Social Marketing Notes 2v2t9

SOCIAL MARKETING Social Marketing: An Evolving Definition Definition No. 1 “ Social marketing is the design, implementation, and control of programs calculated to influence the acceptance of social ideas”1(Kotler and Zaltman 1971) Definition No. 2 “ Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives”2 (Peter D. Bennet 1995). Definition No. 3 “ Social marketing is a process for influencing human behavior on a large scale, using marketing principles for the purpose of societal benefit rather than for commercial profit”3 (Bill Smith 1999) What is social marketing? Is it advertising, advocacy, promotion, selling, or education? After two decades of debate and practice, these misconceptions continue to reappear. As recently as May 1999, a debate about definitions broke out on the nation’s only social marketing- list serve. This debate clearly illustrated that there continues to be confusion regarding the nature and purpose of social marketing, even among practitioners. Social marketing is often confused in practice with advertising, with “selling,” and with promotion. It is accused of being manipulative and anti-intellectual (i.e., driven by emotions). And yet, as funding for social marketing has begun to grow, increasing numbers of professionals from advertising, health education, health promotion, environmental education, and advocacy have begun to describe their work as social marketing. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the fundamentals of social marketing and to distinguish social marketing from commercial marketing as well as from other forms of behavior change. It will also draw distinctions between various tactics which often form part, but never all, of a social marketing process. The proposed redefinition (No. 3 above) is a composite of previous concepts. It attempts to clarify social marketing’s unique purpose and goal. Unlike commercial marketing, social marketing aims to address societal problems rather than to produce financial gain for the marketer. This distinction will be discussed in greater detail below, but let us begin with the fundamentals of a marketing approach.

Figure 1 is a conceptual map of the four domains that constitute the unique characteristics of a social marketing approach. First and foremost, social marketing is based on a philosophy of exchange.4 Exchange means that both parties must receive something they want if the interchange is to be successful. Second, social marketing is a strategy that integrates research with action, using research tools that influence the development of a program by providing constant data on audience response. Third, social marketing is a mix of four elements used to create behavior change. These elements are often described as the Four Ps of marketing. They refer to changes in thep roduc t , thepri c e of the product, thep l ac e where the product is made available, and finally how the product is promoted. Fourth, social marketing is characterized by ap osi t i oni ng strategy (what is our product’s value in relation to its primary competitors). Seymour H. Fine define