Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women in Australia. Women are faced with numerous
decisions in relation to breast cancer including: actions they can take to reduce their risk of developing breast
cancer; whether to participate in screening programs; and selection of the most appropriate treatment option
if diagnosed with breast cancer. This paper discusses ways in which theories and findings from two disciplines,
behavioural science and marketing, can be used collaboratively to design effective communications to increase
the uptake of health behaviours that have the potential of reducing morbidity and mortality from breast
cancer. From marketing we borrow the concepts of audience segmentation, media selection, and mass
communication message design. From behavioural science we import the Theory of Planned Behaviour
(TPB) as a framework for intervening, and dependent variables to guide the strategy for measuring message
effects. From related work in individual cognitive and affective psychology we utilise recent findings on the
processing of propositional arguments when designing the risk messages.