Diane Goodwin, Karin Mont, Sato Lui
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The Snooks are the latest production from the 4Homeopathy (4H) collaboration. These three short animations were created to provide the general public with a brief introduction to homeopathy, and what to expect when visiting a homeopath.
The Snooks are very popular on our YouTube channel and have received praise from the wider homeopathic community, with many requests internationally for permission to translate the script. If you would like further information about using the Snooks, or embedding them into your own website or Facebook page, visit www.findahomeopath.org.uk
The Snooks
But what, or who, is 4Homeopathy?
4H is a collaboration of the UK’s major homeopathic organisations, comprising the main homeopathic registers, charities, manufacturers, suppliers, course providers and vets[1].
What does 4H do?
About five years ago those of us involved in, or supporting, homeopathy realised that in order to meet the challenges faced by practising homeopaths, and to nourish the growth of homeopathy in the UK, it would be beneficial to pool our resources and work together. Collaboration would provide us with a strong and unified voice. We recognised from the onset that it was important for each participating organisation to retain their own identity, and with the willingness and agreement of all, 4Homeopathy was born.
All member organisations contribute financially and we share administration and creative input. Initially, we hired a large marketing company to advise us on what our achievable goals could be, and to offer guidance on dealing confidently with the media.
It has been a major learning curve, with ups and downs for all of us. Now, several years on, 4H is a successful partnership and we are going from strength to strength. Some of the fruits of our teamwork have been:
Media: We created four key messages;
- Homeopathy Works
- There is Overwhelming Evidence for Homeopathy
- Millions of People Use It
- Homeopathy is Cost Effective
We now have;
- trained spokespeople who are capable of getting our key messages across in a professional way and are ready to engage with the media
- created a Media Code for our members to help them answer questions, and highlight areas to avoid, so that we speak with a consistent voice
- developed a Media Tool Kit with references to positive research and facts to counteract negative arguments
Promotion and Marketing: A major branding company created a distinctive ‘brand’ logo to promote the profession. The general public can associate those using the homeopathy brand with quality homeopathic practice. Along with the logo we created the findahomeopath.org.uk website. This lists all qualified homeopaths on the four major UK registers, and also provides information, including videos of prominent homeopaths such as Jeremy Sherr, Rajan Sankaran, Misha Norland, Dr Sarah Eames and vet, Geoff Johnson. In addition there are a number of positive endorsements of homeopathy from celebrity patients, along with 4H representatives, and much, much more!
This website is the ‘go to’ address for information on homeopathy and for news about developments in the UK and around the world. It is the focal point for the ‘brand’ and our followers on Facebook and Twitter.
Our Facebook page has in excess of 78,000 ‘Likes’. We post stories and videos from patients who share their positive experience with homeopathy.
Through Twitter we continue to share information and gain followers. To date, we have had over 19 consecutive #homeopathyhour sessions, where homeopaths from around the world come together every Monday between 8 & 9pm (UK time) to discuss whatever they like. We follow and share other health related news stories, such as the recent Antibiotic Resistance story. We have made a considerable impact in reaching people concerned about this issue who had never heard of homeopathy before, and we tweet and retweet links to homeopathic research.
In 2012, we initiated an event in the Scottish Parliament to present evidence for the use of homeopathy in treating farm animals, which was well attended. We created the homeopathyevidencecheck.org website to present an unbiased, accurate account of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee’s Report on their investigation.
During the summer of 2012 we coordinated a very successful campaign to ensure the ongoing availability of homeopathic medicines in the UK, in response to a revision of the 1968 Medicines Actea As a result of our efforts every MP in the UK heard from constituents about their concerns on this important issue.
This year sees our third annual celebrity campaign, with our chosen ambassador reaching millions of people via the national press and broadcast media.
What’s next for 4H?
We are organising a very special one day event for homeopaths on 7th March 2015. During this day, we will share our vision for the future of the profession and together explore how we can all effectively build upon the existing achievements of 4H.
4H continues to engage politically, working together to ensure that both patients and homeopaths have a voice, and can communicate the benefits of this wonderful system of healing to others. Through collaboration, we can share our vision across the world!
And what is that vision? Quite simply, that homeopathy has an important role to play in everyday life.
Every play the Snooks get on YouTube will move them up the rankings. 4 H is hoping they will get enough views to eventually knock some of the skeptic videos off the top spots.
4H Members are:
Alliance of Registered Homeopaths
Faculty of Homeopath
Homeopathic Medical Association
Society of Homeopaths
British Homeopathic Association
Friends of the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Health
Homeopathic Action Trust
Homeopathic Research Institute
British Association of Homeopathic Manufactures
Homeopathic Course Providers Forum
British Association of Homeopathic Veterinary Surgeons
