The following is an example of how community-based grass-roots marketing could be utilized to promote awareness, diagnosis, and treatment of asthma, which afflicts inner-city African Americans and Latinos at a rate that is five times higher than that of the general population. This example would be ideal for a pharmaceutical or healthcare organization looking to identify and treat more asthma patients from this under-served community.

The objectives for this sample campaign are as follows:

• Increase awareness/diagnoses of Asthma in African-American and Latino communities in the New York area over 2003-2004
• Increase Asthma management and control the factors and behaviors that increase the risks of Asthma
• To significantly increase Asthma screening referrals
• Increase the number of prescriptions written in the target audience.

Furthermore, our client will benefit from the program by enhancing their brand image as a company that cares about the well-being of the community, as opposed to being one driven solely by profit motive. This will result in increased sales and a stronger relationship with customers and distributors. The two goals are not contradictory- the program will recognize previously undiagnosed asthma sufferers and alert them to the need for asthma management through medication and behavior changes. The bottom line result will be significantly increased market share in the targeted segments.

As previous case studies have demonstrated, community outreach is critical and the most effective method for approaching multicultural markets. MZInc will develop a comprehensive community outreach program based the success of similar case studies that will include the following:

1. An Asthma awareness/control media campaign will be conducted across multiple media platforms

2. Community volunteer strategies that will recruit and coordinate volunteers to help raise awareness of the dangers of asthma, promote asthma screenings, and encourage fellow community members to monitor and manage their disease.

3. Partnerships with corporate and nonprofit organizations that will contribute funding and resources to the campaign.

Program Planning:

• Create a program development committee within the community
• Collect local community data to target the program
• Assess community health services and other resources
• Identify health and other organizations and media outlets in the community
• Create health communication materials that are linguistically on target, culturally sensitive, and age appropriate for the specific communities.
• Pre-test materials for comprehension, cultural competence and sensitivity to the target group

Resource Development:

• Recruit volunteers, organizations, and local media to participate in the program and/or provide in-kind contributions (e.g. printing, collating, mailing services, public service space or time in media)
• Community assistance in recruiting volunteers, key leaders
• Contribute staff or volunteer time (Churches, non-profits etc.)

Program Implementation/Publicity and Promotion:

• Implementation administration and monitoring
• Provide venues for program meetings, events, and activities
• Organize or participate in media publicized events (e.g., health fairs, press conferences)
• Prepare press releases
• Prepare exhibits for public places (e.g., shopping malls, building lobbies, schools, public libraries, zoos, parks, laundromats, etc.)
• Distribute narrow cast media materials in the targeted communities
• Write articles for immediate media placement
• Publish articles in existing community newsletters and other media (proven successful when offered for free)
• Produce health presentations that incorporate the linguistic, literacy and cultural values of the community.
• Provide recognized, credible spokespersons from community (popular music artists and performers from radio stations etc.)
• Find community role models with asthma symptoms
• Provide media interviews to local media and invite major stations TV, radio and newspaper.)