical environments. “An important role of the media during the recovery phase is communicating information about available assistance.”

·         We learned a lot about disaster response and the media from Hurricane Katrina. “The media presence during Hurricane Katrina allowed the world not only to see the atrocities experienced by the evacuees but also to see clearly and repeatedly the contradictions and failings by all levels of government.”

Application to the lesson topic:

The media and disaster preparedness/response goes hand in hand. The media plays a crucial role to both the public and response agencies. It allows for massive amounts of information to be passed relatively easily.

Application to emergency services:

During disaster emergency services agencies may need to know more information just like the public. The media allows emergency services personnel to learn more about the crisis so that they can do a better job of continuing their relief efforts.