Time: 90 minutes

Step 3: Creating

The third step in the C -Change process is creating and

pretesting SBCC materials and activities
Step 3: Creating
Learning objectives

• Explain the benefits of conducting a material inventory

• List the various components of a creative brief
• Develop a creative brief
• List the 7 Cs of effective messages
• Explain concept testing, pre-testing, and field testing
• Describe considerations related to ensuring design and production quality
Creating materials and designing activities
Creating materials and activities is done after the SBCC strategy is complete

This process includes:

• Creating or adapting existing SBCC materials
• Testing SBC materials
• Finalizing and producing SBCC materials

Creating SBCC materials is both a science and an art

• Science - materials should be based on evidence and the data collected during the situational analysis
• Art – materials created should evoke emotion, motivate the audience, and engage or draw them in

Remember, materials do not stand alone, they:

• Support the SBCC strategy
• Support and are supported by each other
 10 Minutes

Getting Ready to Create

Conducting a Material Inventory

What is a material inventory?

• A review of current and past materials developed
• Materials that might inspire your program
• Materials you might consider adapting or complementing

Why do we need to conduct a material inventory?

• To reduce inefficiencies by developing materials that already exist
• To learn from others on what has worked and what hasn’t worked

Remember most of the barriers faced by key populations have been

addressed for many years
How to Conduct a Material Inventory
1. Consider materials your program will Example: Developing a job aide for
need (from your SBCC strategy) community agents to use with sex
workers to promote HIV prevention
2. Look at the materials you already have.
Can any of them be updated? Refreshed?

3. Look at materials developed by other

programs or organizations. There are a lot
of materials that have been developed

Group Question: Name some places where

you might look for existing materials
8

Ideas on Where to Find Materials

• Your own and partners’ organizations
• Government agencies involved in the HIV response or who work with key populations
• Universities involved in research on HIV or with key populations
• Local civil society and non-governmental organizations working in HIV
• International non-governmental organizations working in HIV (FHI 360, etc.)
• Global repositories for materials that have electronic files or other resources (WHO, UNAIDS,
PEPFAR, USAID)
• The Compass – online repository for health and development SBC resource and materials from
around the world (https://www.thecompassforsbc.org/)
• The Communication Initiative – online repository for communication resources from around the
world (www.comminit.com)
How to conduct a Material Inventory
3. After collecting the materials,
ask yourself:
• Which of these tools or materials are
still in use and why?

• Are there any tools or materials you

can use or adapt for your purposes
instead of reinventing the wheel?

• What can be learned from others in

the field (both the good and the
bad)?
 15 Minutes

Using a Creative Brief to Develop Materials

 The Creative Brief
What is a creative brief?

• A short tool used to guide the development

of SBCC materials (e.g. drama, film, visual
design, narrative copy, advertising,
websites, slogans)

• Created by the project team

• Used by those creating materials to guide

the creative process (internal creative team
or external creative agencies)
START END
• Keeps team members on track during the
creation process
A creative brief outlines the most important
elements of the SBCC campaign

• The key health or social issue to be addressed

• The priority and influencing audiences (who the campaign will
reach)
• The importance of reaching those audiences
• The key behaviors to promote
• The reason the audience(s) should adopt a specific behavior
• The benefits of taking that action
The Creative Brief and Your SBCC Strategy
Relationship between the creative brief and your communication strategy
Creative Brief Outline
Component Contents
Goal and audience • Overall aim of activity/material
• Selected audiences

Communication • Communication objectives addressing desired changes and barriers

objectives

Message brief • Key promise

• Support statement
• Call to action

Key content and • Key content to communicate

tone • Tone for activity or material

Media mix and • How the material complements or is supported by other materials or
other activities
considerations • Other creative considerations
Goal and Audiences
Goal: What are you trying to
achieve with this activity or
material?

Audiences:
• Primary: Group most affected by the
problem
• Secondary: People who directly influence
the primary audience, either positively or
negatively
 Communication Objectives

By September 30, 2023, there will be an X% increase in the number of urban FSW ages 15-29 who feel
empowered to negotiate condom and condom-compatible lubricant use with their clients.
The Key Promise
What does the Key Promise do:
• Provides a compelling, truthful,
and relevant benefit that the
audience receives by taking the
desired action
Example:
If you (FSW) use condoms and
condom-compatible lubricant
consistently and correctly, then you
will protect yourself and the ones
you love from HIV
The Support Statement

What does the support statement Example:

do:
• Convinces the audience they will Because you have the power to
actually experience the benefit protect yourself from HIV
• Details reasons why the key promise
outweighs key barriers
• Sometimes referred to as the
aspirations of the audience. Who do
they want to be?
• Often becomes the message
Call to Action
What does the call to action do: Example:

• Tells your audience what you Use condoms and condom-

want your priority audience to compatible lubricant with all
do or where to go clients and regular partners
whose HIV status is unknown
 Creative Brief Example
Component Background
Audience Primary: FSW ages 15-29
Secondary: Boyfriends/husbands of FSW, peers, clients of FSW, pimps/brothel owners,
outreach/health workers
Changes, Barriers, Changes: Use condoms and condom-compatible lubricant with every sex act with a client or a regular
Communication partner
Objectives Barriers: Lack of knowledge about the need to use condoms with regular partners, financial pressure
to have sex without condoms, physical or sexual violence, limited condom negotiation skills
Communication objectives: By September 30, 2023, there will be an X% increase in the number of
urban FSW ages 15-29 who feel empowered to negotiate condom and condom-compatible lubricant
use with their client and regular partners
Message Brief Key promise: If you use condoms and condom-compatible lubricant consistently and correctly, then
you will protect yourself and the ones you love from HIV
Support statement: Because you have the power to protect yourself from HIV
Call to Action: Use condoms and condom-compatible lubricant with all clients and regular partners
Key Content and Media Mix
Key Content:
• Provides the information and concepts that are essential
• Describes what is relevant to your audience in order to achieve the
communication objective to bring about change?

Media Mix/Activities:
• Describes material fit with program activities and materials
Tone for Activity or Material
Feeling/personality the communication materials should have based on the key promise:

• Emotional
• Playful
• Edgy
• Aspirational
• Hopeful
• Serious
• Logical

The focus should be on providing positive, hopeful tones; as opposed to scare tactics and
sad/depressing tones. These have been shown to not be as effective and, in some cases, have
contributed to unintended negative reactions (i.e. contributing to stigma around people with
certain diseases)
 Other Creative Considerations

• Literacy levels – What is the literacy level of the primary audience?

• Local language / slang – What language is most commonly used by your primary
audience? Is there common slang that should be used in the materials?
• Donor requirements – Does the donor have requirements associated with branding,
etc.?
• Logos – What logos, if any, need to appear on the materials? (this could include the
MOH, donors, NACO, Implementing partners, etc.)
• Color schemes – Are there certain colors that should be used? Colors that should be
avoided?
• Branding plan – Is the material part of a branded campaign? If yes, what are the
branding considerations?
Key Summary Points
• Creative brief is a short tool used to guide the development of SBCC
materials

• Creative brief pulls together information from the situation analysis and
the decisions made in Step 2

• Creative briefs contain sections on your communication goal and audience,

changes to barriers, communication objectives, a message brief, and other
creative considerations

• Message brief portion of a creative brief contains a key promise, a support

statement, and a call to action
 30 Minutes

Group Activity: Develop a Creative Brief

 Module 3:
Creating

Effective Messages

27
Key Messages
What is a Message?
• A message is a brief, value-based statement that captures a positive concept and is aimed at an
audience
• Successful, well-designed messages are simple, memorable, easily understood, culturally
appropriate, and meaningful to the audience
• A message contains key points of information that a program wants to communicate to an
audience to encourage behavior change

What is a Key Message?

• Key messages are the essential messages that should be used across all communication materials
developed for a campaign
• Key messages are identified as a result of the message brief – key promise, support statement,
and call to action,
• Key messages are created by the creative team when developing the materials. This is typically
done during a design workshop
Reason for Key Messages

• Key messages ensure consistency and relevance of messages in

materials

• Key messages contribute to the overall effectiveness of the

communication strategy by ensuring consistency across all materials
and activities in the campaign
The Seven C’s of Effective Messages

1. Command attention:
• Message stands out to the audience and is believable

2. Clarify the message:

• It is simple, direct, focuses only on what the audience needs to know, and the
strongest points are given at the beginning

3. Communicate a benefit:
• Message states what the audience gets in return for taking action
• Message conveys that the benefit outweighs the barriers
The Seven C’s of Effective Messages

4. Consistency counts:
• Messages are used appropriately and consistently across materials

5. Cater to the head and heart:

• Message uses an appropriate tone and appeals to emotions as well as logic

6. Create trust:
• Information comes from a credible source

7. Call to action:
• Clearly states what audience should do after seeing message
Example of Key Messages
Key message content for a family planning campaign might include
these messages:
• Talk to your health provider about family planning today
• Using family planning is the smart choice for modern families
• There are many contraceptive methods available
Additional key considerations when developing messages:

Keep it simple.
 Make it easy to grasp
 Make it short and uncluttered
 Avoid jargon. Or define key terms that may sound like jargon (e.g., technical words, complicated medical
terms, etc.)

Know your audience and involve them early on

 Address the audience’s level of knowledge
 Address their values, norms, and beliefs
 Address their needs and priorities

Invite the audience to “fill in the blanks” and reach conclusions on their own
 Hold back from including every detail
 Allow the audience to use their own thought processes to take ownership of the message

Present a doable solution

 Focus on local, doable solutions
 60 Minutes

Drafting and creating materials

Group Activity: Time to get creative!

Develop your key messages. Create one draft

material based on your creative brief
 15 Minutes

Concept testing, pretesting, and field testing

Testing Your SBCC Materials to Ensure
Effectiveness

Why do we test our materials?

• Confirms that the materials are effective, appropriate, understandable, attractive, and culturally
relevant
• Gathers feedback from intended audiences, who may suggest alternative formats and identify
confusing or unclear content
• Identifies revisions that can then be made so the materials will be effective
• It is easier and more cost-effective to revise materials or activities during the material
development stage, than after they are finalized and disseminated
Testing Your SBCC Materials to Ensure
Effectiveness
Types of testing:

• Concept Testing
• Pretesting
• Field Testing
Type Concept Test
Purpose? • Reaction to messages,
material formats
• Info on audience
motivations and interests
When? • Before drafts are
developed
With whom? • Intended audience
Materials • Drawings, black & white
needed: prints, mock up designs
• At least 2 concepts to see
which is preferred
Pretest Field Test
• Reaction to draft materials • How materials work
(visuals, text, color, audio) • Format ok?
• Feedback on acceptance, • Usability and
comprehension, effectiveness of
attractiveness, materials
involvement
• After concept testing and • After drafts developed
drafts developed
• Intended audience • Users (community
• General public agents, providers, etc.)
• Users (community agents, • Intended audience
providers, etc.)
• Drafts of materials • Drafts of materials
43
Issues to Probe during Testing
Key issues to probe during testing of materials:

• Comprehension: Establish the extent to which the respondents understand the materials and find
out whether anything is unclear, confusing, or hard to believe
• Recall: Find out if the audience can recall the key messages
• Likeablity: Find out if audience likes the material
•Appeal: Find out whether the audience finds the materials attractive and relevant
•Language and words: Establish whether the materials are compatible with local culture or if they
include offensive or unfamiliar language
• Involvement: Find out whether the audience can identify with the materials
• Relatability: Find out if the materials are considered relatable and relevant to the issues faced by
the audiences and barriers to the desired behavior change
• Persuasiveness: Find out if the message and materials are persuasive to the audience. Does it
speak to them
• Improvement: Gather suggestions, if any, on how to improve the materials
Key Summary Points
• Testing concepts and pretesting materials are essential components of creating materials

• Testing helps to confirm that materials are appropriate, understandable, and effective. It
also helps to gather input and feedback on the design and content from the intended
audience

• Concept testing aims to identify reactions to key messages, proposed formats, or

audience motivations and interests

• Pretesting aims to garner reactions to draft creative materials with a view toward
strengthening them

• Field testing evaluates how materials work for those who will use them with the
audience
Group activity: Conduct a group Pretest
 Pretest Questions
Comprehension
• What is the material about?
• What is being shown in the material?
• What are the key messages? (spontaneous and probed)
• What is being said?
• If you had to explain this material to a friend /relative /
colleague, what would you tell them?
Relevance
• Who is shown in the material? What are these people/
characters doing?
• Do you think you know people like this?
• Who do you think this material is meant for? Who is the
target audience of the material?
Likeability/Appeal
• What do you like most about the material?
• What do you like least about the material?
• What would you like to change about the material?
• Is the design of the material attractive? Do you like it?
Persuasive
• What would you do if you saw this material? Does it
encourage you to take action? What action?
• What do you think your friends / relatives / colleagues
would do if they saw a material like this?
• What is the call to action for you?
Language
• Is there any word that you do not understand?
• Are the messages clear? Do you understand them?
Group Activity: Pretest the material you
created in your group with your audience