Basic Social Marketing
Principles and Process
Outline
Social marketing process:
• Identify goals
• Segment and target
• Develop the “4 p’s”
– Product, price, place, promotion
• Determine positioning, incentives
What is Marketing?
• Marketing is the process of planning
and executing the product, pricing,
promotion, and distribution/placement
of ideas, goods, and services to create
exchanges that satisfy individual and
organizational goals.
Social Marketing
• Social Marketing applies the principles of
marketing to address social problems by
influencing behavior change.
• Social marketing requires:
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–
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A “customer” focused approach
Voluntary behaviour change
An exchange
Individual or societal benefit (rather than
corporate benefit or profit)
Identify Goals
• Clear problem description
– Who, what, when, and where
– Impact on key population segments
• Desired outcome
– Measurable and attainable
• Measure of Success
– Financial savings from success
compared to program cost
– Beginning levels compared to
ending/later levels of behaviour
CASE:
University of Washington’s
U-Pass program
• Problem: Volume of traffic in Seattle’s
University District
• University of Washington decided to
use social marketing strategies to
reduce traffic in the district in 1991.
Segmentation
• Identify most relevant variable:
– On campus/not
• Select target group(s)
– UW: All regularly on campus
• Select important secondary targets
– Gatekeepers, influencers
• UW VP
Targeting
• Targeting Criteria
– Segment size
– Potential/expected growth or decline
– “Competition”
– Cost of marketing
– Fit with org resources/objectives
Marketing: The Four P’s
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Product
Price
Place
Promotion
Product
WHAT ARE YOU SELLING?
• UW example:
• Basic Product:
– Alternatives to driving alone
• Specific products:
– U-pass program
– Increased mass transit service at
reduced rates
– Shuttle service
Price
Cost to the target audience of behavior
• Is not just financial, there are other “costs”
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time
effort
lifestyle
psychological cost
UW Program
• Inconvenient
• Takes more time
• Less freedom
Place
Channels through which products or
programs are available (access)
UW program
• More mass transit stops
• Home (shuttle service)
• Campus parking lots
– (free for carpools)
Promotion
Communicating your product and its benefits.
UW PROGRAM:
• “U-PASS: For You and the U”
• Posters, brochure, and campus newspaper ads
• “Commuter Information Centers”
• Emphasis on the program’s incentives:
– lower prices and more commute options
• Endorsement by University Vice President
• UW promotional
piece
Incentives
• Unlimited use of mass transit
• Free parking to faculty and staff carpools
• [University parking rates increased
significantly for single drivers]
• Vanpools: Vans pick up and drop off
passengers at or near their homes.
• Cyclists: New bicycle paths through the
University, free bike lockers and racks,
free helmet ($5 for staff and faculty) with
the purchase of a tune-up
Summary
• Identify problem and goals
• Segment and target
• Develop 4 p’s
– Product, Price, Place, Promotion
– Exchange!
• Need benefit for each target.