“Get Firefighters Moving”: Marketing a Physical Fitness Intervention to Reduce Sudden Cardiac Death Risk in Full-Time Firefighters

Abstract

Firefighters as an occupational group are at increased risk for a cardiac-related injury, with the largest proportion (44%) of firefighter on-duty mortality due to sudden cardiac death. As poor physical fitness behaviors are a contributing factor to this risk, a social marketing approach was used to design and market a competitive team-sports intervention to improve physical fitness and reduce cardiac risk factors in a group of full-time firefighters. This article describes how social marketing principles were used in the design and implementation of the “Get Firefighters Moving” physical fitness intervention. This includes strategic development of the marketing plan, with discussion of audience segmentation and the marketing mix used to implement the intervention. Preliminary findings are also presented, as they suggest improvement in cardiac risk factors including blood pressure, cardiovascular class, flexibility, and percent body fat.