Social Products MarketingLecture Module 1

An Overview of Social Marketing

ByChowdhury Golam KibriaIBA-JU2014

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Evolution of Social Marketing According to Donovan and Henley (2010), Social marketing has its

roots in public education campaigns aimed at social change.

Kotler and Roberto ( 1989 ) report campaigns in ancient Greece and Rome to free the slaves, and history records many attempts by governments in particular to mobilize public opinion or educate the public with respect to health or edicts of the government of the day.

These efforts perhaps reached a peak of sinister sophistication with the expertise of Goebbels in Nazi Germany in the 1930s, and similar attempts by the Allies to rally their own populations to the war efforts in the 1940s.

The propaganda expertise developed in the 1940s was then applied, initially mainly in the United States, to a series of topic areas such as forest fire safety, crime prevention, cardiovascular disease, and so on; and is perhaps most evident in the anti-smoking and HIV/AIDS campaigns of the 1990s that continue today.

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Evolution of Social Marketing Although some would argue that many of these early

public education campaigns were primarily media campaigns rather than comprehensive ‘social marketing’ campaigns (Fox and Kotler 1980 ), they appeared to promote socially desirable products(e.g., war bonds) and attitudes (e.g., towards women working) in ways indistinguishable from commercial marketing.

In any case, social marketing was being applied far more comprehensively in developing countries than in developed countries in the 1970s (Manoff 1985 ), in areas such as family planning, rat control and other hygiene/sanitation areas, agriculture and attitudes towards women (Rice and Atkin 1989 ).

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Evolution of Social Marketing The 1980s saw rapid growth, especially in Canada

and Australia, in the application of marketing concepts to public education campaigns across a broad range of activities, including

injury prevention, drink-driving, seat belt usage, illicit drugs, smoking, exercise, immunization, nutrition and heart disease prevention (Egger,

Donovan and Spark1993 ; Fine 1990 ; Kotler and Roberto 1989 ; Manoff 1985 ; Walsh et al . 1993 ).

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Evolution of Social Marketing Egger and colleagues ( 1993 ) point to a number of factors influencing this:

the realisation by behavioural scientists and health professionals that, while they were expert in assessing what people should do, they were not necessarily expert in communicating these messages, nor in motivating or facilitating behavioural change;

the observed apparent success of marketing techniques in the commercial area, andthe observation that the discipline of marketing provided a systematic, research-based approach for the planning and implementation of mass intervention programmes;

epidemiological research fi ndings about the relationships between habitual behaviours and long-term health outcomes led public health experts to implement campaigns aimed at preventing behaviours that resulted in the so-called ‘lifestyle’ diseases such as heart disease and cancer; and

a focus on lifestyle diseases initially led to an emphasis on individual responsibility and individual behaviour change (Egger and colleagues imply that this was an undue emphasis), a view consistent with the capitalist philosophy of individualism and rational free choice, which many saw as synonymous with commercial marketing.

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Evolution of Social Marketing Some critics of social marketing (and health promotion)

campaigns have claimed that this individual focus philosophy largely ignores the social, economic and environmental factors that infl uence individual health behaviours.

While some social marketing campaigns deserve this criticism, this is not an inherent characteristic of marketing.

One of the fundamental aspects of marketing – and, hence, social marketing – is an awareness of the total environment in which the organisation operates, andhow this environment influences, or can itself be influenced, to enhance the marketing activities of the company or health agency (see Andreasen 2006 ; Buchanan, Reddy and Hossain 1994 ; Hastings and Haywood 1994 ).

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Evolution and Definition of Terminology

The term social marketing was formally introduced in 1971 (e.g., Basil, 2007; Kotler & Lee, 2008), when Kotler and Zaltman (1971) coined the term.

Kotler and Zaltman (1971) defined social marketing as: the design, implementation, and control of programs calculated to influence the acceptability of social ideas and involving considerations of product planning, pricing, communication, distribution, and marketing research. (p. 5)

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Evolution and Definition of Terminology Over the years, modifications have been made to the

definition of social marketing (e.g., Andreasen, 1995; French & Blair-Stevens, 2005; Kotler & Roberto,1989).

Although wording in the definitions of social marketing varies, the essence of social marketing remains unchanged.

Chen, Kotler and Lee (2011) adopt the following definition:

Social marketing is a process that applies marketing principles and techniques to create, communicate, and deliver value in order to influence target audience behaviors that benefit society as well as the target audience. (P. Kotler, N. R. Lee, & M. Rothschild, personal communication, September 19, 2006)

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Evolution and Definition of Terminology

As indicated in this definition, several features are essential to social marketing:

It is a distinct discipline within the field of marketing.

It is for the good of society as well as the target audience.

It relies on the principles and techniques developed by commercial marketing, especially the marketing mix strategies, conventionally called the4Ps—product, price, place, and promotion.

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Evolution and Definition of Terminology Here, two points deserve more of our attention—one is the

integration of the 4Ps; the other is the focus on behavior change in any social marketing campaign.

As Bill Smith of the Academy for Educational Development (AED, 2009), aptly observed:

the genius of modern marketing is not the 4Ps, or audience research, or even exchange, but rather the management paradigm that studies, selects, balances, and manipulates the 4Ps to achieve behavior change.

We keep shortening “The Marketing Mix” to the 4Ps. . . . [I]t is the “mix” that matters most. This is exactly what all the message campaigns miss—they never ask about the other 3Ps and that is why so many of them fail. (Kotler & Lee, 2008, p. 3)

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Evolution and Definition of Terminology As Kotler and Lee (2008) emphasized, “social

marketing is about influencing behaviors”; “[s]imilar to commercial sector marketers who sell goods and services, social marketers are selling behaviors” (p. 8).

As they elaborated, social marketers typicallytry to influence their target audience toward four behavioral changes:

(1) accept a new behavior (e.g., composting food waste),

(2) reject a potential undesirable behavior (e.g., starting smoking),

(3) modify a current behavior (e.g., increasing physical activity from 3 to 5 days of the week), or

(4) abandon an old undesirable one (e.g., talking on a cell phone while driving). (p. 8)

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Evolution and Definition of Terminology As Kotler and Lee (2009) observes, Social marketing

as a term, however, is misunderstood or misused by many. There are several common misunderstandings to clear up:

Don’t confuse social marketing with social advertising. We have all seen well-meaning public campaigns for putting out campfires (“Smokey Bear”), getting a good education (“Go to college”), and not using drugs (“Just say no to drugs”). Social advertising is an important tool of social marketing. But social marketing goes well beyond simply promoting a cause. In fact, promoting the cause is the last step in developing a full social marketing campaign.

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Evolution and Definition of Terminology Assure your colleagues, elected officials, and funders

that social marketing is not another term for manipulation and hard selling. In fact, it is just the opposite, as it is rarely successful without a customer-driven, customer-sensitive approach.

Understand that the term “social marketing” is not the same as “social networking” or “social media,” although these are promotional tactics that social marketers may use.

• Know that a social marketing strategy may include providing subsidies for products such as mosquito nets and HIV drugs. But providing subsidies for products is not social marketing

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Evolution and Definition of Terminology Donovan and Henley (2010) explain Social Marketing

as:

Social marketing is just one ‘branch’ of marketing, where the branches reflect the area of application: for example, sports marketing; business to business or industrial marketing; not-for-profit marketing; religious marketing; political marketing and so on.

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Evolution and Definition of Terminology While “social marketing is one of the fastest-growing

areas of marketing and communications, it is also frequently one of the most misunderstood” (Houghton, 2008, p. 1).

The most severe and widely spread misunderstanding about social marketing is that many people seem to have confused it with social media nowadays.

In a brief Google search, Cheng, Kotler and Lee (2011) claim to have found several misuses of social marketing as social media or social networking which are discussed in the next slides.

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Evolution and Definition of Terminology Misuse 1: What people are saying about a product in

chat rooms, on blogs, on review sites, and in social networks is mistakenly regarded as “social marketing.”

Misuse 2: Web 2.0 technology, “a phase in Web development where users, and not just professional content creators, write Web-based, Google-searched content,” is regarded as a practice of “social marketing.”

Misuse 3: Two European countries held the “first international social advertising and marketing competition . . . to recognize online marketing and advertising ideas that incorporate the importance of social networks.”

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Evolution and Definition of Terminology Misuse 4: A Fortune 500 company, which wants to

sell more pads and tampons to young girls, has found “social marketing” more effective than traditional advertising—not because of its initiative for any social good, but “as a result of the company’s proven ability to listen to customers and respond effectively” through social networking.

Misuse 5: A new university course in the United States on “the benefits of social networking” and the techniques on how to use “online networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn” to increase “membership or patronage, and potential improvement of revenues” for companies is called “Social Marketing in the 21st Century.”

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Evolution and Definition of Terminology According to Cheng, Kotler and Lee (2011), definitions

of social media vary in focus and format (Definitions, 2009) but social media are not social marketing.

Social media can be communication tools and channels for social marketing, but merely social networking—typical of social media—is not the social marketing that has been defined and practiced since this term was born in 1971 (Kotler & Zaltman, 1971).

The confusion between social marketing and social media has given rise to a serious challenge to the identity of social marketing as a field of practice, research, and education.

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Evolution and Definition of Terminology With regard to defining what can be termed as Social

Marketing and what can not be, the following matrix can be used as a benchmark.

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Distinguishing features of Social Marketing There are several important differences between

social and commercial marketing:

In the case of commercial marketing, the marketing process aims to sell a tangible product or service.

In the case of social marketing, the marketing process is used to sell a desired behavior.

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Distinguishing features of Social Marketing Not surprisingly, in the commercial sector, the

primary aim is financial gain. In social marketing, the primary aim is individual or societal gain.

Commercial marketers choose target audiences that will provide the greatest volume of profitable sales. In social marketing, segments are selected based on a different set of criteria, such as what will produce the greatest amount of behavior change.

In both cases, however, marketers seek to gain the greatest returns for their investment of resources.

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Distinguishing features of Social Marketing Competitors are very different.

The commercial marketer sees competitors as other organizations offering similar goods and services, or ones that satisfy similar needs.

Social marketers see the competition as the current or preferred behavior of the target audience and the perceived benefits and costs of that behavior.

This includes any organizations that sell or promote competing behaviors (such as the tobacco industry).

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Distinguishing features of Social Marketing Social marketing is more difficult than commercial

marketing.

Consider the financial resources that the competition has available to make smoking look cool, to promote alcoholic beverages, etc.

And consider the challenges faced when trying to influence people to give up an addictive behavior (stop smoking), resist peer pressure (stopping child marriage), go out of their way (avoid drinking contaminated water), hear bad news (get an HIV test), risk relationships (avoid taking hard drugs), or remember something (take pills three times a day).

On the other hand, commercial marketing aims at buying behavior mainly.

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Distinguishing features of Social Marketing According to Donovan and Henley (2010) the key

point of difference to all other branches of marketing, is that the social marketer’s goals relate to the wellbeing of the community , whereas for all others, the marketer’s goals relate to the wellbeing of the marketer (sales and profits, members and donations, political representation, etc.).

If the wellbeing of the community is not the goal, then it isn’t social marketing .

Some critics also claim that even if there is wellbeing of community but wellbeing of marketer is also there, then it isn’t social marketing.

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Distinguishing features of Social Marketing According to Donovan and Henley (2010) the key

point of difference to all other branches of marketing, is that the social marketer’s goals relate to the wellbeing of the community , whereas for all others, the marketer’s goals relate to the wellbeing of the marketer (sales and profits, members and donations, political representation, etc.).

If the wellbeing of the community is not the goal, then it isn’t social marketing .

Some critics also claim that even if there is wellbeing of community but wellbeing of marketer is also there, then it isn’t social marketing.

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Social Marketing – What it is and what it is not

Donovan and Henley (2010) view that what distinguishes social marketing from other areas of marketing is the primary end goal of the campaigners.

If the Hungarian National Heart Foundation (HNHF), as part of the European Heart Health Charter were to undertake a campaign to reduce cardiovascular disease in the population by reducing the amount of trans-fats in people’s diets, using advertising and promotions aimed at increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, and via lobbying manufacturers and fast-food outlets to reduce their use of saturated fats, this would be social marketing.

The intended goal is increased health and wellbeing in the population at large.

If the HNHF formed a partnership with various fruit and vegetable marketers in the above campaign, these commercial partners would not be engaging in social marketing.

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Social Marketing – What it is and what it is not

Not-for-profi t marketing: This refers to not-for-profit organizations using marketing to achieve organizational goals. If Cancer UK were to undertake a fundraising and volunteer recruiting drive using direct mail and mass media advertising, this is not for-profit marketing. While Cancer UK’s overall aims are for the common good, raising funds in competition with other charitable organizations is an organizational goal rather than a ‘common good’ aim.

Similarly, if a library used marketing techniques to build its customer base and attract funds to achieve its goals of growth and its positioning of having an up-to-date library of music videos and DVDs, this would be not-for profit marketing.

However, if the library undertook to increase the literacy of

people in the community it served, and this was the primary aim of the program, it would be engaging in social marketing. Such a program might, of course, result in increased use of the library, but this would be a means to the primary goal .

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Social Marketing – What it is and what it is not

Cause-related marketing: This refers to a commercial entity forming a partnership with a pro-social organization or cause, such that sales of the commercial organization’s products benefit the pro-social cause (Webb and Mohr 1998 ).

In some ways this is similar to sponsorship (or pro-social marketing), where the pro-social organization allows the commercial entity to promote its association with the prosocial organization in order to improve people’s attitudes towards the company and its products. The difference is that in cause-related marketing, the return to the pro-social organization is directly related to product sales.

Again this is not social marketing as the commercial organization’s main aim is to achieve increased sales or some other marketing objective; it is simply using the social goal as a means to this end.

Cause-related marketing has become relatively popular in the United States ever since 1983 when American Express offered to donate one US cent to the restoration of the Statue of Liberty for every use of its card, and US$1 for every new card.

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Social Marketing – What it is and what it is not

Pro-social marketing: This refers to a commercial organization promoting a pro-social cause related in some way to its target audience. For example, Kellogg in Australia featured messages on its cereal products about bullying, targeting young children, and a message about folate from the Northcott Society for Crippled Children on its Guardian pack.

Pro-social marketing is similar to sponsorship in that the commercial organization hopes to achieve an increase in positive attitudes to itself and its products through an association with the pro-social organization or issue.

In many cases, an apparent concern for a social issue is directly related to the commercial organization’s interests: for example, insurance companies promoting screening; and cereal manufacturers providing information on fiber and colorectal cancer. A variation on this is where the commercial organization joins with its critics to minimize the harm done by its products: for example, alcohol marketers mounting or supporting responsible drinking campaigns; etc.

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Social Marketing – What it is and what it is not

Societal marketing : This is sometimes confused with social marketing. Kotler et al . ( 1998 ) use this term to refer to companies that act in socially responsible ways in the achievement of their profit goals (e.g., companies that voluntarily use biodegradable products in production processes, recyclable packaging, etc.).

This was considered an extension of the original marketing concept from profit through identification and satisfaction of consumer needs, to profit through identification and satisfaction of consumer needs ‘in a way that preserves or improves the consumer’s and the society’s wellbeing’ (Kotler et al . 1998 ).

These are closely related to terms corporate social responsibility, corporate philanthropy and corporate volunteering but critics are highly skeptical of motives of these programs.

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Social Marketing – What it is and what it is not

Corporate philanthropy: Corporate philanthropy, such as Body Shop’s secondment of staff to Romanian orphanages and McDonald’s Ronald McDonald houses, is viewed as altruistic, with no direct link to increased sales or other commercial goals.

However, corporate philanthropy has direct and indirect benefits to the company’s profitability via positive effects on employees, external stakeholders and the community (Collins

1993 ), and, along with social responsibility and an interest in social causes, appears to be on the increase (Drumwright 1996 ; Osterhus 1997 ).

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Social Marketing – What it is and what it is not

Social marketing as proposed by many social marketers (mainly by academics, less so by practitioners), has been restricted to the classical marketing techniques and originally excluded areas such as lobbying, legislative and policy action and structural change.

However, marketers use a number of tools to achieve sales and profit goals. Business lobbies government for policies and legislation that facilitate business operations, such as restricting competition – especially from imports, tax breaks for research and development of new products, plant and retail location incentives, fuel subsidies and so on, all of which have a bearing on the company’s marketing efforts.

Is lobbying for the social good ‘social marketing’? From Donovan and Henley (2010) point of view, if the lobbyist considers the interaction an exchange and is concerned with the needs of the lobbied (i.e., the politician or legislator), then it is social marketing .

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Similarities with other branches of Marketing

Despite these differences, Kotler and Lee see many similarities between the social and commercial sector marketing models—ones that are key to any marketer’s success:

A customer orientation is critical. The marketer knows that the offer (product, price, place) needs to appeal to the target audience, solving a problem they have or satisfying a want or need.

Exchange theory is fundamental. The target audience must perceive benefits that equal or exceed the perceived costs. As Bill Smith at AED often exhorts, we should think of the social marketing paradigm as “Let’s make a deal!”

Marketing research is used throughout the process. Only by researching and understanding the specific needs, desires, beliefs, and attitudes of target adopters can the marketer build effective strategies.

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Similarities with other branches of Marketing

Audiences are segmented. Strategies must be tailored to the unique wants, needs, resources, and current behavior of differing market segments.

All Four Ps are considered. A winning strategy requires an integrated approach, one utilizing all the tools in the toolbox, not just relying on advertising and other persuasive communications.

Results are measured and used for improvement. Feedback isvalued and seen as “free advice” on how to do better next time.

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Application of Social Marketing Social marketing efforts are most often initiated and

sponsored by those working in government agencies or nonprofit organizations.

However, in the nonprofit sector, marketing is more often used to support utilization of the organization’s services (such as tuberculosis testing), purchases of ancillary products and services (such as at museum stores), volunteer recruitment, advocacy efforts, and fundraising.

In the government sector, marketing activities are also used to support utilization of government agency products and services (such as the post office and community clinics) and to engender citizen support and compliance.

Thus, social marketing efforts are only one of many marketing activities conducted by those involved in nonprofit or public-sector marketing.

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Application of Social Marketing Social marketing principles and techniques can be used to

benefit society in general and the target audience in particular in several ways. There are four major arenas that social marketing efforts have focused on over the years: health promotion, injury prevention, environmental protection, and community mobilization (Kotler & Lee, 2008).

Health promotion–related behavioral issues that could benefit from social marketing include tobacco use, heavy/binge drinking, obesity, teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, fruit and vegetable intake, high cholesterol, breastfeeding, cancers, birth defects, immunizations, oral health, diabetes, blood pressure, and eating disorders.

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Application of Social Marketing Injury prevention–related behavioral issues that could benefit

from social marketing include drinking and driving, seatbelts, head injuries, proper safety restraints for children in cars, suicide, drowning, domestic violence, gun storage, school violence, fires, injuries or deaths of senior citizens caused by falls, and household poisons.

Environmental protection–related behavioral issues that could benefit from social marketing include waste reduction, wildlife habitat protection, forest destruction, toxic fertilizers and pesticides, water conservation, air pollution from automobiles and other sources, composting garbage and yard waste, unintentional fires, energy conservation, litter (such as cigarette butts), and watershed protection.

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Application of Social Marketing Community mobilization–related behavioral issues that could

benefit from social marketing include organ donation, blood donation, voting, literacy, identity theft, and animal adoption (Kotler & Lee, 2008).

For a more detailed review of these applications of social marketing, please see Kotler and Lee’s 2008 text, Social Marketing: Influencing Behaviors for Good, pages 18–21.