An introduction to social marketing principles and strategies, including case studies

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Social Marketing:
An Introduction
Sara Ackerman, MPH, PhD

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What is Social Marketing?
The use of concepts and strategies
from commercial marketing to influence
individual and social practices,
with a goal of improved human or
environmental health

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How does social marketing differ
from commercial marketing?
similar strategies:
both sell products, ideas, practices
different goals:
profit vs. health or well being

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Social marketing is not the same as
social media marketing!

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“Social marketing
critically examines
commercial
marketing so as to
learn from its
successes and
curb its excesses.”

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www.adbusters.org

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Dominant behavior change
communications campaigns aim to:
PROTECT WARN

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PROTECT WARN

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Beyond warn and protect…

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…integrating interests of the
audience with those of the
sponsor…
photo credit: www.adpunch.org

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Social marketing can be used to
influence:
individual behaviors
social processes
and norms
policies
institutional practices
image credit: http://culturegenderhealth.blogspot.com/

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Social marketing draws on methods
and theories from:
 Anthropology
 Behavioral economics
 Design
 Persuasive technology research
 Public health
 Social psychology

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Social marketing strategies are
used to:
 Develop communication campaigns
AND…
 Design educational materials
 Improve services
 Re-design structural/environmental
conditions

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Some health topics that have been
addressed by social marketing:

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Why might social marketing be
more difficult than commercial
marketing?

16. You’re trying to influence
people to do things they are
uncomfortable with, don’t
want to do, or can’t do

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social marketing
principles and
methods

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focus on audience
• Do you really know what’s
best for your audience?
• Start by engaging and
understanding your
audience
photo credit: Ian Webster

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audience insight
• formative research
• process and outcome evaluation using
“participant observation” and other
qualitative methods

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audience segmentation
• one size fits all solution rarely works for
complex behaviors
• “psychographics”:
values
interests
activities
opinions
geographic location

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your audience/
target may be:
• people whom you want to do
something different
• enablers
• barriers

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how are audience
segments chosen?
• persuadable?
• size and potential impact
• need
• influence on primary audience
• accessibility
• resources needed to reach audience
• equity/social justice considerations

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exchange
what I need for target audience
vs.
what they desire, care about, aspire to

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exchange
image credit: http://bit.ly/nvfY0Z

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questioning the “rational man”
theory of exchange
Image credit: Fairfax County, Virginia: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/hd/flu/

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“Marketing Mix”/4Ps
1. PRODUCT and its presumed
benefit
2. PRICE, or what audience has to do
to obtain product
3. PLACE, or how product reaches
audience
4. PROMOTION, or strategy to
create and sustain demand for
product

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4Ps +
5. PUBLICS
6. PARTNERSHIP
7. POLICY
8. PURSE STRINGS
9. POLITICS

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Critique of 4Ps
1. Checklist?
2. The 4Ps are not behavior change tools
3. What about barriers/benefits?

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Alternatives to 4Ps
Community-Based Social Marketing:
- behavior change via addressing
barriers
- less focus on attitudes & beliefs
http://www.cbsm.com/public/world.lasso

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Total Process Planning
Model
image and content credit: UK Alcohol Learning Centre

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SCOPE DEVELOP
 Identify and consult with  Look at current services
stakeholders
 Involve stakeholders
 Conduct preliminary research
 Look at similar or competing
 Learn about your audience programs – how will they
reinforce or undermine your
using qualitative methods project?
 Segment your audience  Use theory appropriate to
problem and audience
 Decide on research methods
 Develop barrier and exchange
 Develop evaluation procedures model
 Test your project

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IMPLEMENT EVALUATE
 Use a range of strategies  PROCESS and OUTCOME
and tailor campaign to equally important.
audience segments  Process evaluation:
insight into deviations from
 Conduct process evaluation plan; understand what
to determine if program is produced observed
being implemented as outcomes
planned and how people are
 Outcome evaluation: did
responding
you reach target audience;
 Continue working with did desired outcome
stakeholders occur?

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FOLLOW-UP
 Share/disseminate best
practices
 Continue to track outcomes
and assess sustainability of
target behavior

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theories/explanatory models used in
social marketing
individual social/relational
 Social Cognitive Theory  social theory:
citizenship, subjectivity, embodi
 Health Belief Model ment, social/symbolic
capital, power, historical context
 Stages of Change
 social network analysis
 Diffusion of Innovations
 coalition/collaboration (PAR)
 social justice, environmental
justice

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critiques of social marketing
individual
social, economic, en
vironmental, instituti
onal context

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Historical changes in
smoking practices in
U.S.

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SM relies too heavily on
psychological behavior
change theories
“One principle that distinguishes the best
social marketers is an unrelenting
understanding, empathy and advocacy of the
perspective of our priority population or
community that is not slanted by what the
theory or research evidence does or does not
tell us.”
- Craig Lefebvre

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Health behaviors are
“wicked problems”!
Effective change programs do not ONLY communicate
persuasive messages.
They also try to modify the context
using multi-faceted strategies.
photo credit:
NY Times, Dec.13, 2009

39. + Another example of redesigning the
environment to promote behavior
change

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Unintended consequences
of social marketing:
Australia’s Slip Slop Slap
campaign
to prevent skin cancer

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Case Study:
Cleanyourhands campaign
UK National Social
Marketing Center (NSMC)
 Social marketing strategies
 Scale

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NSMC hand hygiene project in a
Scottish hospital
 hand hygiene compliance high, but hospital acquired infections
increasing
 running out of new ways to “sell” hand hygiene
 carrot not stick – need to persuade
people that it’s in their interests to comply
Project:
 tailored interventions
 “clean leaders”

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NSMC hand hygiene project in a
Scottish hospital
WHO 5 moments depiction: great in principle
but not in practice

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alternative representation of 5 moments:

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 gel:
myths and
dispensers
 canpatients
remind staff to
clean hands?
 clean zones
image and content credit: UK National Social Marketing Centre

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Case Study #2:
Copenhagen cycling
campaign
Goal:
increase commuting by bicycle to:
- reduce pollution and congestion
- improve public health
Strategy:
- foster and spread “bicycle culture”
- change infrastructure to reduce
barriers to cycling
photo and content credit: City of Copenhagen Technical and Environmental Administration

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infrastructure

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bicycle culture
http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/

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outcomes
 2010: 37% of people in greater Copenhagen
commuted by bike
 planners’ goal: 50% by 2015
 public satisfaction with cycling
1995: 17%
2004: 83%
2010: 94%
 survey: why do you cycle?
 55% it’s faster
 33% it’s more convenient
 32% it’s healthy
 29% it’s cheap

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Thank you!
photo credit: William Couch