Small Steps to a Healthier You Challenge: A New Approach to Social Marketing Campaigns Grounded in Behavioral Science

Every year, millions of people make resolutions to lose weight, eat healthier, or be happier. Unfortunately, the majority of resolutions fail. Science suggests that the key to setting resolutions that stick is to focus on making simple micro-changes that can be built upon over time.

The Army National Guard’s Guard Your Health program, a health promotion initiative of the Office of the Chief Surgeon, developed the Small Steps to a Healthier You Challenge. This was designed as the anti-behavior change campaign. Rather than setting lofty goals for individuals, the challenge set small, easily achievable goals. The 28-day challenge was framed as “just the beginning.” It was a way to get people over the biggest hurdle to behavior change: getting started. The challenge was a crash course in the types of meaningful micro-changes participants could make on a daily basis in order to achieve lasting results. It was also designed to teach individuals how to make changes that stick. The challenge was executed with integrated digital strategy that spanned across social media channels, SMS, email, and a responsive website. It was intended to determine the viability of the concept for long-term future programs and to determine which behaviors individuals would be interested in targeting.

This program was based on the behavior model of Dr. B.J. Fogg, founder of the Persuasive Tech Lab at Stanford University. His theory focuses on persuasive behavior change using technology to alter behaviors in positive ways and to assess the psychological element lacking to achieve desired results.