Branded Breastscreening: How Brand Congruence, Perceived Threat and Age Influence Coping

In Queensland, Australia, breast cancer screening services are offered by a branded, government service, BreastScreen Queensland (BSQ). At present the current Queensland breastscreening participation rate is 55% for women in the target age group of 50-69, which has remained stable since 2001 and is well below the desired level of 70% (Australian  Institute of Health and Welfare, 2010).

Given the recent rebranding of BSQ, which was done to increase participation rates, brand congruity theory was used to investigate the response of women to a core marketing material device; the  invitation letter.  This invitation letter is sent to women in the target age group, containing information about the brand, the likelihood of cancer (perceived threat), the detection role that BSQ plays and encourages women to book an appointment.

This Honours study focused on women’s responses to the likelihood of cancer, and quantitatively investigated whether perceived threat, brand congruency and age influenced whether individuals engaged in active or avoidance coping behaviour towards obtaining a breastscreen.

An understanding of how consumers connect with brands and respond to perceived threats in a health services context is needed for any marketing attempts to increase participation.

Guiding Theory:

• Brand Congruency