INTRODUCTION TO

SOCIAL MARKETING
CODE:SOCI3041
LECTURER - JUNE BARBOUR
 LECTURE 1

This lecture will cover the following topics.

What is Social Marketing –definitions?

What is a Social Marketing intervention?
Why is Social Marketing important to society?
History of Social Marketing
Social marketing as a process
Social Marketing as a discipline
 
Definitions of Social Marketing

 Kotler and Lee (2008) define social marketing as a “process that applies
commercial marketing principles and techniques to create, communicate and
deliver value in order to influence target audience behaviour that benefit society
(public health, safety, the environment and communities) as well as the target
audience”

 Allan Andreasen (1994 )describes social marketing as a field of marketing which

aims to promote behaviour change to the target audience by using different
marketing techniques frequently adapted from commercial marketing.
Definitions of Social Marketing cont’d

 Nedra Kline Weinrich (2006) notes that social marketing is consumer focused
as it seeks to influence social behaviour not to benefit the marketer, but to benefit
the target audience (learning what people want and need).
 Its primary goal is selling behaviour for social good.
 It is also a systematic and planned process, with six steps which dictate how to
conduct it, measure it, the people to work with and the expected outcome.
 These steps are 1. Getting started; 2.Scope; 3. Develop; 4.Implement; 5. Evaluate
and 6. Follow-up
History of Social Marketing

 Seventy (70) years ago G.D. Wiebe challenged society with the question: “Why
can’t you sell brotherhood and rational thinking like you sell soap” (Elliott,1991)
 In 1971, the term “Social Marketing “ was introduced in the writing of Philip
Kotler and Gerald Zaltman to describe the, then new and emerging process in
marketing.
 At the time Social Marketing was applied to address health issues.
 While the notion of social marketing was introduced by Wiebe, its application
and intellectual roots were nurtured by Philip Kotler, Gerald Zaltman, Sidney J.
Levy. Later, Barry Elliott, Allan R. Andreasen, and Nedra Kline Wienrich.
Others made valuable contributions to position social marketing to where it is
today.
 History of Social Marketing
Cont’d
 Social marketing is the use of commercial marketing tools and techniques to
promote socially beneficial behaviour change on a large scale within society.
 The key to identify social marketing lies in the primary motivating factor for
action – To sell healthy behaviours
 Through the past 69 years, the application of social marketing emerged to be an
acceptable definition, but during those year, it was referred to in various terms .
These include Social change marketing, behaviour change communication,
social good marketing and behaviour communication, among others.
 Social Marketing as a process

 It is a customer focused solution to address social challenges.

 Social Marketing adopts Commercial Marketing tools and techniques in
application to influence behaviour in a sustainable and cost-effective way.
 It also draws on theories from multiple disciplines, which are applied for
development and implementation of the intervention.
 It is an integrated approach to behaviour change.
 A variety of tools, tactics , theories and strategies are used to implement a social
marketing intervention.
How Does Social Marketing differ from
other Marketing?
 Social Marketing seeks to promote social beneficial behavior on a large scale.
Its goal is to nurture a good society.
 The main aim of Commercial Marketing is to gain financial profits.
 Cause Marketing seeks to both increase profit and meet their social
responsibility as institutions, by addressing social and environmental issues.
 What Social Marketing is not

 While Social Marketing uses media in its promotion, the intervention should not
be referred to as a media campaign, as a media campaign is just part of the
process of a social marketing campaign. The engagement of the target audience is
critical.

 Many persons also confuse Social Marketing with Social Media.

Note that Social Media is just one of the tools used in the process
of Social Marketing.
 Examples

 Examples of Social Marketing interventions/campaigns include:

 1. Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica
 2. Breast is Best
 3. Two is Better than too many (1980s)
 4. Eat what you Grow, Grow what you Eat
 5. Respect Jamaica
 6. Covid Deh Yah, Tan ah Yuh Yaard

 Examples of Cause marketing are Jet Blue’s Sour with Reading.

 Another is Smile Amazon.
 Social Marketing as a discipline

 After more than 70 years, Social, Marketing is established worldwide as a

credible disciple that is used by many prominent organizations at the local,
regional and international levels to promote public good. Its use has become more
prominent with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2030,
now Agenda 2050.
 There now exists much academic discourse in the area:
Published books, Journals and the use of new media in the promotion and
expansion of the disciple; many conferences have been held and the
establishment of academic networking groups has mushroomed across the world.
 The subject is taught at both the graduate and undergraduate levels in many
universities across the world.
How is Social Marketing used?

 Social Marketing is commonly used for

 (1) Environmental causes
 (2) Health and Wellness causes
 (3) Disaster Mitigation
 (4) Social activism, among many other areas
 What is most outstanding about SM?

 Research and Evaluation are its cornerstone.

 It’s effectiveness lies in its bottom-up approach, communicating and listening
directly to the needs of the target audience.
 Consciously engaging the target audience in the planning and implementation
process.
 Giving the audience the opportunity to “own” the intervention.
 Additional Readings

 1. Chapter 1: Defining Social Marketing, in Kotler, Philip and Lee, Nancy

(2011) Social Marketing: Influencing Behaviour for Good, 4th ed. Sage, Thousand
Oaks.
 2. Chapter 1: Social Marketing Basics, in Kline Weinrich , Nedra (2011)Hands-
On Social Marketing: A Step-by-Step Guide in Designing Change for Good, 2nd
ed, Sage, Thousand Oaks.
 3. Social Marketing: Its Definition and Domain, (1994) by Allan R. Andreasen,
(pdf)
 Social Marketing: An Approach to Planned Social Change,(1971),Kotler,
David and Zaltman, Gerald (pdf)
THANK YOU