social marketing synopsis

Impact of social advertising 1

Executive Summary

Social marketing as a field of marketing has been in existence for around 40 years yet

it is only relatively recently that it has gained popularity in the Australian government

marketing context. As a management practice, social marketing is based on the

adoption of the marketing philosophy, and adaptation of marketing tools and

techniques, to assist in facilitating behavioural change. Key areas where the social

marketing approach has been employed include health, road safety and physical

activity.

Social marketing, as the name implies, is grounded in commercial marketing theory

and practice. However, given that the application of social marketing is

predominantly in non commercial sectors, social marketing practice draws on a range

of related disciplines including sociology, psychology and other social welfare related

activities. As it grows in acceptance, social marketing has continued to evolve.

Currently it is a highly dynamic field with new emphases and perspectives emerging,

particularly in relation to the role that social marketers can play in contributing to

structural change.

This monograph was commissioned to give a current snap shot of the state of social

marketing and its potential application to the activities of government in Queensland.

The paper looks at the development of social marketing and its applications from a

theoretical and a practical perspective and covers the following key elements.

Marketing Marketing is a two way process

Marketing strives to achieve mutually beneficial exchanges – or “sales”

Marketing is not a value free management tool

The individualistic philosophical underpinning of the marketing discipline can aid

and can also conflict with the role of the public sector in serving the public

interest


Marketing in Government Limited understanding of what marketing is often equates it with advertising and

promotion.

Marketing has developed a poor reputation as a result of the unethical behaviour

of a minority and misconceptions as to the power of marketing for changing

people’s behaviour

Limited duration campaigns with low level funding are given unrealistic

expectations and targets

Use as a quick fix solution limits the value to be gained from marketing

Key techniques such as market segmentation can have negative political

connotations.

Marketing’s role in the public sector is best suited to the development of suitable

implementation strategies designed to maximise both effectiveness and efficiency

Definition and Domain Social marketing requires the adaptation of commercial marketing techniques and

tools, and the adoption of the marketing philosophy

Social marketing is not an education campaign or legislative change.

Not all public sector marketing is social marketing

There is a considerable overlap between social marketing, not for profit

marketing, profit marketing, pro-social marketing, cause marketing and other

forms of marketing. Social marketing can coexist with other forms of social

change agendas

Components of Successful Social Marketing Marketing consists of three levels of philosophy, strategy and tactics.

Using ad hoc elements of the marketing mix, marketing strategies and tactics will

not result in the level of success than can be attained from a holistic approach to

marketing

The marketing mix consists of price, product, promotion, place, people, process

and physical evidence.

Each element of the marketing mix consists of sub components for example, price

consists of both financial and non financial costs.


Concepts of Social Change Campaigning Weibe’s Five Forces Model of change campaigning illustrates the process a

person goes through in order to react to a social campaign.

o Force is the pre-existing motivation and desire to comply (or reject) the

campaign message

o Direction is the knowledge of how to act on the campaign message and is

closely associated with social promotion and education programs.

o Mechanism is the actual action, and the associate products, support

services or activities involved in carrying out the behaviour endorsed by

the campaign. It involves the whole of the social marketing mix, with

particular emphasis on product, people and place.

o Adequacy and compatibility are the extent to which the campaign delivers

on its promised benefits by undertaking the endorse activities. It is closely

associated with product and physical evidence

o Distance is the amount of effort required to performance the actions

required by the social change message, and is closely associated with

social price and social product

Social marketing operates in the macro and micro environment

o Micro environments include organisational culture, lobby groups, media

and general public.

o Macro environments include social environment, economic environment,

technological environment, legal environment, and competitive

environment.

Where social marketing fits with other approaches Social marketing is not always the best mechanism for social change

Education, law, and social marketing are each appropriate for some forms of

change, but none are universally applicable as a solution to every problem

Social change can be implemented at a individual, community and society level,

with different methods required for each level and approach.


Ethical Issues in Social Marketing Social marketing campaigns starts from a presumption of superiority over the

target audience since the campaigner believes that the target audience is either

engaged in an inappropriate behaviour, or not engaging in a 'superior' alternative

lifestyle

Ethical considerations for a change campaign include

whether to provide full information, partial information or only the most

persuasive information to the target adopter

the conflict between appropriate product strategies for the target market, and the

social values of other community groups.

clashes between appropriate promotional messages, and appropriate use of the

most effective or most efficient message channels, and wider community

perceptions of advertising and promotion.

Social marketing needs to consider both the intended and possible unintended

consequences of the campaign when assessing the ethics of the social change

program


Marketing: An Overview

Marketing is a well established core discipline of business and, as such, has become

incorporated into the functional activities of organisations of all types, whether they

fall within the profit or not for profit sector. Governments have been slower to adopt

marketing practices for a variety of reasons. However even within this sector there is

increasing acceptance that marketing has a role to play and can contribute to the

development and implementation of high quality responsive public policy.

Although the government is charged with operating "for the public interest", the

public sector is not a single homogenous organisation. Different departments and

agencies have differing objectives, and the extent to which marketing is accepted as

an appropriate tool will depend in part on the function of the specific government

entity that uses it. Research into the role of marketing as a public sector activity

confirms that marketing is consider to be more appropriate the closer the functions of

the government agency is to the private sector. For example, commercialised business

units within government departments and government owned corporations are more

likely to employ explicit marketing tools and techniques than more socially oriented

departments.

However, despite opposition to the use of 'marketing', a majority of agencies express

strong support for the use of the underpinning philosophy of marketing. In many

cases, core marketing tools are being effectively used throughout the public sector but

are not labelled as being a part of marketing. The challenge for marketers is to educate

their public sector colleagues as to what constitutes marketing practice and the

marketing discipline.

Confusion over the definition and domain of marketing practice constitutes much of

the opposition to its explicit incorporation as an element of managerial practice in the

public sector. In addition, the appropriateness of the marketing orientation is

questionable in specific circumstances. Unlike many other management tools,

marketing has an implicit ideological and philosophical underpinning which means


that, at times, it is not the most appropriate approach to conducting government

business and in some instances arguable should not be used.

Core Principles: Exchange TheoryThe core concept which underpins marketing, and which simultaneously is the

ultimate objective of all marketing activities, is the creation of mutually beneficial

voluntary exchanges. In commercial marketing exchange is easy to define with a

simple transaction of "I have money to exchange with you for goods and services". In

public sector, non profit and social marketing the exchange process is typically more

complex, often involving a chain of exchanges for the realisation of the final

exchange. For example, a complex exchange process may develop as follows:

Exchange 1: A company sponsors a charity dinner for the homeless as a tactic to

be seen as socially responsible and caring (which in turn should attract more

clients who share the same 'beliefs') – the charity needs the money to carry out its

programs and to maximise the benefits of the relationship, acknowledges the

sponsors financial contribution, and then encourages supporters to support the

company commercially;

Exchange 2: The charity uses the money to provide food and clothing to the

homeless along with an offer for counselling or other assistance – the clients

benefit from the charity's services;

Exchange 3: The charity benefits as it is praised for its work via public awards or

other recognition which in turn draws more donations - society benefits as the

charity provides the homeless with basic needs for survival which in turn reduces

the public’s perceived risk of theft or muggings (no need to steal for food) and

increases the well being of the majority in that they feel less guilt in that the

homeless are being taken care of.

Marketing is a two way process, not a one way approach to benefit distribution. For

some people involved in the social and public sector this model is incompatible with

the way that they perceive their role and the role of their agencies. It is often hard for

those in the social sector to accept the idea that the ultimate objective of their


activities is to be involved in an exchange or 'sale' where both parties benefit. This is

one of the key ideological bases of marketing which operates against its use in the

social sector.

Core Principles: Customer OrientationA second core principle of marketing is the customer orientation. Effective marketing

relies on finding out what individuals want, and then supplying them with that

“product” to the extent that that company can do this at a profit. Marketing’s focus on

the primacy of the desires of the individual ahead of needs of the broader society is

another area of potential conflict. Public policy is generally designed to serve “the

public interest”. In cases where there is a perception that a policy unfairly benefits an

individual or small group (known to marketers as the “target market” and considered

to be a good thing), public and media reaction is usually highly political and

extremely negative.

Core Principles: Three Levels of Marketing Marketing as a managerial practice involves a multiple level approach which

encapsulates

the philosophy of client centredness,

strategic allocation of resources through market research and market

segmentation, and

tactical development of integrated programs of product distribution and

service delivery including the promotion of these programs.

The application of the three levels of marketing in a social marketing context is

discussed later in this monograph. Within the public sector, the most common use of

marketing tools is at the tactical level.

Marketing: A Summary Marketing is a two way process

Marketing strives to achieve mutually beneficial exchanges – or “sales”

Marketing is not a value free management tool


Role of Marketing in the Public Sector

A brief overview of the issues related to adopting any form of marketing in the public

sector is needed to fully appreciate the potential for social marketing to contribute to

the development of effective public policy aimed at attitudinal and behavioural

change. Historically public sector agencies have had a tendency to use various

marketing tools, particularly communication tools, on an as needs basis rather than

adopting the whole of the marketing concept. In taking this approach, government

agencies miss out on the full strength of marketing as a managerial tool.

Failure of the Public Sector to use the holistic approach to marketingThere are a number of reasons why the Public Sector does not perceive marketing as a

holistic exercise. These include

A limited understanding of the nature of marketing

Poor reputation of marketing by the unethical actions of the few

Unrealistic and often unreasonable expectations for success rates for short

term, low cost campaigns.

Problems with the use of market segmentation

Limited access to involvement in the development of products which

marketing is later required to ‘market’ to the end consumer

Misconceptions about the nature of MarketingFirst, as referred to previously, many public sector employees have a limited

understanding of what marketing is and equate it with advertising and promotion.

Promotion, which includes advertising, is both the most visible element of marketing

while simultaneously tending to be the most expensive. As the most publicly

conspicuous element of the program, the promotional activities associated with a

marketing program are also the element that is most open to media and public

scrutiny. Complaints about the cost of government marketing campaigns are a

'standard' media story which recurs on a regular basis irrespective of the content of the

campaign or the perceived need for the program in the wider community.


Poor reputation of marketingSecond, marketing has developed a poor reputation as a result of the unethical

behaviour of a minority. Marketing is perceived by some as manipulative and

deceptive. Again, much of marketing’s negative reputation is based on a

misunderstanding of what marketing is and what it can do. While marketing can be a

powerful tool when appropriately used, it is limited and cannot force anyone to buy,

eat or do anything against their will. Misconceptions as to the power of marketing

form the basis of a number of the arguments used by critics who see marketing as

inappropriate for use by government which already wield significant power in the

community.

Market SegmentationFourth, market segmentation - dividing the overall population into smaller, targeted

groups for special attention - can have negative political connotations. Whenever a

government policy explicitly benefits a defined group in society, regardless of

whether the policy is economically or socially motivated, the government is open to

criticism that it is playing political favourites. Commercial marketing does not attempt

to be all things to all people. Rather the basis of marketing is to recognise individual

and small group differences and to customise marketing activities to best match the

needs of these small groups. For those who are committed to serving "the public

interest" the argument that serving sectional interests in the short term may result in

the long term public interest, is often difficult to sell. This is particularly true when

the beneficiaries of the policy are considered to be already socially advantaged. This

occurs, for example, when economic incentives are offered to major businesses to

relocate, an activity which results in an immediate financial benefit to the business but

a sustained benefit to the community through increased employment.

Limited involvement in the product development processFinally, as well as promotion, marketing is also intimately involved in the

development of products based on the expressed desires of the marketing public. In

the case of government the “product” is policy or a specific program. While

marketing contributes indirectly to policy development via advice based on a


Application of Marketing in the Public SectionMarketing’s role in the public sector is more appropriately directed at the

development of suitable implementation strategies designed to maximise both

effectiveness (getting the program to the target clients in the way that will best fulfil

program objectives) and efficiency (reducing costs by developing highly targeted

implementation strategies designed to minimise waste).

Public sector marketers are normally presented with a pre-determined policy or

program and then required to 'market' it. This is one of the major misconceptions

regarding the process of marketing - that it is a a short term set of tactics which can be

called in as a quick fix. Public sector marketers are often called in to 'market' a

product or program when the public or media turn against a policy, or when the

government needs to justify itself in the mind of the voting public.

The use of marketing as a quick fix, or short term solution, limits the value the public

sector can gain from marketing. Marketing personnel should be involved at all stages

of the product development and deployment, rather than just being presented with a

product and expected to perform a social change miracle with limited resources.

Marketing in Government: A Summary Limited understanding of what marketing is often equates it with advertising and

promotion.

Marketing has developed a poor reputation as a result of the unethical behaviour

of a minority and misconceptions as to the power of marketing for changing

people’s behaviour

Limited duration campaigns with low level funding are given unrealistic

expectations and targets

Use as a quick fix solution limits the value to be gained from marketing

Key techniques such as market segmentation can have negative political

connotations.


Social Marketing: Definition and DomainSocial marketing is a defined sub discipline of marketing. In the Australian context

the majority of social marketing activity is undertaken by, or funded by, government

agencies. While social marketing is an important part of government marketing, not

all government marketing is social marketing and not all social marketing is

undertaken by government. To clarify what is meant by "social marketing" the

following section defines the term, the uses of social marketing and the limits of what

constitutes social marketing. For those not familiar with marketing and social

marketing terminology Appendix 1, provides a list of definitions of key terms.

DefinitionSocial marketing has had a range of definitions over the past thirty years, from the

foundation definition in 1971

Social marketing is the design, implementation, and control of programs calculated to influence the acceptability of product planning, pricing, communication, distribution and marketing research. (Kotler and Zaltman, 1971) through to the definition used most widely and consistently which defines social marketing as:

"the application of commercial marketing technologies to the analysis, planning, execution, and evaluation of programs designed to influence the voluntary behaviour of target audiences in order to improve their personal welfare and that of their society." (Andreasen, 1993)

Due to the substantial differences in the environment within which social marketing

operates, and the issues or causes which form the focus of campaigns, it is not

possible to import commercial marketing practice wholesale into the social marketing

environment. Consequently, social marketing involves the simultaneous adoption of

marketing philosophy and the adaptation of marketing tools to develop programs

which, in the eyes of the social marketer, will lead to socially beneficial outcomes. In

essence, social marketing is the adaptation, rather than direct transference, of

marketing tools and techniques for social change campaigns.

What social marketing isSocial marketing is a part of the overall field of strategic marketing management, and

draws its underpinning philosophy and core theoretical frameworks from the

marketing discipline. It aims for voluntary behaviour change based on providing a


superior alternative to a specific current behaviour. Social marketing does not coerce

individuals into changing their behaviour. Instead, the new behaviour is 'sold' to target

adopters as a preferable lifestyle choice. Change therefore is based on persuasion. As

a result of being focused on individual voluntary change, the practice of social

marketing is client, rather than expert driven. It is this emphasis on client driven

solutions which is the key defining principle of social marketing.

Expanding the ‘marketing’ aspect of social marketingAs part of the overall marketing discipline, social marketing shares common traits

with broader commercial marketing applications. These are:

the adoption of the customer centric marketing philosophy which puts the

needs of the client at the centre of organisational activities;

market research based decision making and tracking of campaigns;

segmentation of target audiences;

the creation of mutually beneficial exchanges between the organisation and its

client base;

the use of all elements of the "marketing mix"; and

careful attention to positioning the organisation’s "product" relative to its

competition.

The introduction of random breath testing has had an overall impact of increased

responsible driving behaviour with the initial incentive to change being the fear of

losing the capacity to drive for a defined period. However there is a subset of former

drink drivers who see the alternative of "drugged driving" as acceptable in that their

intoxication won’t be picked up by standard breathalyser testing. By understanding

the motivations of drink and drugged drivers, social marketing campaigns can

supplement existing policies to maximise voluntary conformity.

What social marketing is notSocial marketing is not the only approach used to encourage behavioural change

amongst target groups. Governments may use alternative methods to social marketing

to enforce changes in behaviour, with two of the more common approaches identified

by Rothschild (1999) as education programs and legislative interventions.


Social Marketing is not an education programSocial marketers do not assume that people are rational. Education programs differ

from social marketing in that they implicitly assume that, when presented with the

relevant facts about an issue, individuals will make a rational decision to change their

behaviour. In reality this approach does not work for a large number of people.

As a result of in-school education programs few, if any adolescents, are unaware of

the potential dangers associated with smoking yet each year thousands of teenagers

take up the habit. Similarly speeding, drink driving and other road safety issues have

not been resolved simply by educating the public as to the dangers. Whilst education

may be part of the process of introducing behavioural change, it is not the whole of

the process. Consequently, it is possible for an education campaign to be 100%

effective in creating awareness and improving knowledge about an issue, yet result in

an increase in the behaviour targeted for reduction.

Education programs are primarily of value where there is a gap in the target markets'

knowledge about an issue. An inappropriate use of an education campaign would be

in the reinforcement of well established and accepted 'facts' about an issue without

furthering the knowledge base of the target adopters.

Social Marketing is not Legislative InterventionThe second societal level approach adopted by governments to change behaviour is to

pass legislation. While this is a very effective way of ensuring significant shifts in

behaviour in a short time frame, it is not social marketing – even if the change is

heavily advertised – in that the decision to change the behaviour is not voluntary.

Rather it is a coercive approach which makes it outside of the domain of social

marketing practice.

Upstream MarketingA new trend in social marketing practice which should be mentioned at this point is

that of “upstream” social marketing. Traditionally social marketing has been directed

“down stream” to the individuals whose would benefit from a change in behaviour.


“Upstream” social marketing focuses the marketing activities at the policy makers and

institutions that create the environments within which the behaviours take place. An

example of upstream social marketing would be the targeting of legislators to place a

ban on smoking in all entertainment venues rather than simply focus on trying to stop

individuals smoking in recreational situations. Philosophically upstream social

marketing activity still involves a degree of voluntary compliance, although on the

part of the legislator rather than the user.

Given the relatively new emphasis on the upstream approach, a full debate of the

implications of the changing emphasis has not yet been possible. At this point a clear

definition of upstream social marketing and how this differs from traditional lobbying

activities or stakeholder management has not yet been developed however it is

important to acknowledge this trend within the context of legislative intervention –

often the outcome of a successful upstream campaign.

Differences between Social and Commercial Marketing

Social marketing draws its framework from the standard strategic marketing

frameworks employed by business however there are a number of key differences in

the application of marketing tools and techniques in social marketing. These are

summarised in Table 1.

Table 1 Differences between social and commercial marketersSocial Marketers Commercial Marketers

Want to do good Want to make money

Funded by taxes and donations Funded by investments

Publicly accountable Privately accountable

Performance hard to measure Performance easily measured in profit,

market share

Long term behavioural goal Short term behavioural goal

Often targets controversial behaviours Typically targets non-controversial

behaviours, may elect to target

controversial products


Often choose high-risk, hard to reach

targets

Choose most accessible low risk target

Risk-averse management Risk-accepting management

Participative decision marketing Hierarchical decision making

Relationships based on trust Relationships based on competition

Decisions influenced by political

imperatives

Decisions made on Return on Investment

or profit imperative

social marketing synopsis

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