What is Social Marketing?

by Nedra Kline Weinreich

The public health communications and social impact fields have changed dramatically over the decades. They have evolved from a one-dimensional reliance on public service announcements to a more sophisticated approach which draws from successful techniques used by commercial marketers, termed "social marketing." Rather than dictating the way that information is to be conveyed from the top-down, we've learned to listen to the needs and desires of our target audience themselves, and building the program from there. This focus on the "consumer" involves in-depth research and constant re-evaluation of every aspect of the program. In fact, research and evaluation together form the very cornerstone of the social marketing process.

Social marketing was "born" as a discipline in the 1970s, when Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman realized that the same marketing principles that were being used to sell products to consumers could be used to "sell" ideas, attitudes and behaviors. Kotler and Andreasen define social marketing as "differing from other areas of marketing only with respect to the objectives of the marketer and his or her organization. Social marketing seeks to influence social behaviors not to benefit the marketer, but to benefit the target audience and the general society." This technique was initially used primarily in development-focused health programs, such as for contraceptives and oral rehydration therapy (ORT), and is now being used around the world for such diverse topics as drug abuse, heart disease and organ donation.

Like commercial marketing, the primary focus is on the consumer—on learning what people want and need rather than trying to persuade them to buy what we happen to be producing. Marketing talks to people and their needs, not just about the product. The planning process takes this consumer focus into account by addressing the elements of the "marketing mix." This refers to decisions about 1) the conception of a Product, 2) Price, 3) distribution (Place), and 4) Promotion. These are often called the "Four Ps" of marketing. Social marketing also adds a few more "Ps." At the end is an example of the social marketing mix.

Product

The social marketing "product" is not necessarily a physical offering, and is usually a specific behavior. A continuum of types of products exists, ranging from the use of tangible, physical products (e.g., condoms), to services (e.g., medical exams), practices (e.g., breastfeeding, ORT or eating a heart-healthy diet) and finally, more intangible ideas (e.g., environmental protection). In order to have a viable product, people must first perceive that they have a genuine problem, and that the product offering is a good solution for that problem. The role of research here is to discover people's perceptions of the problem, the product, and its benefits, to identify how to position the desired behavior as different and better than the competition (what they are currently doing instead).

Price

"Price" refers to what someone must do in order to obtain the social marketing product. These are the barriers that stand in the way of people taking action. This cost may be monetary, or it may instead require people to give up intangibles, such as time or effort, or to risk embarrassment and disapproval. If the costs outweigh the benefits for an individual, the perceived value of the offering will be low and it will be unlikely to be adopted. However, if the benefits are perceived as greater than their costs, chances of trial and adoption of the product is much greater.

In setting the price, particularly for a physical product, there is a risk if the product is priced too low, or provided free of charge, people may perceive it as being low in quality. On the other hand, if the price is too high, some will not be able to afford it. Social marketers must balance these considerations, and often end up charging at least a nominal fee to increase perceptions of quality and to confer a sense of "dignity" to the transaction. These perceptions of costs and benefits can be determined through research, and used in positioning the product.

Place

"Place" describes the way that the product reaches people. For a tangible product, this refers to the distribution system--including the warehouse, trucks, sales force, retail outlets where it is sold, or places where it is given out for free. For an intangible product, think about this as the times and places where you can reach people when they're making decisions or more open to considering the product. This may include doctors' offices, grocery stores, social media or during life transitions such as the birth of a child or retirement. Another element of place is determining how to ensure accessibility and quality of the product. By identifying the usual activities and habits of the target audience, research can help select the most promising times and places to reach them.

Promotion

Finally, the last "P" is promotion. Because of its visibility, this element is often mistakenly thought of as comprising the whole of social marketing. However, as can be seen by the previous discussion, it is only one piece. Promotion consists of the integrated use of advertising, public relations, promotions, media advocacy, personal selling and entertainment vehicles. The focus is on creating and sustaining demand for the product. Advertising is one way, but there are a nearly infinite number of other methods to bring the message about your product to the audience such as text messaging, media events, editorials, "Tupperware"-style home parties or in-store displays. Research helps determine the most effective and efficient vehicles to reach the target audience and increase demand.

Additional Social Marketing "P's"

Publics

Social marketers often have many different audiences that their program has to take into account in order to be successful. "Publics" refers to both the external and internal groups involved in the program. External publics include the target audience, secondary audiences, policymakers, and gatekeepers, while the internal publics are those who are involved in some way with either approval or implementation of the program.

Partnership

Social and health issues are often so complex that one agency can't make a dent by itself. You may need to team up with other organizations in the community to really be effective. Figure out which organizations have similar goals or audiences to yours and identify ways you can work together.

Policy

Social marketing programs can do well in motivating individual behavior change, but that is difficult to sustain unless the environment they're in supports that change for the long run. Often, policy change is needed, and governmental or organizational policy makers may need to be an additional audience in a social marketing program.

Purse Strings

Most organizations that develop social marketing programs operate through funds provided by sources such as foundations, governmental grants or donations. This adds another dimension to the strategy development—namely, where will you get the money to create your program?

Example of a Marketing Mix Strategy

As an example, the marketing mix strategy for a breast cancer screening campaign for older women might include the following elements:

The product could be any of these three behaviors: getting an annual mammogram, seeing a physician each year for a breast exam and performing monthly breast self-exams.
The price of engaging in these behaviors includes the monetary costs of the mammogram and exam, potential discomfort and/or embarrassment, time and even the possibility of actually finding a lump.
Place could include locations like a mobile van, local hospitals, clinics and worksites, a home bathroom, or times such as a birthday or the first of each month.
Promotion could be done through social media, text messages, billboards, community events, or a sticker for the bathroom mirror.
The "publics" you might need to address include your target audience, the people who influence their decisions like their husbands or physicians, policymakers, community service directors at local radio stations, as well as your board of directors and office staff.
Partnerships could be cultivated with local or national women's groups, corporate sponsors, medical organizations, service clubs or media outlets.
The policy aspects of the campaign might focus on increasing access to mammograms through lower costs, requiring full insurance coverage of mammograms or increasing federal funding for breast cancer research.
The purse strings, or where the funding will come from, may be governmental grants, such as from the National Cancer Institute or the local health department, foundation grants or an organization like the American Cancer Society.

Each element of the social marketing mix should be taken into consideration as the program is developed, for they are the core of the marketing strategy. Research helps elucidate and shape the final decisions for product, price, place, promotion and the rest of the social marketing mix.