{"id":21435,"date":"2020-07-23T20:46:54","date_gmt":"2020-07-23T20:46:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=21435"},"modified":"2020-07-24T13:39:32","modified_gmt":"2020-07-24T13:39:32","slug":"science-elicits-hope-in-americans-its-positive-brand-doesnt-need-to-be-partisan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/science-elicits-hope-in-americans-its-positive-brand-doesnt-need-to-be-partisan\/","title":{"rendered":"Science elicits hope in Americans \u2013 its positive brand doesn’t need to be partisan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Todd Newman<\/a>, University of Wisconsin-Madison<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Harley-Davidson is one of the most iconic brands in the world. Harley-Davidson, however, doesn\u2019t sell motorcycles \u2013 it sells a lifestyle. Look at any Harley-Davidson advertisement and you will see someone riding the open road. The Harley-Davidson brand is about freedom. Attitude. Living by your own rules.<\/p>\n

A brand is the unspoken starting point when you first encounter any object, person or idea. It\u2019s the emotional, sensory and cognitive reflex that shapes how subsequent information is gauged. A key to successful marketing, therefore, is understanding that starting point.<\/p>\n

By the same token, effective science communication depends on understanding the factors that influence public perceptions of science so that those doing the communicating \u2013 such as the research community, health professionals or governmental agencies \u2013 can advance greater public understanding of the science or motivate the actions of individuals, groups or society.<\/p>\n

Through the marketing lens, then, what is the \u201cbrand\u201d of science as an enterprise? It\u2019s an especially important question during the COVID-19 pandemic, when headlines around the world have shifted global attention to the science surrounding the coronavirus.<\/p>\n

A March 2020 Pew Research survey<\/a> asked Americans how they had felt about the coronavirus over the previous week. People reported experiencing nervousness, anxiety, depression and even physical reactions, at least a little of the time.<\/p>\n

But despite these uneasy feelings, nearly 3 in 4 Americans indicated they felt hopeful for the future.<\/p>\n

As my communications colleagues and I<\/a> find, hope is the starting point for how the public thinks and feels about science.<\/p>\n

Hope for the future, based in science<\/h2>\n

ScienceCounts, a nonprofit organization working to strengthen public support for science <\/a> which I collaborate with, conducted a couple of polls that ask respondents a multiple choice question about what comes to mind when they hear the word \u201cscience.\u201d What they found was clear: The U.S. public feels \u201chope.\u201d<\/p>\n