Branded engagement model: Community members as health collaborators

Evolving technological, social, and economic forces have compelled marketers to shift their marketing models from a mass-mediated, one-way strategy, to a dialogue that positions the consumer as an integral element of brands’ value creation processes. At the same time, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and organizations such as the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) have centered health research, outreach, and care in patients and their communities. This paper uses cutting edge research on digital media, health promotion, and creativity in ad agencies to develop a branded engagement model that elicits a new mentality that transforms the consumer from a recipient of information into an active collaborator in all health processes. The model's main objective is to facilitate movement beyond uni-directional, authoritative persuasive messaging to a collaborative environment in which health collaborators engage in guided interactions. These exchanges lead to matching personal narratives with the health program and subsequently aid in the dissemination of these conversations in a community’s culture. This paper also presents the model’s implications including: (1) Wellbeing as a process that needs a variety of participants who require coordinated communication platforms and opportunities for collaboration; (2) the consumer as an active participant who is fully engaged in value creation; (3) the collaborative development of carefully branded conversation platforms and messages; and (4) tools and messages developed to accomplish distinct and complementary objectives in different media. These implications lead to a set of realistic recommendations and planning tools for health organizations interested in engaging collaborators with the ultimate goal of individual and community wellbeing.