While our time at the 2010 National Conference on Health Communications, Marketing and Media has come to end, our bridge-building between marketing applications and action for good is more focused and fervent than ever.

As highlighted in a recent blog post, the theme of this years conference—Convergence: Purpose, Programs & Partners—reflects the mounting realization that complete health marketing solutions can only be crafted from the intersection of distinct sciences, methods, and technologies. In examining that intersection, the discipline of Behavioral Economics (BE) was examined as a crossover tool from the world of retail consumer behavior to the world of health behavior.

Especially in light of recent global economic instabilities and evolutions, books like Nudge, Predictably Irrational and Freakonomics have thrust BE to the forefront of marketers’ toolboxes. BE incorporates mainstream economics with findings from psychology and neurology to deeper understand behavior and decision patterns. While this intersection of disciplines and technologies is not new for examining consumer behavior, its application and relevance for social and cause marketing has only recently been recognized.

I believe there are two significant takeaways for application:

1. Segmentation of audiences may benefit from a “hot/cold” perspective, indicating a person’s cognitive, emotional, visceral and/or neural response readiness towards visual and digital communication. 
2. Understanding BE can add variables to market research that optimize sustained (behavioral) adoption to messaging.

I have always held the firm belief that our role as communicators and brand agents is not to sell, but rather to help people buy. Converging disciplines and technologies moves us from industrial silos to comprehensive communications that help people make the decisions toward healthier lives, families and, ultimately, a healthier world.