Social marketing theory in Health

Social marketing theory is a theory of mass communication that promotes socially valuable information and socially accepted behaviors. It tries to integrate marketing ideas, principles, tools, techniques and socially beneficial concepts to promote communication and benefit society. The theory emerged in 1970s when marketing techniques were realized to sell ideas, attitudes and behaviors rather than products and includes the concept of “Edutainment” (Education and Entertainment). The theory was proposed by Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman which is now being used by social and welfare organizations. Social marketing is not social media marketing.

Social Marketing Theory is a framework that is helpful in planning, designing, implementing and evaluating social campaigns with information sharing as its major objective. It uses creativity, rather than depending on public service announcements, like in the past for giving out information. Information is packaged and distributed following a plan so that maximum sharing and outcome is possible.

Social marketing tries to understand social and psychological factors which bring resistance to change in society. It increases acceptability, response and practice of any social idea for target group. Techniques of marketing like market segmentation, exchange theory and consumer research are used extensively. Social intervention is the main objective of social marketing.

There are a variety of definitions of social marketing in the literature, but they commonly include three key elements:

• First, it is a systematic process that can be phased to address short, medium and long-term issues.
• Second, it utilizes a range of marketing concepts and techniques (a marketing mix).
• Finally, its primary aim is to achieve a particular social good (rather than commercial benefit) with specific behavioural goals clearly identified and targeted.

Social Marketing is: the systematic application of marketing concepts and techniques to achieve specific behavioural goals relevant to a social good. 

Health-related Social Marketing is: the systematic application of marketing concepts and techniques to achieve specific behavioural goals relevant to improving health and reducing health inequalities.

Andreasen’s defined social marketing as: “The application of commercial marketing technologies to the analysis, planning, execution and evaluation of programs designed to influence the voluntary behavior of target audiences in order to improve their personal welfare and that of their society”.

Kotler and Lee explained some features of the social marketing approach:

• focusing on understanding the perspectives of the full range of target audiences necessary to bring about change;
• developing a research-based program, relying on formative research to develop and test concepts with members of the target audience; and
• recognizing the need to include all elements of the marketing mix (i.e., product, price, place, promotion) to bring about behavior change

According to Andreasen’s benchmark criteria, for an intervention to be classified as social marketing, at least one of the following components is needed. They are considered as the key concepts of the social marketing approach:

• Behavioral change: Determining the objective aiming to achieve behavioral change as the main focus of social marketing interventions.
• Formative research: Using audience research to understand target audiences, pre-test interventions and monitor their delivery; it is fundamental in social marketing interventions.
• Segmentation: Dividing a general target audience into smaller and homogenous segments based on the shared characteristics.
• Marketing mix: Adopted from the commercial sector is the marketing mix, also known as the 4Ps: product, price, place, and promotion. These four key elements of social marketing are central to the planning and implementation of an integrated marketing strategy. Each of these four components should be present in a marketing plan.
• Exchange: Social marketing programs aim to change behavior by establishing an exchange between the consumers and the program developer based on the consumers’ wants and needs. In this exchange, consumers give up something of value and receive something of equal or greater value. Target audiences have opportunities to exchange their monetary and non-monetary resources for attractive tangible and/or intangible benefits.
• Competition: In a dynamic marketplace, commercial or social, there are different priorities and choices. So, competition is always present. If the target audience is not ready or willing to buy our promoted products, or we do not provide the products which the target audience wants, the marketing attempts will fail. In other words, the consumer will exit our market and go somewhere else.

There are 4 major components of social marketing which is also used as techniques known as 4 Ps of social marketing. They are:

Product

Target population is encouraged to buy or use socially needed products like family planning, clean drinking water, saving and credit organizations, nutritional foods, organic farming, etc. Sustainable products which benefit the society are the goal of social marketing. The product must have a place in the society. The product can be tangible like physical things or non-tangible like services and practices.

Price

Price in social marketing can be monetary or non-monetary. Monetary price is the price to buy the product which might help the population. Non-monetary price is the psychological and social costs like changing a habit, time or effort.  If the price is minimum, the change is more profound.

Place

The place is where the target population in need can be found. It is where the social marketing will be the most productive. It is the product distribution site, where the implemented changes will take place or the place where the product is available. The campaign is successful if the place is easily accessible.

Promotion

The social marketing is done for the promotion of the product or habit. It is the way in which the information is provided. The tools and techniques used to make it effective are many, including advertisements, using charts, documentaries, etc. along with public relations, media advocacy, entertainment, etc. It takes creativity to promote in a better way.

Publics

Social marketers often have many different audiences that their program has to address 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 need to team up with other organizations in the community to really be effective. You need to figure out which organizations have similar goals to yours (not necessarily the same goals) 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 media advocacy programs can be an effective complement to 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?

Major Features of Social Marketing 

Target audience analysis and segmentation

A particular group of population which is in most need of particular product or awareness must be first analyzed to have a social change. The audience is analyzed in preproduction as well as production phase. Similarly, a group also has various subgroups that must also be analyzed by breaking them down which is known as audience segmentation. Existing community agencies must be used. The first step to social marketing is identifying the target population.

Creates Awareness

Though the social marketing is not effective sometimes to change behavior patterns of people, at least they provide awareness. People get to know the alternatives that they can adopt so that they are benefited in the future. When different channels are used to create awareness, people come to know about new things. Awareness is the first step to change.

Increase Interest by Edutainment

The message in social marketing is creative and interesting. This way, the message is not forgotten for a long time easily. The message is reinforced repeatedly and the message is taken as credible by the target group. Education and entertainment is provided as a package. People pay attention as well as get informed at the same time. For example, a street drama is not easily forgotten. Images are used to increase interest and get attention.

Desired Result

The information should be so interesting and unforgettable, that people do not take the social marketing process to be a learning process but as entertainment. When this kind of information reaches the intended target group, desired outcome is achieved as the message gets ingrained in the brain of the audience.