Social marketing

What is Social Marketing

Social Marketing is the Practice of Utilizing the
Philosophy, Tools, and Practices of Commercial
Marketing for Health and/or Social Programs.

Social Marketing Sells a Behavior Change to a

Targeted Group of Individuals

- Accept a New Behavior

- Reject a Potential Behavior
- Modify a Current Behavior
- Abandon an Old Behavior
 History of Social Marketing

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.
The technique has been used extensively in international health
programs, especially for contraceptives and oral rehydration therapy
(ORT), and is being used with more frequency in the United States for
such diverse topics as drug abuse, heart disease and organ donation.
Social Marketing
 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 the consumer, not
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 "P‘s
 Social Marketing- An Effective Tool in the global response
to HIV/AIDS

Contents
At a glance
Background
Social marketing approach
Condom social marketing
Distribution and communication
 Research and evaluation
Measuring the success of social marketing program
 Distribution and consumer profile
Communications and behavioral change
The challenges
 The responses
 The role of UNAIDS
 Best Practice
Collection
In countries where the health infrastructure is both underdeveloped and underfunded, a social
marketing approach makes the product available and affordable, utilizing commercial marketing
techniques, while linking it to a communications campaign geared to sustainable behavior change.

In response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, social marketing programmers have made condoms accessible,
affordable and acceptable to low-income populations and high-risk groups in many of the world’s
developing countries.

This presentation is intended to provide a clear understanding of social marketing, its key components
and the role social marketing can and continues to play in preventing and slowing the spread of
HIV/AIDS.

 It defines the rationale for social marketing, provides practical examples of its effectiveness and
addresses many of the issues currently being raised by the donor community, including cost,
competitiveness and sustainability. It concludes by advocating the continued support of social marketing
programmers as an effective and cost-efficient tool in limiting the spread of HIV/AIDS.
 At a glance
Social marketing has become increasingly
popular among governments and donors as a
way of addressing serious health issues in
developing countries. While the concept has its
roots in family planning, much of the attention
has been due to the use of social marketing the
HIV/AIDS epidemic.
 Background

Social marketing. is the adaptation of commercial marketing techniques to social

goals. Using traditional commercial marketing techniques, social marketing makes
needed products available and affordable to low-income people, while encouraging
the adoption of healthier behavior.
In many developing countries, public sector health systems are unable to ensure
that products and services reach a large part of the population and in particular, those
at the low end of the cash economy. Clinics are limited in number.
This is especially true for HIV/AIDS, where staff need to have a thorough
understanding of the means of transmission and its prevention. In many countries,
cultural norms, geography, and low literacy levels compound the problems.
There exists, therefore, an unmet need for a regular supply of high quality health
products, which are both accessible and affordable to lower income people.
 The Social Marketing Approach
The social marketing approach addresses both supply and
demand issues. Programmers utilize the existing
commercial where they are needed. Infrastructure to make
products available to low-income consumers when and
when they are needed.
 Condom social marketing (CSM)
Distribution and communications.

Two sides of the same coin

 Condom Social Marketing (CSM) emerged as an effective tool
in combating the spread of HIV/AIDS in the mid 1980s
 In 1996 social marketing more than 783 million condoms in over
50 countries and conducted targeted communications campaigns in
countries as economically and culturally diverse.
 Condoms are procured using donor funding, attractively packaged
and sold through the existing commercial infrastructure. Social
marketing programs employ the same methodology for distribution
as commercial companies.
 Social Marketing
Condoms are procured using donor funding, attractively packaged and sold through the
existing commercial infrastructure. Social marketing programs employ the same
methodology for distribution as commercial companies.

Competitive profit margins, coupled with intensive brand promotion, ensure that the
product is made widely available in a variety of outlets.

As noted earlier, this greatly expands availability, contributes to the normalization of
condoms, making them more culturally and economically acceptable to potential users.
For example, the Social Marketing for Change (SOMARC)/Uganda programs sells
its. .Protector condoms through a commercial distributor, Twiga Chemical Industries,
and supplements this with five sales persons devoted entirely to the program.

.
 Research and evaluation

A valuable element of a successful condom social marketing programs is a strong research

and evaluation component. Research plays a significant role in the development of the brand,
its positioning and promotion .

As social marketing programs mature, research plays an increasingly important role.
Behavioral and attitudinal changes are monitored through knowledge, attitudes and practice
(KAP) studies and other population based surveys.

Research is also conducted into the effectiveness of distribution networks and consumer
profiles. While sales figures play an important role in evaluating the success of social
marketing programs, distribution and consumer surveys allow projects to define who
purchases condoms and where. Based on this information, projects can expand and/or alter
distribution and promotion strategies to reflect the needs identified.
 Measuring the success
of Social Marketing Programs

Sales
 Programs use sales as a base line against which to measure success. The adoption of
this criteria presumes that when someone purchases a condom they will use it.

 In 1996, social marketing programs worldwide sold over 783 million condoms. Many
of these sales took place in countries that had little or no exposure to condoms prior to
the establishment of CSM programs.

The sales table in Appendix A highlights growth in the number of CSM programmes
being supported, and the rapid increase in the number of condoms sold by these
projects over a five-year period.
 Distribution and consumer profile
Communications and behavioral change
Social marketing programs also conduct research to assess whether
condoms are available when and where consumers need them and
whether AIDS prevention programs are reaching their targeted
consumers.
Distribution surveys are undertaken regularly and provide the project
with an accurate picture of where the product is available, both
geographically and by outlet. Information gathered from consumer-based
surveys allows the project to evaluate whether the targeted group is
buying the product and to amend distribution, promotion and pricing
strategies accordingly.
 The challenges

As awareness of HIV/AIDS has risen, such programs face a variety of challenges in
continuing to limit the spread of the disease. Among the most important of these is the
need to move beyond awareness and to achieve sustained behavior change.

Established programmes reflect increasing levels of AIDS awareness and can now
concentrate on developing effective and targeted communications to tackle barriers to
healthier behaviours.

Efforts are being concentrated on highly vulnerable groups, women, adolescents and,
increasingly, policy makers within host countries. In many countries, the latter represent
a group whose views are respected within the community and their support is crucial.

The programmatic challenges posed by the changing nature of the epidemic, are
complicated further by the decline in overall funding for health programmes.
 The Challenges
Social marketing programmes have responded to this challenge by improving cost
effectiveness, diversifying products and donors, and recovering an increasing
percentage of costs. Such initiatives, while an integral part of any successful social
marketing programme, are not an alternative to donor funding.
 The Responses
Social marketing may include advocating the inclusion of social marketing in
national health plans, the allocation of resources from multilateral donors and
bilateral donors to social marketing programmes, and the facilitation of a positive
legislative environment for social marketing initiatives.
UNAIDS can also educate bilateral and multilateral donors, including its co-
sponsoring agencies, on the need for and merits of social marketing for AIDS
prevention, and can encourage them to support social marketing programmes
directly or through national governments.
In countries where social make offers an excellent means of disseminating best
practices and lessons learned in social marketing. ting programmes are being
launched, UNAIDS can take an active role as fundraiser. Finally, the UNAIDS
network of country programme advisors offers an excellent means of disseminating
best practices and lessons learned in social marketing.
 Role Of UNAIDS
Social marketing has been shown to be an effective and cost-efficient approach in
addressing the health needs of low-income populations throughout the world.

Condom social marketing programmes have made condoms accessible,

affordable and acceptable in many of the world’s poorest countries.

 Innovative communications campaigns have disseminated prevention and

behaviour change messages to thousands of individuals and their communities.

Social marketing programmes in over 50 countries have made condoms available,

affordable and acceptable to those who need them most. The continued support of
condom social marketing programmes is crucial to slowing the spread of HIV/AIDS
and preventing new infections.
Video show
 References
• http://www.buckleupamerica.org/
• http://www.thetruth.com/
• http://www.hc-
sc.gc.ca/hppb/socialmarketing/