Mass media campaigns promoting physical activity

¶ … Mass Media Campaign

It would be safe to say that the participation rate among African-American men to physical activities is not as popular as one might think. When analyzing this situation one must take several variables into consideration. These variables refer to factors which might become barriers for a wider participation to sports and leisure activities which involve physical activity. One element that comes to mind is represented by the environment. Parks and green spaces are not met with a high frequency in the areas inhabited by African-American men. Going to a gym is different from jogging just outside ones home. Another barrier is represented by the personal factor. Here one might bring into discussion family issues and the job. One may be so busy with his job and the children that he forgets he must dedicate some time to physical activity for his own good.

In addition, the income might me a problem in the case of those who have big families to attend for. A social barrier might me found in the attitude towards physical activities. One may consider that dedicating your time to such activities is just a waste while there are other better things to do. The cultural environment is also important, as it could highly influence people's attitude towards physical activity.

The campaign will nevertheless aim to fight all the barriers that have just been mentioned. The concept at the basis of the campaign is that physical activity makes you healthy, strong and beautiful, therefore contributing to the achieve of success. Success will be represented as the fulfilment of goals on an everyday basis, ranging from a person's love/sex life to the power to achieve anything you wish from a professional point-of-view. The biggest problem is represented by the attitude towards physical activity.

The purpose of the campaign is to render it popular by convincing the target audience (African-American men aged 25 to 40) that physical activity keeps you fit, healthy, strong and beautiful helping one to work more, work better, be healthier, live longer and be happier. Once this step is achieved, it will be a lot easier to fight the other existing barriers. The limitations brought by the environment barrier could be fixed through a collaboration with the local administration. The creation of green spaces would be a highly advantageous project as these spaces could be used as leisure spaces for adults and playgrounds for children.

The partnership between us and the local authorities could have numerous mutual advantages form this point-of-view as they would help promote the campaign while promoting the common initiative regarding the green spaces. Another initiative would be represented by the partnership with various gyms. As incentive they would offer various types of discounts for the targeted audience, as well as personalized classes within a wide range of activity types (from martial arts to pilates).