If you would like to participate, please email the Kansas City Healthy Lifestyles Collaborative with your interest and you will be invited to the next meeting.

The Media and Communications Sector is led by Toriano Porter from the Kansas City Star and Malenda Shahane from UMB Bank.

KCPA Plan Strategies and Tactics for Media and Communications

Millions of people receive messages daily through various communication channels or media. Media campaigns are designed to influence attitudes and beliefs, increase awareness and/or knowledge, and promote behavior change. Media’s reach is population-wide and is integrated into our daily lives with our connection to the always-expanding delivery methods including television, radio, print, social networking, texting, etc.

Research has provided evidence that well-designed media campaigns can be an effective tool in promoting physical activity at the population level. Increased use of a computer, laptop, and smartphone for individually adapted behavior change programs has been shown to be effective at increasing physical activity levels.

The extensive reach of media makes it an influential tool to promote physical activity and reach key opinion leaders to help make informed decisions that impact both communities and individuals. Given the Kansas City population's daily interaction with media and other communications, this sector has the unique potential to be highly impactful at informing, educating, and motivating the Kansas City population to be active.

Strategy 31

Develop Media and Communications messages and a standardized “brand” for promoting physical activity.

Tactics

  1. Engage public health agencies and key stakeholders at all levels and across all societal sectors in developing a standardized “brand” for promoting physical activity.

  2. Conduct market research to identify the most effective media and communication messages and standardized brand for promoting physical activity.

  3. Develop and disseminate a toolkit to support extensive application of the messages and standardized brand for promoting physical activity at the state and local levels.

Strategy 32

Launch a physical activity campaign to educate individuals about effective behavioral strategies for increasing physical activity.

Tactics

  1. Identify and test evidence-based media messages and campaign strategies with the greatest reach and likelihood of influencing population physical activity levels.

  2. Advocate for funding to support a regional physical activity campaign.

Strategy 33

Optimize application of social media and emerging technologies in media campaigns to promote physical activity.

Tactics

  1. Support public health agencies and key stakeholders at all levels to incorporate social media techniques in physical activity promotion programs.

  2. Support public health agencies and key stakeholders at all levels to apply emerging technologies (e.g., biometry) in physical activity promotion programs.

Strategy 34

Inform media and communication professionals about the effects of physical activity on health and on strategies for increasing physical activity.

Tactics

  1. Educate media professionals about the documented effects of physical activity on prevention and treatment of obesity and non-communicable diseases.

  2. Reframe media professionals’ understanding of the impact of physical activity on public health, relative to the effects of other hygienic behaviors (e.g., avoidance of tobacco use, healthy eating).

  3. Design materials for informing media professionals regarding effective strategies for increasing physical activity at the individual and community levels.

Mural Board

Mural is an interactive visual collaboration software that mimics the process of using sticky notes in a virtual setting.

Click below to see the feedback from the Media and Communications meetings. 

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