Social Marketing
Lecture I
COMT 492/592
Overview
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Social marketing
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Application of proven concepts and
techniques from commercial sector to
promote changes in diverse socially important
behaviors such as drug use, smoking, sexual
behavior and family planning.
Goals
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Social marketing seeks to impact personal
behavior by persuading target audiences
to:
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Avoid risky practices (e.g., smoking)
Discontinue antisocial actions (e.g., littering)
Seek counseling
Take preventive measures (e.g., safety belts)
Join, give or organize for a specific cause
Terms
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Social marketing –
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Use of private marketing principles for social
causes; however, it is so broadly defined that
no one common definition exists.
Cause-related marketing –
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Public relations by non-profits, or corporate
sponsorship of social causes.
Social Marketing vs. Advertising
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Causes
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Targets complex,
psychological
processes
Tries to change deeply
held beliefs
Requires sophisticated
research
Needs emotional
“hook”
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Ads
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Target simpler, feelgood behaviors (e.g.
purchasing)
Fit into existing social
norms
Research can be more
informal
Simple slogans
Deep psychological processes
underlie most social behaviors
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Addiction –
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Alcohol, drug use, risky behaviors
Resistance to change
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Audience denial
Fear defense mechanisms
Disinterest in changing behavior
Lack of perceived threat/benefit
Peers may encourage risk behavior
Fear of losing peer approval
Lack of self-efficacy
Prevalence
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127 per 100,000 HIV+ in U.S. in 2003
406,000 AIDS cases in U.S.
Ethnicity
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50% of cases among Blacks
Increasing among Whites, Hispanics, & Asian/Pacific-Islanders
Sex
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73% of cases among men
Increasing among women:
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U.S.: 15% more cases among women vs. 1%, among men 20002003
Globally: increased from 2.1 million in 2003 to 17.6 million in 2004
Prevalence (cont’d)
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45.5 million HIV+ worldwide
Deaths
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16,000 people died from AIDS in US in 2003
Transmission
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MSM & heterosexual contact account for 79% of
HIV transmission in U.S.
Men
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62% MSM
16% IDU
13% heterosexual
8% MSM + IDU
Women
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73% heterosexual
25% IDU
Barriers
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Potential of social marketing
unappreciated
People are hard to change
Media is privately owned; airtime is
expensive
Social marketing is often done poorly; it is
NOT the same as advertising
Lack of conceptual underpinnings
Campaign Planning
requires more than simply insisting that
people take on a new behavior
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It requires careful
consideration of:
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Product –
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Nature of behavior to
be promoted
Need to ensure quality
before you can promote
a behavior or service
Place –
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Price –
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Access & availability of
recommended
services/behavior
Perceived costs &
benefits of undertaking
new behavior
Promotion –
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Mix of media
Personal selling
Incentives
Objective
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Social Marketing
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Directly benefits target
individuals or society
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Commercial
Marketing
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Profit
Sales
Target audience
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Social
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Audience is primary
Centered on target customer
Extensive audience research required
Start with customer’s perspective
Demographics
 Beliefs about behavior
 Social norms about behavior
 Beliefs in efficacy
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Alternative approaches
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Health education
Persuasion
Behavioral modification
Social influence
Health education
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Assumption = Individual will do the right thing if
they understand the benefits and how to carry it
out.
Goal = Bring facts to audience in compelling
manner.
Theory = Health Belief Model (Hochbaum, 1958)
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Perceived susceptibility
Perceived severity of threat
Perceived benefits of action
Perceived barriers to action
Educational approach
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Cons:
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Focuses on changing beliefs, NOT behavior
Ignores effects of social pressure
Facts can have a boomerang effect
Persuasion
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Assumption = Action takes place only if
people are sufficiently motivated.
Goal = Discover careful arguments and
motivational “hot” buttons.
Theory = ?
Persuasion
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Cons:
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It is top-down. Focus is on getting customer to
accept persuader’s point of view.
Not customer-centered.
Behavioral modification
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Assumption = People learn by observing
others and seeing them get rewarded or
punished for behaviors.
Cons:
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Costly
Hard to implement on a mass audience scale
Social influence approach
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Assumption = Influencing community norms and
social norms is the best way to bring about
change (Wallack, 1990).
Cons:
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Social norms must be well understood
Limited to situations where pressures to conform are
strong
Only applies to visible behaviors
May not be as relevant to more educated individuals
Social marketing
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Consumer is bottom line
Cost-effective
Strategies begin with customer
Four P’s = Product, price, place & promotion
Market research is extensive
Audience segmentation
Competition recognized
Customer is bottom line
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Increased knowledge and awareness are
not enough
Behavior change is necessary for success
Understanding audience needs & wants is
seen as essential ingredient
Social marketing offering (product) must
accommodate – be presented in a way audience needs
Marketing research is key
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Formative research
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Pre-testing
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Audience segmentation
Understanding needs & wants
Perceived costs & benefits
Test customer’s reactions to materials before
disseminating
Monitoring research
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Track audience responses
Use feedback to tinker, revise message strategies
Success stories
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National High Blood Pressure Education
Program, 1972 -1982
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Goal = get people to have blood pressure checked
Strategy = Porter/Novelli in DC
Results =
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By 1982, people who knew relationship between blood
pressure & stroke increased from 29% to 59%; and those
who knew b.p. & heart disease from 24% to 71%.
By 1985, half of hypertensives had taken some action to
control b.p. (e.g., cutting salt, exercise, or losing weight).
By 1988-91, 73% of hypertensives were taking action.
Success stories
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American Cancer Society
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Yul Brynner – Tells folks that he has died from the
cause the sponsor is trying to prevent
“I really wanted to make a commercial when I
discovered that I was sick and my time was limited.”
“I wanted to make a commercial that says simply, now
that I’m gone, I tell you, don’t smoke. Whatever you
do, just don’t smoke.”
“If I could take back that smoking, we wouldn’t be
talking about any cancer.”
Success stories
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Smokey Bear (Ad Council/National Forest
Service)
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Animation, jingles, scenic beauty
Smoky is simple, straightforward and caring
Smoky, although targeted at kids, appealed to
all ages
What effect?
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Studies are few
Sex on TV increases perception that peers
are having sex
Teens unlikely to learn safe sex from TV
Aggressive sex on TV increases
acceptance of rape & sexual abuse
Advocates for Youth, 1996. ASHA, 1996.
Media effects
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TV violence studies show that violent
programming teaches adolescents:
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behavior modeling (cool people are violent)
social norms (guns are powerful)
desensitization (killing people isn’t so bad)
Same effects may occur with sex on TV:
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behavior modeling (stars have risky sex)
social norms (premarital sex is OK)
desensitization (violent sex won’t really hurt)
UC-Santa Barbara, UNC-Chapel Hill, UTexas-Austin, UWisconsin-Madison.
National Television Violence Study. Studio City, CA: Mediascope, 1997.
TV videos in Nigeria related to
increased family planning
30
25
20
15
%using
10
5
0
TV/radio
Contraceptive use by
Nigerian women in
1993 who had seen
music videos and TV
dramas to promote
family planning in
1989-92
none
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Westoff C, Rodriguez G, Bankole A. Family Planning and Mass Media Effects.
Unublished paper. Princeton University, 1996.
TV celebrities can influence what
people read & buy: When Oprah
Winfrey recommends a book, it sells!
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The Deep End of the
Ocean, Jaquelyn Mitchard
Song of Soloman, Toni
Morrison
The Book of Ruth, Jane
Hamilton
Thigpen DE. Winfrey’s winners. Time, Dec.
2, 1996
before
after
Hamilton
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900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Morrison
Thousands of books in
print before & after
selection by Oprah
Mitchard
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PSAs promote condoms in
Portland, Oregon 1992-94
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Teens who used condoms in last month
increased from 32% to 40%
Teens who used condoms with casual
partners rose from 72% to 90%
Teens who planned to discuss condoms
with next partners rose from 53% to 80%
Blair J. PSI/Project ACTION: Improving Teen Risk Reduction. Unpublished
paper. Population Services International, 1995.
Media’s potential
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Media can be powerful
Media are not being used to their full
potential
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In Western Europe, 3/4 of population learns
about STDs from TV, books or magazines
In U.S., 1/4 learn about STDs from media
ASHA, 1996.