PUBH 8132 Week 2 Segmentation Memo Example

Course	PUBH 8132 Communication and Social Marketing Strategies for Public Health Leaders
Week	Week 2
Paper type	Segmentation memo
Length	About 710 words, 4 pages
Format	Memo, APA 7 citations
School	Walden University
Program	PhD in Public Health
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for PUBH 8132 Week 2

Memorandum

To: Director of Health Promotion, Brightwater County Health Department

From: Doctoral Student and Social Marketing Fellow

Date: Month Day, Year

Re: Choosing a priority segment for the backyard chick Salmonella strategy

Purpose

Everyone who buys chicks at a farm supply store in spring shares a purchase and little else. A strategy that tries to reach them all with one message will fit few of them. This memo divides spring chick buyers in Brightwater County, a composite county, into five segments by what keeping chicks out of the house would cost them and what it could return, then applies Lee and Kotler's criteria for choosing a priority segment.

What this page is doingFraming segments by cost and return, not demographics, ties the memo to the exchange the strategy will offer.

The Segments

First-Flock Families are households with children under 10 buying chicks for the first time. They are likely to brood indoors so children can watch and hold the birds, and their children are the ones most at risk.

Experienced Keepers have raised birds before and usually have outdoor brooders. Their cost of keeping chicks outside is low.

Classroom Hatchers are teachers who hatch eggs in schools, where children handle chicks in a shared room.

Holiday Gift Buyers buy a few chicks around spring holidays, often on impulse, for children.

Hobby Retirees are older adults raising small flocks, often in garages already.

Applying the Criteria

Lee and Kotler (2019) suggest evaluating segments on factors including size, how common and severe the problem is, how defenseless the segment is, how reachable it is, how responsive it is likely to be and how well it matches the organization's capacity.

Table 1

Segments Scored on Key Criteria

Segment	Size and incidence of indoor brooding	Severity of harm	Reachability	Likely responsiveness	Fit with county capacity \|
First-Flock Families	Moderate size; high indoor brooding	High: young children	High: farm store at purchase	Moderate to high	High \|
Experienced Keepers	Large; low indoor brooding	Moderate	High	Low need	Moderate \|
Classroom Hatchers	Small	High: many children	Moderate: through schools	Moderate	Low: requires school partnership \|
Holiday Gift Buyers	Small to moderate; impulsive	High	Low: brief contact	Low	Low \|
Hobby Retirees	Moderate; low indoor brooding	Moderate	Moderate	Low need	Moderate \|

Note. Scores are the fellow's judgment from farm store interviews and outbreak patterns; the county is composite.

The Choice: First-Flock Families

First-Flock Families rank highest on the factors that matter most here. National outbreak data show that the median age of people sickened in live poultry outbreaks was 9 and that 46% of patients had kept poultry inside the home (Basler et al., 2016), which matches this segment's profile and behavior. They are reachable at a single moment, the purchase, through partners the county already works with. And because they are new, their habits are not yet set.

A Check on the Choice

Before committing, the strategy team will confirm with store managers that First-Flock Families can be recognized at the bin without intrusive questions. A simple question about where the chicks will live, asked of every buyer, both identifies the segment and opens the conversation the offer depends on.

Segments Not Chosen, and Why

Classroom Hatchers matter, but reaching them requires school district policy, a different strategy. Holiday Gift Buyers are hard to reach and may respond better to store policies than to marketing. Experienced Keepers and Hobby Retirees already brood outside in most cases.

How the Segments Were Identified

The five segments come from brief interviews with 46 chick buyers at two farm supply stores during last spring's chick days, conversations with store managers about who buys chicks and when, and the county 4-H office's records of youth poultry projects. Store managers estimated that about a third of spring chick buyers are first-time families with young children, which matches what interviewers saw at the bins.

What the Choice Means

Choosing one segment means the strategy's offer, message and place will be designed for parents of young children buying their first chicks. Social marketing in public health has been most effective when it designs for a specific audience rather than the general public (Grier & Bryant, 2005). Other segments will still see the county's general advisory, but new resources go to First-Flock Families. If the strategy works, Classroom Hatchers would be the natural second segment, approached through a separate agreement with school districts.

References

Basler, C., Nguyen, T.-A., Anderson, T. C., Hancock, T., & Behravesh, C. B. (2016). Outbreaks of human Salmonella infections associated with live poultry, United States, 1990-2014. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 22(10), 1705-1711. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2210.150765

Grier, S., & Bryant, C. A. (2005). Social marketing in public health. Annual Review of Public Health, 26, 319-339. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.26.021304.144610

Lee, N. R., & Kotler, P. (2019). Social marketing: Behavior change for social good (6th ed.). Sage.

What the PUBH 8132 Week 2 instructions ask for

Segmentation assignments ask students to divide a population into groups whose differences bear on whether they will act, evaluate each group against criteria and choose a priority segment. Prompts usually require naming segments, describing each, applying criteria such as size, incidence, severity, reachability and responsiveness, and justifying the choice. A memo with a scoring table is common. Instructors reward segmentation based on differences relevant to the behavior and its costs rather than on demographics alone, transparent scoring, honest reasons for setting segments aside and a plan for how the chosen segment will be recognized and reached in practice. Evidence on who bears the health burden strengthens the choice.

How this PUBH 8132 Week 2 example is built

The memo explains why buyers of the same product face different trades. Five segments are described in a sentence or two each. A section introduces the evaluation criteria from a social marketing text, and a table scores each segment. The choice of First-Flock Families is justified with national outbreak data on age and indoor poultry. Sections explain how segments were identified from interviews and store records, which segments were set aside and why, and how the choice will be checked. The memo closes by explaining what the choice means for the strategy. The scoring table lets a reader see at once why one segment rose above the others.

PUBH 8132 Week 2 rubric: what earns full marks

Graders evaluate the relevance of the segmentation, the rigor of the evaluation and the soundness of the choice. Segments defined by the costs and benefits of the behavior earn more than demographic categories. Criteria should be applied consistently in a table. Evidence about who is harmed supports the choice. Honest reasons for setting aside other segments, including ones that matter, show judgment. A practical way to recognize the segment at the point of contact demonstrates that the choice is workable, and graders often look for it. Memos that admit a segment matters but must wait, and say what would bring it forward, show strategic patience. Graders also credit a sensible estimate of the chosen segment's size from a practical source such as store managers.

Common PUBH 8132 Week 2 mistakes, and how to avoid them

Students often segment by age or income without asking how the behavior differs between groups. Start with what the behavior costs each kind of person and what it gives them. Use a few criteria and apply them to every segment. Choose one and say why the others wait. Explain how you will find your segment in the real world. Send your population and behavior and we can draft a segmentation memo with you. Keep the number of segments small enough to compare in one table, usually four to six. Check that your chosen segment can be recognized by partners at the point of contact.

Get a PUBH 8132 Week 2 example written to your instructions

Describe the population named in your assignment, attach the prompt and rubric, and segments are drawn from the trades that population faces. At no cost the first time, the memo is back in 24 to 48 hours. The county, its homeowners and the segment names were composed for this page, with no household records consulted.

More PUBH 8132 papers and PhD in Public Health samples

PUBH 8132 Week 2 questions, answered

Where can I find a free PUBH 8132 Week 2 sample paper?

Find the full Week 2 memo above, dividing spring chick buyers into five segments and choosing one.

What criteria are used to choose a segment?

Size, how common and severe the problem is, reachability, likely responsiveness and fit with the organization.

Why were First-Flock Families chosen?

Their young children are most at risk, they often brood chicks indoors and they are reachable at purchase.

Why were classroom hatching projects not chosen?

Reaching them requires school district policy, a different strategy for a later phase.

How were the segments identified?

From interviews with chick buyers at farm stores, store managers' observations and 4-H records.