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Social Marketing
Social Marketing:
Influencing Behaviors
for Good,
Kotler and Lee
Social Marketing
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Distinct marketing discipline.
Has been labeled since the early 70’s
Focused mainly on influencing behaviors that
will improve health, prevent injuries, protect the
environment, contribute to communities, and,
more recently, enhance financial well-being.
SOCIAL MARKETING DEFINED
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Formal: Social marketing is a process that
applies marketing principles and techniques
to create, communicate and deliver value in
order to influence target audience behaviors
that benefit society (public health, safety,
environment, communities) as well as the
target audience
Informal: Influencing behaviors for good
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Social marketing is a process for creating, communicating
and delivering benefits that a target audience wants in
exchange for audience behavior that benefits society
without financial profit to the marketer.
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Social marketing is the application of commercial marketing
technologies to the analysis, planning, execution and
evaluation of programs designed to influence the voluntary
behavior of target audiences in order to improve their
personal welfare and that of their society.
The common themes 4 SM
Influencing behaviors
Utilizing a systematic planning process that applies
marketing principles and techniques
Focusing on priority target audience segments
Delivering a positive benefit for society
IT’S ALL ABOUT BEHAVIORS
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Eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day.
Move right for sirens and lights.
Exercise 30 minutes, 5X a week.
Don’t idle more than 10 seconds, except when in
traffic.
Store handguns in lockbox or safe.
Keep a litterbag in your car.
Ride the bus or join a carpool to work.
Immunize on time.
Sort office paper for recycling.
Know your BMI.
Establish and keep a household budget.
Change agents( focus on
behavior)
Similar to commercial sector marketers
whose objectives is to sell goods and
services
 Social Marketers are selling desired
behaviors.
 Change agents typically want to influence
target markets to do one of six things:
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GIVE EXAMPLES OF BEHAVIORS TO:
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Accept: a new behavior
Reject: a potentially undesirable behavior
Modify: a current behavior
Abandon: an old undesirable one
Continue: a desired behavior
Switch : want people to a switch behavior
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Accept a new behavior (start voting)
Reject a potentially undesirable behavior
(starting smoking, don't offer after school
snacks high in fat and sugar).
Modify a current behavior (increasing
physical activity, fruit instead of junk food).
Abandon an old undesirable one (talking on
a cell phone while driving).
It may be the establishment of a habit and the
prompting of a repeated behavior
Voluntary behaviors
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“Rewarding good behaviors” rather than “punishing bad behaviors “
through legal, economic, or coercive forms of influence.
Social marketers cannot promise a direct benefit in return for adopting
the proposed behavior change.
For example, it’s tough to convince youth who want to look good to
use sunscreen so they will (maybe) avoid skin cancer later in life.
A systematic, rigorous, and strategic planning process is required-one
that is inspired by the wants, needs, and preferences of target
audiences and focuses on real, deliverable, and near –term benefits.
Many believe this heavy reliance on individual voluntary behavior
change is outdated and have moved on to applying social marketing
technologies to influence other change factors in the environment as
well (laws, policies, media)
Use traditional Marketing
Principles and Techniques
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Apply a customer orientation: to understand barriers
target audiences perceive to adopting the desired
behavior and benefits they want and believe they
can realize. The process begins with:
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Marketing research
Select target markets
Establish clear objectives and goals
Product positioning: to appeal to the desires of the target
market, and to be more effectively than the competition.
4Ps
Monitored and evaluated results.
Primary beneficiary
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The primary beneficiary is Society
Most causes supported by social marketing
efforts tend to draw high consensus that the
cause is good, this model can also be used
by opponents who have the opposite view of
what is good.
Ex: Birth-Control
CHARACTERISTICS
Focus on behaviors (public
behavior)
 Voluntary behaviors
 Use traditional marketing principles
 Select and influence a target market
 Primary beneficiary is Society
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Commercial Marketing Vs Social Marketing
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Differences:
 The type of product sold: selling goods & services Vs desired
behavior
 Primary aim: Financial gain Vs societal gain
 Target Audience: CM often favor choosing the segment that will
provide the greatest volume of profitable sales. In SM, segments are
selected based on a different set of criteria, including prevalence of
the social problem, ability to reach the audience, readiness for
change
 Competition: other organizations offering similar goods and
services or ones that satisfy similar needs Vs current or preferred
behavior of target market and the perceived benefits associated
with that behavior and any organization selling or promoting
competing behavior ( Tobacco Industry)
 SM is more difficult than commercial marketing: consider the
Similarities
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Customer orientation is critical
Exchange theory is fundamental
Marketing research is used throughout the
process
Market segmentation
Use of 4Ps
Conduct evaluations: results are measured
and used for improvement
WHY IT’S SO HARD
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Give up an addictive behavior.
Be uncomfortable
Reduce pleasure
Spend more time
Resist peer pressure
Hear bad news
Risk relationships
Give up leisure time
Give up looking good
Learn new skills
SM efforts are only one of many marketing activities
conducted by those involved in nonprofit sectors or
public sector marketing.
– Social marketers have to “hang around” until the
target audience actually performs the behavior
Cause promotions are primarily focused on efforts to
raise awareness and concern for a social
issue(global warning, domestic violence) but typically
stop short of charging itself with changing behavior
 Nonprofit marketing more typically promotes the
services of the agency or supports fundraising
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WHO DOES SOCIAL MARKETING
Professionals Working for:
 Governmental Agencies:
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Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
Departments of Health
Departments of Ecology
Utilities
World Health Organization
National Traffic Safety Commission
WHO DOES SOCIAL MARKETING
Nonprofit Organizations:
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American Cancer Society
American Dental Association
Organ Donation Centers
American Diabetes Association
Nature Conservancy
Foundation:
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Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Produce for Better Health Foundation
WHO DOES SOCIAL MARKETING
in Egypt
What social issues can benefit
from SM
TYPICAL APPLICATIONS
 Improving Health
 Preventing Injuries
 Protecting the Environment
 Involving the Community
 Enhancing Financial Well Being
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OTHER WAYS TO IMPACT SOCIAL
ISSUES
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Technology
Science
Laws
Economics/Taxes
Improved Infrastructures and Built Environments
Changes in Corporate Policies and Business
Practices
Politicians
Media
School /education
FOR DISCUSSION
1.
Social marketing isn’t always about changing a
behavior. What is an example?
2.
A few major differences between commercial
marketing and social marketing were noted in this
chapter. Do you see other important differences?
3.
Relative to reducing tobacco use, what would be an
example of a technological, economic, legal, and
educational strategy?