Social Marketing: An Introduction

1. Social Marketing: An Introduction Sara Ackerman, MPH, PhD

2. 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

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

4. Social marketing is not the same as social media marketing!

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

6. www.adbusters.org

7. Dominant behavior change communications campaigns aim to: PROTECT WARN

8. PROTECT WARN

9. Beyond warn and protect…

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

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

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

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

14. Some health topics that have been addressed by social marketing:

15. 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

17. social marketing principles and methods

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

29. 4Ps + • PUBLICS • PARTNERSHIP • POLICY • PURSE STRINGS • POLITICS

30. Critique of 4Ps • Checklist? • The 4Ps are not behavior change tools • What about barriers/benefits?

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

32. Total Process PlanningModel image and content credit: UK Alcohol Learning Centre

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

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

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

36. theories/explanatory models used in social marketingindividualsocial/relational • Social Cognitive Theory • Health Belief Model • Stages of Change • Diffusion of Innovations • social theory: citizenship, subjectivity, embodiment, social/symbolic capital, power, historical context • social network analysis • coalition/collaboration (PAR) • social justice, environmental justice

37. critiques of social marketing individual social, economic, environmental, institutional context

38. Historical changes in smoking practices in U.S.

39. 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

40. 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

41. Another example of redesigning the environment to promote behavior change

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

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

44. 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”

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

46. alternative representation of 5 moments:

47. gel: myths and dispensers • can patients remind staff to clean hands? • clean zones image and content credit: UK National Social Marketing Centre

48. 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

49. infrastructure

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