Council on Communications Report
Dr. Devek K. Frech
The following are Council on Communications (COC) efforts from the 06/07 fiscal year.
An extensive packet that includes results from year one of the Consumer Awareness Campaign was made available to all 2007 House delegates. The COC made a concerted effort to keep the membership informed about the campaign through Bulletin articles and informational fliers. The campaign continues to increase patient inquiries to the web site and calls to the 1-800 phone number.
If groups of AAO members or component groups are interested in purchasing air time or print space, they are encouraged to work with AAO staff in respect to policy issues and will then be referred to Schupp Co. for advice on a specific media buy. Schupp Co. is the St. Louis communications marketing firm that developed the “More than a Smile” campaign.
President Don Joondeph, Secretary-Treasurer Raymond George, and Executive Director Chris Vranas met with editors of national publications during the fall of 2006. These face-to-face meetings allowed AAO representatives to discuss the consumer awareness campaign and why the campaign has been undertaken. As a result of the meetings, Family Circle ran a story in their March 2007 edition. We are also anticipating placements in Parents, Women’s Health, More, and Self magazines as a result of the meetings with the publication editors.
National Orthodontic Health Month (NOHM) projects included an Internet press kit, a radio media tour, a radio news release, a satellite media tour, a syndicated newspaper column, and selling the NOHM story to national editors and writers. The estimated audience for all mediums was about 79.88 million people. The following individuals were 2006 spokespeople: Dr. Christi Fortney, President Don Joondeph, Secretary-Treasurer Raymond George, Sr., and Trustee Mike Rogers.
National Facial Protection Month featured a radio media tour that included live interviews by President Don Joondeph and Secretary-Treasurer Raymond George, Sr. During the radio media tour, each doctor stressed the importance of wearing a mouthguard or other equipment to protect those who participate in sports from facial and mouth injuries.
Two public service announcements (PSAs) were recently created and will provide information about the unique qualifications of an orthodontist. Both PSAs will allow the AAO to have a TV presence when paid messages are not airing because TV stations donate airtime for PSAs. The COC also completed brochures on rapid palatal expansion and fiberotomies/frenectomies.
The 2006 Patient Census Survey was completed by members during the spring of 2007. The results will help the AAO compile the most accurate information possible regarding the patients being treated by the AAO members in the U.S. and Canada.
The COC created a PowerPoint presentation titled “Healthy Smiles,” which was designed to be both educational and entertaining. The target audience for this presentation is children between the ages of 7-14.
The COC developed a PowerPoint presentation titled “Orthodontic Problems in the Seven-Year-Old Patient,” which is available for free download on www.AAOmembers.org. The presentation is an educational outreach tool and can be used when AAO members make presentations to dentists, hygienists, and dental staff about orthodontic problems in children.
In the upcoming fiscal year, the COC will be collaborating with Dr. Mary Barkley, a member of the Council on Orthodontic Practice, on the revision of five consumer education brochures. The COC voted to update the content of these existing brochures and will create a new temporary anchorage device brochure this upcoming year.
The COC will employ target audience focus groups to examine braces.org, the AAO’s consumer website. The objective is to discover how the AAO can best reach mothers ages 25-54. The COC will produce a hygiene DVD that will target adult patients. The DVD will be available for purchase at the 2008 Annual Session in Denver. The COC will work with an AAO- member doctor in the upcoming year to continue an interdisciplinary management series started by Dr. Vincent G. Kokich in 2005. The new DVD will include continuing education units.