Health Education

1. 1
SOCIAL MARKETING
By
Nazar A. Mahmood
PhD Student
Community medicine department
College of Medicine
Hawler Medical University
2016

2. Objectives
2
1. Define social marketing.
2. Identify the gaols of social marketing.
3. Describe the major features and disciplines of social marketing
4. Enumerate the benchmark criteria of social marketing
5. Describe the 4P (marketing mix).
6. Describe how is social marketing applied to health.
7. And finally identify the limitations and challenges that faced social
marketing.

3. 3
 Social Marketing was first explicitly defined in 1971 by Kotler & Zaltman
(1971, p.5) as:
“The application of principles and tools of marketing to achieve socially
desirable goals, with benefits for society as a whole rather than for profit
or other organizational goals and includes the design, implementation and
control of programs calculated to influence the acceptability of social
ideas and involves considerations of product planning, pricing,
communications and market research.”
 “Social marketing is the systematic application of marketing concepts and
techniques, to achieve specific behavioural goals to improve health and
reduce health inequalities” (French & Blair Stevens, 2007, p.33).
Definitions

4. 4
 The original idea of social marketing is accredited to Wiebe who in 1952 in
an article entitled, “Merchandising Commodities and Citizenship on
Television,” he demonstrated how mass media campaigns can motivate
people to take action, and challenged the marketing community by asking,
“Why can’t you sell brotherhood and rational thinking like you sell soap?”
(Weibe, 1952).
 The term ‘Social Marketing’ gained popularity when the Journal of Marketing
brought out an issue on the topic in July 1971 (Kolter 1971).
(It cannot create the behaviour, it can only help to gain acceptance and a
willingness to adopt the behaviour).
Definitions

5. 5
Goals
Social marketing seeks to impact personal
behavior by persuading target audiences to:
 Avoid risky practices (e.g., smoking)
 Discontinue antisocial actions (e.g., littering)
 Take preventive measures (e.g., safety belts)
 Join, give or organize for a specific cause

6. 6
1. Behavioural change is voluntary i.e. not by coercion or enforcement.
2. It operates on the principle of exchange i.e. there has to be a clear benefit
for the customer (target group or individual) if change is to occur.
3. Uses marketing techniques such as consumer oriented market research,
segmentation and targeting and marketing mix.
4. The ultimate goal is to improve individual and societal welfare not make
profit for the organization carrying out the intervention as is the case with
commercial marketing.
Features of social marketing

7. 7
 Social marketing covers a wide variety of disciplines including:
o health education,
o advertising,
o economics,
o business management,
o scientific research,
o Community organization,
o psychology and epidemiology.
Disciplines

8. Social marketing vs. Commercial marketing
 Aims to change attitudes &
behaviour to a healthier
behaviour.
 Serves interests of target
market without personal
profit.
 Mostly marketing of ideas and
concepts rather than tangible
products.
 Meets identified needs &
wants of target market
segment.
 Aims to make a profit by
serving the interests of target
market.
 Marketing of products/
services mostly through
ideas.
8
Social marketing Commercial marketing

9. 9

10. Principles & Techniques of Social Marketing
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Social Marketing consists of four marketing elements (marketing mix) of
(4Ps) Product, Price, Place and Promotion.
The Product (What we’re offering people?)
• Tangible material (for example, contraceptives, Chlamydia test kit or
medication).
• Intangible/non-standardised service (for example, health education or
counselling service).
• Product/service branding, packaging, positioning, form, life cycle and
product development.
Example:- if the packaging and quality of a condom is poor, there is
bound to be poor response and low acceptability of such condoms.

11. Principles & Techniques of Social Marketing
11
The Price (The cost of adopting the product)
 what consumers must give up if they are to adopt a certain health behaviour
often emotional and psychological. e.g. taking a Chlamydia test which is often
stigmatised or practical efforts such as seeking for a screening kit at a sexual
health clinic or attending a health talk.
 Cost to the target audience of changing behaviour (Barriers to behaviour change)
Can be financial, or more often related to other “costs”
 Time (Takes more time)
 Pleasure
 Loss of self esteem
 Embarrassment
 Life style

12. Principles & Techniques of Social Marketing
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The Place (where users are most likely to find them)
Places in which consumers can obtain certain products such as
contraceptives or services such as screening or counselling. Place includes
settings such as working places, homes, schools, colleges, and health
institutions
Examples
• Marketing of STD clinics as a separate entity has largely been a failure
because of stigma attached to such clinics, hence poor utilization of such
services.
• Some countries have very successfully increased utilization of condoms by
making them available in areas where the potential users can find them
easily, such as in ‘red light’ areas, on bus stands, on highways etc.

13. Principles & Techniques of Social Marketing
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Promotion
• Refers to the means and messages by which the benefits of a
particular product or behaviour change are communicated.
• Most common means include advertisement (radio, televisions,
billboards), leaflets, posters, dedicated websites and community
outreach activities.

14. Principles & Techniques of Social Marketing
14
Promotion (Visibility & Timing)
• High visibility constantly reminds the user of the existence of a
product/service.
• Timing, on the other hand, pertains to presenting the reminder when the
user is most likely to accept the idea, product or the service.
For example,
• social marketing of (ORS) is best undertaken by doctors in a paediatric
OPD or by Village Health Guides during home visits, especially when a
child is suffering from diarrhoea.
• Educating a woman about ORS when she is about to go into labour would
be of no consequence since the felt-need is not present at that time and the
woman is thus not receptive to the idea.

15. Example of a Marketing Mix Strategy
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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 behaviours: 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 behaviours includes the monetary costs of the
mammogram and exam, potential discomfort and/or embarrassment, time and
even the possibility of actually finding a lump.
• The place that these medical and educational services are offered might be a
mobile van, local hospitals, clinics and worksites, depending upon the needs of
the target audience.
• Promotion could be done through public service announcements, billboards,
mass mailings, media events and community outreach.

16. 16
Image used in the American Legacy Foundation's Truth antismoking campaign
aimed at young people

17. A Step-Wise Approach to Social Marketing
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1. Identification of health problem & establishing methods for social
marketing
2. Identification of priorities and implementation of affordable efforts
3. Analysis of marketing activities, including social message
4. Identification of target audience for each marketing component
5. Analysing each marketing strategy to determine attitudes and
potential resistance among target groups
6. Identification of objectives for each target group
7. Designing and testing the social message
8. Selection of marketing/distribution system
9. Evaluate the impact of social messages

18. A Step-Wise Approach to Social Marketing
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1. Identification of health problem & establishing methods for social
marketing:
 identification of traditional health measures, demographic &
population studies including mortality/ morbidity patterns and
economic impact etc. The causes of the problem have to be
established clearly.
 the required & available resources like mass media, marketing &
design expertise should also be identified.
− Why are we doing this?
− What impact and benefits it would generate?

19. A Step-Wise Approach to Social Marketing
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2. Identification of priorities and implementation of affordable efforts:
 For saving time, energy and money for a social marketer.
 The health problem and desired objectives should be assessed.
 Cost estimates for media, material & delivery, personnel and other
resources should be assessed in advance.
 It is essential to project realistic and achievable goals & objectives and
prepare realistic budgets.

20. 20
S – MAXIMISE
W –MINIMIZE
O - TAKE ADVANTAGE
T - BE PREPARE
− Situation analysis –factors and forces in external and internal
environment anticipated to have impact
− Review the composition of the strategy team SWOT

21. A Step-Wise Approach to Social Marketing
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3. Analysis of marketing activities, including social message:
 The strategy of social marketing needs to be evaluated regularly.
 adopt different messages and message styles for effectively
communicating the message for a particular target group.
For example, messages and their style of delivery for HIV prevention would be
different for college students, commercial sex workers, truck drivers and
housewives.

22. A Step-Wise Approach to Social Marketing
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4. Identification of target audience for each marketing component:
 ‘Market segmentation’: involves accurate identification of the group or
individual who is not doing what they should be doing, in terms of health
related behaviour.
 Audience segmentation is usually based on sociodemographic, cultural,
and behavioural characteristics
For example, the National Cancer Institute's “five a day for better health”
campaign developed specific messages aimed at Hispanic people, because
national data indicate that they eat fewer fruits and vegetables and may have
cultural reasons that discourage them from eating locally available produce
(NCI, 2002)

23. A Step-Wise Approach to Social Marketing
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5. Analysing each marketing strategy to determine attitudes and potential
resistance among target groups:
 Identify all possible cultural, social and religious resistance points.
 Isolate beliefs and values which offer resistance to healthy
behaviour.
 Build consensus and strategy to overcome the resistance.
6. Identification of objectives for each target group:
− Behavioural objective
− Knowledge objectives
− Belief objectives
For example, we may define our objective as “increasing household
use of iodised salt in a given district from 60% to 95% in next 2 years”

24. TV videos in Nigeria related to
increased family planning
 Contraceptive use by
Nigerian women in
1993 who had seen
music videos and TV
dramas to promote
family planning in
1989-92
Westoff C, Rodriguez G, Bankole A. Family Planning and Mass Media Effects.
Unublished paper. Princeton University, 1996.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
none
TV/radio
%using

25. A Step-Wise Approach to Social Marketing
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7. Designing and testing the social message:
 pretested on samples of target audience for:
 acceptability,
 comprehension,
 believability
 conviction.
 Revising and retesting of the messages as necessary.
8. Selection of marketing/distribution system
 The message should be in a manner which ensures maximum
coverage among target audience.
Example: Introduction of statutory warnings on tobacco products is
one such way to ensure that the anti-smoking message reaches all
target audience.

26. A Step-Wise Approach to Social Marketing
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9. Evaluate the impact of social messages:
 These should be assessed periodically to evaluate the impact of
social marketing and mid-term corrections should be made
wherever required.
For example, incidence of sexually transmitted diseases as
ascertained from a busy STD clinic or hospital in a district is a good
indicator of the impact of social marketing for condoms in that district

27. LIMITATIONS OF SOCIAL MARKETING
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1. Scale of intervention
2. Focus on isolated behaviour or products
3. Major structural barriers
4. Decision-making
5. Funding
6. Lack of support for social marketing programmes
7. Lack of opportunity for educational use of the mass media
8. Poor management and implementation of a social marketing effort

28. LIMITATIONS OF SOCIAL MARKETING
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1. Scale of intervention: social marketing is aimed at individual & at
the city, state, national and even international level.
2. Focus on isolated behaviour or products: may lead people with
limited resources to perceive a need to choose between the idea
which is marketed and other health-promoting behaviour.
3. Major structural barriers: unsuitable where major structural
barriers exist against change in individuals. These include poverty,
lack of health facilities, political pressure, discrimination.

29. LIMITATIONS OF SOCIAL MARKETING
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4. Decision-making: Remain an educational tool rather than a
coercive mechanism, social marketing must involve the consumer
in decision-making.
5. Funding: Social marketing is often labour- and time-intensive. A
cost. effective strategy must be drawn up for each case.
6. Lack of support for social marketing programmes: Marketed
health programmes are frequently of very low priority within official
channels and they therefore lack resources and opportunities.

30. LIMITATIONS OF SOCIAL MARKETING
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7. Lack of opportunity for educational use of the mass media:
• The channel or times given for transmission may be poor in quality
or ineffective due to inappropriate timing.
• The mass media are aimed at those with economic means and are
less feasible in developing countries due to financial difficulties.

31. Challenges that faced social marketing
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1. Accurate market analysis: is most often not possible.
2. Market segmentation: may be detrimental to efforts because of
discrimination & stigma attached to such segmented.
3. Product strategy: Difficulty of developing complex behaviour which is
acceptable to target audience and which meets their felt.
4. Pricing strategy: Social marketing often has no control over (and cannot
address) issues of intangible consumer costs such as cost of personal
embarrassment:
Examples:
− examination by a male doctor for cervical cancer.
− fear (as in voluntary testing for HIV).

32. Challenges that faced social marketing
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5. Strategy for selecting channels for dissemination of social messages.
indirect dissemination of social message is often associated with
misinformation.
6. Limitation of communication options: large amount of information needs
to be conveyed to target audience before behaviour can be changed.
7. Limitation of health planner knowledge's regarding principles of
marketing. Leads to programs failure. Such programs also often face
opposition from competing groups (such as baby food manufactures in
breast feeding campaigns).
8. Difficulty of impact evaluation: Change in social & individual behaviour &
attitude is complex and intangible with very few objective variables.

33. How is social marketing applied to health?
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• Social marketing is widely used to influence health behaviour.
• Social marketers use a wide range of health communication strategies
based on:
− Mass media;
− Use mediated (for example, through a healthcare provider),
− Interpersonal,
− other modes of communication; and marketing methods such as
message placement (for example, in clinics),
− promotion,
− dissemination,
− and community level outreach.

34. Social marketing wheel
34

35. Social marketing wheel
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1. Developing plans and strategies using behavioural theory;
2. Selecting communication channels and materials based on the required
behavioural change and knowledge of the target audience;
3. Developing and pretesting materials, typically using qualitative methods;
4. Implementing the communication programme or “campaign”;
5. Assessing effectiveness in terms of:
− Exposure and awareness of the audience,
− Reactions to messages,
− Behavioural outcomes (such as improved diet or not smoking);
6. The last stage feeds back into the first to create a continuous loop of
planning, implementation, and improvement.

36. References
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 Anthony S W. A Social Marketing Perspective of Young People’s Sexual Health,
Thesis, School of Health and Social Care, Brunel University, 2012
 Marie B. Social Marketing For Health, World Health Organization (WHO), 1993.
 RajVir, B. Textbook of Public Health & Community Medicine, 1st edition. India,
Department of Community Medicine in Collaboration with WHO. 2009.
 W Douglas E. How social marketing works in health care, BMJ. 2006 May 20;
332(7551): 1207–1210.