The latest eight-word disease screening slogan

Early screening and early diagnosis keep your health at bay.

Last week, I was watching the free lung cancer screening clinic at a community health service center near my home. I saw these eight words printed on a banner from a distance. While moving materials, I was chatting with a nurse from the public health department. She also said that after changing the slogan this year, nearly 30% more people came to consult than last year. The first thing a lot of adults said when they came over was, "You are here to guard our health, right? I want to have my lungs checked." This is much more pleasing than the "prevention first, screening first" policy that has been used for several years.

I believe this. Last month I had dinner with a friend who works for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He said that this year we had screened more than 20 groups of alternative 8-character slogans. We finally decided on this one because during the household survey, 8 out of 10 residents interviewed could recite it on the spot and clearly explain the core meaning of "early screening is to keep the disease at bay" without any additional explanation.

Of course, it does not mean that these eight words can be used in all scenarios. There are actually two different schools of thought in the publicity circle: one school prefers universality and thinks that just use this universal model. It has a strong enough memory and can be used whether it is for screening for three highs, two cancers or common diseases in the elderly. There is no need to change materials back and forth, saving costs and making it easier for everyone to form a unified understanding; the other school thinks that it should be done Scene customization, instead of pursuing uniformity, use the slogans for the groups and screenings. For example, when screening workplace employees for companies, use "regular screening, worry-free workplace"; when screening women for two cancers, use "early screening for two cancers, protect their health"; for sugar screening for people at high risk of diabetes, use "sugar screening in advance, improve health". They are all eight words, more targeted, and have a higher conversion rate. I used to help a private medical examination institution prepare materials for spring screening activities. I used the customized "One screening, peace of mind all year round". The number of people who forwarded the event poster that day was almost half as many as when the general slogan was used before. It does make sense.

Some people feel that the current new slogan is too colloquial and not rigorous enough. Some public hospitals’ official academic screening activities will still use the more formal expression "scientific screening, combining prevention and treatment". No one can say that it is wrong - after all, the core function of the slogan is to convey information. As long as the target group can understand, remember, and is willing to act, it is better than anything else.

Speaking of the changes in screening slogans in the past two years, we can actually see the change in public health propaganda ideas: the slogans in previous years were more directive, telling you "you need to be screened", while the current slogans are more value-oriented, telling you "what benefits does screening have for you". The length of 8 words is inherently short, so there is no need to play word games, and it is more effective than anything else to show the benefits of sincerity. If you really can’t make up your mind about what to use, you can definitely use “Early Screening and Early Diagnosis, Health Guarding” directly, and it can cover most scenarios without any problem.