PromOTing Occupational Therapy: Words, Images, and Actions

In 1922, the Fred Stone Circus came to the Mineola Fairground for the benefit of the Occupational Therapy Society of New York (Blair, 2011; “Vaudeville on Wheels, Novelty at Benefit,” 1922). You may wonder how a circus can promote occupational therapy. Well, to paraphrase a story that apparently first appeared in Reader’s Digest, if you painted a sign saying “Fred Stone Circus Coming to the Mineola Fairground on Saturday at 2:15, rain or shine, for the benefit of the Occupational Therapy Society of New York,” that’s advertising. If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and Annie Oakley walks it into Mineola, that’s promotion. If the elephant walks through Mayor LaGuardia’s flower bed, that’s publicity. And if you get the mayor to joke about it, that’s public relations. If you tell your friend Nancy about the circus, that’s word of mouth...