June is Men’s Health Month in the US and to celebrate its 20th anniversary, we bring you the story of a creative way to change men’s health behaviours. According to the Men’s Health Resource Center, men are more likely to go long periods of time without going to the doctor, they’re less likely to adopt preventive health measures, and are more likely to engage in risky behaviours.
Two interns in New York — Vince Mak and Colby Spear — set up a fake profile in the popular dating app Tinder as part of their Matches For Men’s Health project. They created an account for “Nicole”, a pretty 28 year old nurse from New York, to attract men and engage them in conversations on their health. Nicole’s pretty profile picture lured many men to initiate conversations, even flirting (and worse) with her. Nurse Nicole politely provides advice on health issues and reminds Tinder users that June is Men’s Health Month. The response has been mixed, some have showed genuine enthusiasm but others have ignored the advice. This is a creative approach by marketing in the right ‘place’ (one of the four Ps of marketing). However, tricking people into behaviour change might be problematic. Further testing will reveal the results so stayed tuned.
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