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Social Marketing 101:

More than Messages

January 25, 2010

Social Marketing is a Process

• That applies marketing principles and techniques to create, communicate, and deliver value in order influence behaviors that benefit society as well as the audience (Kotler, Lee, and Rothschild)

• For creating, communicating, and delivering benefits that an audience(s) wants in exchange for audience behavior that benefits society without financial profit to the marketer (Smith)

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Social Marketing is a Process

• That applies commercial marketing technologies to the analysis, planning, execution, and evaluation of programs designed to influence the voluntary behavior of audiences to improve personal/societal welfare (Andreasen)

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Differences from Commercial Marketing

• Sells desired behavior vs. goods and services• Aim is societal gain vs. financial gain• Competition is most often the current or

preferred behavior vs. other organizations

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Similarities to Commercial Marketing

• Customer orientation• Exchange theory• Marketing research• Audiences are segmented• All “4Ps” are considered• Results are measured and used for

improvement

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Plan Development

• Describe background, purpose, and focus– Issue or problem to be addressed– Existing data

• Conduct situation analysis– SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and

threats) analysis– Past or similar efforts

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Plan Development

• Select target markets– Size– Demographics– Characteristics relevant to the behavior

• Set goals and objectives– Behavioral change goal– Specific, measurable objectives (S.M.A.R.T.: specific,

measurable, attainable, relevant, and time sensitive)

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Plan Development

• Develop strategic marketing mix/4Ps: activities you will implement to achieve objectives

– Product: desired behavior, benefits, tangible objects or services

– Price: any costs the audience will pay, and monetary and nonmonetary incentives, monetary and nonmonetary disincentives

– Place: where and when audience will perform behavior or receive services

– Promotion: persuasive communication strategies, key messages, messengers, and communication channels

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Evaluation

• Should be a consideration during plan development

• May support plan development, e.g., to understand current state of audience awareness or behavior

• May support implementation, e.g., process evaluation

• Can measure plan outcomes

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Examples

• 5 A Day • truth® Campaign• Click it or Ticket

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Resources

• Andreasen, A.R. (1995). Marketing social change: changing behavior to promote health, social development, and the environment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

• Andreasen, A.R. (2008). Social marketing in the 21st century. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

• Kotler, P. and N.R. Lee (2008). Social marketing: influencing behaviors for good, 3rd ed. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

• National Cancer Institute “Pink Book” Making health communications work http://www.cancer.gov/pinkbook

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Resources

• Social Marketing Quarterly http://www.socialmarketingquarterly.com/

• On Social Marketing and Social Change (R. Craig Lefebvre) http://socialmarketing.blogs.com/

• Social Marketing Institute ListServe, subscribe to listproc@listproc.georgetown.edu through e-mail and type subscribe soc-mktg <your name> in the message body (i.e., subscribe soc-mktg John Smith)

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