Success in Social Marketing

100 Case Studies From Around the Globe

Nancy R. Lee, Philip Kotler

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781032223278
• eBook ISBN: 9781000586534
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Social marketing, a field first introduced by Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman in a pioneering article in the Journal of Marketing in 1971, uses marketing concepts to influence the behaviors of individuals and communities for the greater social good. Now, as the discipline celebrates its 50th anniversary, Success in Social Marketing provides an accessible and comprehensive guide to the field, introducing stories from around the world including public health, injury prevention, environmental protection, community engagement, financial well-being, and education. The 100 case examples contained in this book, each about two pages in length, follow an outline that includes key components of a campaign: Wicked Problem, Purpose & Focus, Priority Audience, Desired Behavior, Audience Insights, Marketing Intervention Mix, and Results. This common structure provides the reader with a clear sense of how success in social marketing may best be achieved in a wide variety of disciplinary and national contexts. Success in Social Marketing is intended to fill a gap in the market as well as inform and inspire students and practitioners through 100 easily digestible case studies. Issues addressed include public health (opioid use, mental health, COVID-19) , injury prevention (gun violence, youth suicide, texting while driving), environmental protection (wildfires, bicycle transportation in urban areas, food waste), community engagement (homelessness, racially motivated violence, voting) financial wellbeing (microfinance, savings, employment), and educational achievement (early childhood education, college applications, female participation in STEM programs), to name but a few.

This book is recommended reading for students enrolled in public administration, public health, environmental studies, as well as policymakers interested in ways social marketing may help influence their constituent behaviors for individual, as well as social, good.

1 Framework Used for Each Case Story

DOI: 10.4324/9781003272106-1

The International Social Marketing Association (iSMA) defines Social Marketing as “a discipline that seeks to develop and integrate marketing concepts with other approaches to influence behaviors that benefit individuals and communities for the greater social good.”¹ A paraphrase often used is Behavior Change for Social Good.² This book includes 100 social marketing success stories from around the globe illustrating how behavior change can contribute to:

• Improving Public Health (30 cases)
• Preventing Injuries (15 cases)
• Protecting the Environment (30 cases)
• Engaging Communities (15 cases)
• Enhancing Financial Well-​Being (5 cases)
• Supporting Educational Milestones (5 cases)

Framework Used to Summarize Each Case

Each of the 100 case stories are told using the following strategic planning framework, with references for more information provided for each case. These seven components will be described in more detail in the next sections of this chapter:

1. Wicked Problem: What was the social issue this campaign was intended to address?
2. Purpose & Focus: What positive impact was this campaign intended to have on this social issue, and what was the strategic focus for its effort?
3. Priority Audience: What homogeneous segment of a population was the campaign “custom-​designed” to influence?
4. Desired Behavior: What was the singular and clear desired behavior the plan intended to influence?
5. Audience Insights: What did campaign managers know about audience perceived barriers, desired benefits, motivators, influential messengers, and the competition?
6. Marketing Intervention Mix: What tools in the marketing intervention tool kit (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) were used to influence the behavior?
7. Results: What results were measured and reported on (Inputs, Outputs, Outcomes, Impact, Return on Investment)?

The Wicked Problem

This first step in the strategic planning process is to highlight the social issue (wicked problem) the plan will be addressing and to note the organization or organizations that will be developing, implementing, and/or funding the social marketing campaign. Most social issues that social marketing plans address fall within the following seven major categories, with the 100 cases in this book mentioned within each relevant category.

Public Health Issues: Opioid Overdose, Polio, Flu Vaccinations, Anemia, HIV/AIDS, Tobacco Use, HPV-​Related Cancers, Breast Cancer, Tuberculosis, Marijuana, Lead in Water, Heart Disease, Medication Adherence, Family Planning, Malaria, Diabetes, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Physical Activity, Dengue Fever, Vaping, Colorectal Cancer, Obesity, Drinking & Substance Abuse, Alzheimer’s Disease, Mental Health, Breastfeeding, Fruit and Vegetable Consumption, Skin Cancer, COVID-​19

Injury-​Related Issues: Senior Falls, Burns, Boating Under the Influence, Domestic Violence, Child Sexual Abuse, Workplace Injuries & Deaths, Pedestrian Injuries & Deaths, Floods, Safe Medication Storage, Overdose Deaths, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Safe Gun Storage, Drinking and Driving, Youth Suicide, Texting While Driving

Environmental Issues: Chemical Fertilizers, Biosecurity Compliance, Water Consumption, Wildfires, Safe Wildlife Viewing, Alternative Transportation, Solar Power, Vehicle Oil Leaks, Water Use Efficiency, Pet Waste, Bicycle for City Transportation, Safer Cleaning Products, Grass Fires, Plastic Straws, Food in Solid Waste System, Climate Change, Endangered Wildlife, Electrical Power Consumption, Native Plants, Sustainable Seafood Choices, Recycling, Natural Habitats on Shorelines, Vehicle Idling, Household Water Usage, Food Waste, Alternative Transportation, Tree Planting, Phosphorous Pollution in Lakes, Insecticides, Home Energy Use

Community Engagement Issues: Pet Adoption, Foster Parenting, Blood Donations, Home Burglaries, Bullying in Schools, Family Planning, Homelessness, Youth Alcohol Abuse, Organ Donation, Criminal Activity, Job Seekers, Community Gardens, Racial Violence, Prescription Medications, Voting

Financial Well-​Being Issues: Microfinance Loans, Financial Resources, Savings, Youth Employment, Positive Financial Behaviors

Education Milestone Issues: Educational Opportunities for Toddlers, School Enrollment & Attendance, High School Dropouts, College Applications, Females in STEM Degree Programs

Campaign Purpose & Focus

Purpose

Once the social issue the plan will address is identified, a purpose statement is developed, one that captures the intended positive impact the campaign will have on the social issue if the priority audience performs the desired behavior at intended levels. Typical purpose statements do not need to be long or elaborate, as the intention is to inspire support for the plan. These statements often begin with verbs such as reduce, increase, decrease, improve, or eliminate (see Table 1.1).

TABLE 1.1 Examples of Social Issues, Purpose Statements, Focus

Social Issue	Purpose Statement	Focus
COVID-​19	Reduce the spread of COVID-​19	Masks
Texting & driving	Decrease texting while driving	Apps disabling texting while driving
Water quality	Restore natural shoreline habitats	Soft shore armoring
Voter turnout	Increase voter turnout	Absentee ballots
Poverty	Increase self employment for women	Affordable financial services
Literacy	Decrease high school dropout rates	Unique curriculum components

Focus

To narrow the scope of a campaign plan, a focus is selected from the vast number of potential options that could contribute to the plan’s purpose. Areas of potential focus may be behavior-​related, a broad population, a product (tangible good or service) that will be promoted, a price strategy (monetary or nonmonetary incentive), a place strategy (distribution channel), or promotion-​related strategy (social media) (see Table 1.1).

Priority Audience

The ideal process for selecting a priority audience involves two major steps. First, dividing a population into homogeneous segments based on relevant segmentation variables. Second, evaluating each segment based on factors that will help prioritize the segments in terms of potential return on investment of resources, with the ideal result being a clear #1 priority audience for this campaign.

Segmentation Variables

Traditional segmentation variables used to create potential homogeneous segments within a population typically include one or more of the following:

• Demographics: Age, Gender, Household Composition, Income, Occupation, Education, Ethnicity
• Geographics: World, Region, or Country; Urban, Suburban, or Rural
• Psychographics: Values, Lifestyle, Personality Characteristics

Selecting a Priority Audience

Several attractive potential segments are then evaluated based on factors related to the highest potential outcomes in terms of behavior change. Those most often considered include the following³:

1. Segment Size: Estimated number/percent of individuals/households in the segment
2. Problem Severity: Estimated number/percent of those in this segment impacted by the social issue and/or engaged in the problem-​related behavior
3. Readiness to Change: Levels of concern and/or interest this segment has to behavior change related to the social issue this campaign is addressing (see Figure 1.1)

   

   FIGURE 1.1 Segmentation Based on Readiness to Change.⁴

   This figure illustrates a simplified segmentation of a population based ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Endorsement Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• 1 Framework Used for Each Case Story
• 2 Improving Public Health: 30 Success Stories
• 3 Preventing Injuries: 15 Success Stories
• 4 Protecting the Environment: 30 Success Stories
• 5 Engaging Communities: 15 Success Stories
• 6 Enhancing Financial Well-​Being: 5 Success Stories
• 7 Supporting Educational Milestones: 5 Success Stories
• Epilogue: The Past, Present, and Future of Social Marketing
• Index