Showing papers in "Journal of Social Marketing in 2011"

An integrative model for social marketing

Abstract: Purpose – Social marketing has evolved differently in the developing and developed worlds, at times leading to different emphases on what social marketing thought and practice entail. This paper aims to document what those differences have been and provide an integrative framework to guide social marketers in working with significant social and health issues.Design/methodology/approach – An integration of views about social marketing is proposed that is focused on the core roles of audience benefits; analysis of behavioral determinants, context and consequences; the use of positioning, brand and personality in marketing strategy development; and use of the four elements of the marketing mix to tailor offerings, realign prices, increase access and opportunities; and communicate these in an evolving media environment.Findings – Ideas about branding and positioning, core strategic social marketing concerns, have been better understood and practiced in developing country settings. Social marketing in developi...

Developing more effective social marketing strategies

Abstract: Purpose – The reason for this paper is to better understand why many social marketing campaigns produce poor results and to propose a model to guide social marketing strategic planning to improve program outcomes.Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper which discusses a new social marketing model to remove upstream causes of target social problems.Findings – It appears that social marketing planning may be limited by over‐reliance on commercial marketing tactics and an over‐emphasis on individual behavior change. Finding upstream sources of social problems is a first step. However, social marketers must be willing to employ tactics to ameliorate structural, upstream causes of social problems.Research limitations/implications – The social marketing field needs to further its developmental progress by reducing its use of commercial marketing concepts and increasing its use of concepts from other fields like public health, political science, and social movements.Practical implications – Prac...

Regulation, public health and social marketing: a behaviour change trinity

Abstract: Purpose – The paper aims to explore the apparent tension between upstream and downstream social marketing and propose these should be treated as contiguous and complementary.Design/methodology/approach – An environmental, population‐based framework is used to explore the varied roles social marketing might play in reducing public health problems.Findings – The paper concludes that social marketers should collaborate with public health researchers to identify and ameliorate the environmental determinants of risk behaviour and create a context where downstream interventions may flourish. It is argued that the upstream measures necessary to shape supportive environments should be regarded not as constraints diminishing voluntary behaviour, but instead as the pre‐requisites enabling full and free choices.Research limitations/implications – The call for a rapprochement between upstream and downstream social marketers, and greater integration of public health and social marketing goals lead to new research oppo...

Critical social marketing: definition, application and domain

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature and role of the critical dimension social marketing and its place within marketing scholarly thought. It is posited that such activity can be defined as “critical social marketing” and a formal definition is offered.Design/methodology/approach – The ability of critical social marketing to inform the research and evidence base, as well as upstream and downstream activity is discussed. Scholarly debate on the role of critical social marketing within the social marketing and critical marketing paradigms, both of which heavily inform the concept, are reviewed. The application of a critical social marketing framework to the study of the impact of tobacco and food marketing is examined.Findings – The paper demonstrates the utility of a critical social marketing framework in real‐world environments. Important considerations on who critical social marketers are and where the concept is located within marketing thought are addressed. The paper concludes ...

Why nudging is not enough

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the possible contribution of “nudging” as a tactic and “form” of exchange and suggest two new frameworks to aid in the description of four “forms” of exchange and “types” of intervention that can be used in social marketing.Design/methodology/approach – Discursive review of the contemporary impact of liberal paternalistic thinking on policy and operational delivery of social change programmes. The paper also considers the tensions within social marketing regarding voluntary and involuntary change including the use of incentives and disincentives in social change programmes and presents a model that seeks to describe the range of options available.Findings – It is concluded that in addition to restricted, generalised and complex exchanges, as defined by Bagozzi there are basically four basic “forms” of exchange that can be used by governments and public institutions who apply a marketing approach to brining about positive social change. These “forms” of exch...

Social marketing's mythunderstandings

Abstract: Purpose – Unlike other sub‐areas of marketing, such as sports marketing, business‐to‐business marketing or even religious marketing, social marketing attracts a very diverse group of disciples, many of whom have little or no background in the discipline of commercial marketing. At the same time, many with a commercial marketing background have a limited understanding of the social and environmental determinants of health and well‐being and tend to be focused on consumer marketing techniques for a situation where there is wide distribution of product and service offerings and where most target audiences have enough money to make a purchase. These circumstances have resulted in a number of myths and misunderstandings being expressed by “social marketers” which could negatively impact on the practice of social marketing and hence the effectiveness of campaigns described as such. The aim of this paper is to describe and dispel eight “mythunderstandings” commonly expressed by social marketing practitioners and...

When is social marketing not social marketing

Abstract: Purpose – The paper aims to discuss the thorny issues of industry‐funded social marketing campaigns. Can the tobacco industry be trusted to educate our children about the dangers of smoking? Is a brewer the best source of health promotion? The paper argues for transparency and critical appraisal.Design/methodology/approach – The paper looks at the issues of tobacco and alcohol in more detail, emphasises the need for caution and suggests guidelines for future practice.Findings – The fiduciary duty of the corporation means that all its efforts – including any social marketing campaigns or corporate social responsibility – must be focused first and foremost on the success of the business and the enhancement of shareholder value; any wider public health benefits will inevitably be subjugated to this core purpose. And there is good evidence to show that the principal beneficiaries of apparently public‐spirited campaigns run by tobacco and alcohol companies are the sponsors. In the hands of a corporation, then,...

Predicting blood donation behaviour: further application of the theory of planned behaviour

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test whether, in the context of blood donation, the predictive ability of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) extends from behavioural intention to actual donation behaviour, and whether extended versions of the TPB perform better than the standard version.Design/methodology/approach – Intentions to donate blood predicted by the TPB are compared with an accurate measure of blood donation behaviour obtained following a mobile blood drive by the New Zealand Blood Service.Findings – When the observed outcome is donation behaviour rather than behavioural intention, the TPB model's performance drops. Extending the variables in the model to include moral obligation and past behaviour does not improve its predictive ability, and neither does the use of belief‐based variables.Practical implications – The TPB is much less effective in predicting blood donation behaviour than it is in predicting intentions to donate blood. But only actual donation behaviour yields medical...

Paradigms at play and implications for validity in social marketing research

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to shed light on concepts of validity and validation of social marketing research (SMR) with a view to enhancing SMR design and to inform SMR practice.Design/methodology/approach – The paper defines and presents concepts of validity in a manner that sheds light on the unique issues facing SMR and sets the stage for future research.Findings – The paper introduces an integrated model representing the variety of relationships that exist amongst a range of validity concepts that will assist methodological practice and increased rigor in future studies. The authors also introduce a matrix on research paradigms that can support the integration of a range of philosophical considerations to SMR research design.Research limitations/implications – The “quality” of research is being determined by those at the leading edge of their own paradigm without reference to other points of view. The authors argue that these sub‐processes of determining the validity of research outcomes a...

Applying the dialogic theory to social networking sites

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how US universities' health centers are using dialogue and engagement on social networking sites to educate students and their followers about health issues.Design/methodology/approach – Through a content analysis of health centers' Facebook profiles, the research team examines the use of Kent and Taylor's dialogic principles of communication.Findings – Results indicate that when a health center attracts a large number of followers online, their usage of the outlet as a dialogic tool increases significantly.Practical implications – The study found that university health centers have a presence on Facebook, but they really are not using the site strategically to gain followers and educate them about health issues that they have pledged to address on their campuses.Originality/value – The dialogic principles of communication have been examined significantly on web sites and blogs, but this is one of the first studies to test them in the social networking sit...

Factors influencing youth alcohol consumption intention: An approach from consumer socialization theory

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze, within the consumer socialization theory framework, the influence of three socialization agents (parents, peers and advertising as part of media content) over alcohol consumption intentions among young people, differentiating between underage and overage individuals.Design/methodology/approach – Structured interviews were performed in both high schools and a university to analyze the hypothesized model.Findings – The results show that both positive and negative expectancies towards the perceived consequences of consuming alcohol are the main antecedents of consumption intention. Moreover, all three considered agents have either a direct and indirect effect on those expectancies; and advertising plays a more important role on underage audience intentions to consume alcohol.Practical implications – The findings demonstrate that consumption intention among adolescents and young adults is affected by parents, peers and advertising. However, each social agent ...

Fear appeal effectiveness for familiar and unfamiliar issues

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of level of graphic threat (weak and strong) and the amount of information (low and high) on message effectiveness for an unfamiliar (a muscle disorder due to lack of physical exercise) vs a familiar (injuries as a result of traffic accidents due to drunk driving) issue.Design/methodology/approach – The method employed was experimental 2 (issue familiarity: unfamiliar, familiar issue)×2 (amount of information: low, high)×2 (graphic threat level: weak, strong) full factorial between‐subjects design. Data are collected from a sample of 206 Belgians.Findings – It was found that a strong graphic threat message has a greater effect for an unfamiliar than for a familiar issue. For a familiar issue, adding information to a weak threat appeal increases perceived severity. For an unfamiliar issue, adding information to a strong graphic threat appeal has a similar effect. Perceived severity of threat, perceived probability of occurrence, evoked fear a...

Evidence of IMC in social marketing

Abstract: – The purpose of this paper is to argue that integrated marketing communications (IMC) must be used in social marketing, like it is in commercial marketing, by illustrating that IMC principles are effective in social marketing contexts within an education setting. Specifically, the paper provides evidence of IMC being successfully used in the communication of school‐based health promotion activities within health promoting schools (HPS)., – Depth interviews with principals and teachers at three case schools were conducted to investigate the communication of health promotion programmes within HPS. In total, 19 people participated in this study., – A key finding was that IMC principles are evident in the HPS philosophy of health promotion. That is, the extent to which health concepts are customer focused and integrated into school life; and, communication which is synergistic and based on stakeholder needs, has a significant impact upon achieving desired health promotion outcomes., – This research explored communication within the specific context of HPS. To further explore the application of IMC in social marketing, the authors recommend that other social marketing contexts or cases be investigated., – The fact that IMC principles are relevant and effective when facilitating school‐based health promotion programmes implies that IMC would offer value to other social marketing contexts too., – The paper is unique in that we provide evidence of IMC used in a school‐based social marketing context. The context of an education setting for this research broadens existing understanding of how IMC can and should be used in social marketing. The research offers insights for social marketing practitioners seeking to improve their communications efforts.

Preventing game over: A study of the situated food choice influences within the videogames subculture

Abstract: Purpose – An effective means to promote optimal nutrition for any group of consumers is to expand nutrition professionals' understanding of the cohort's food choice processes. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the situated food choice influences of the videogames subculture; a known consumption enclave for calorie dense low nutrient foods. The investigation is conducted by application of an abbreviated version of Furst et al.'s model of the food choice process as a conceptual framework.Design/methodology/approach – This investigation uses an interpretive research strategy and adopts a qualitative approach to data collection and analysis. In total, 14 purposively sampled semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews were carried out with members of the videogames subculture.Findings – Informants' food choices and preferences during social gameplay were strongly influenced by beliefs related to appropriate food behaviour and ideal characteristics of foods suitable for grazing. All informants described some...

Profits and perspectives: advertising, social marketing, and public health

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the potential value that direct‐to‐consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertisements can provide to social marketers as examples of effective persuasive health communication.Design/methodology/approach – Modern medicine increasingly incorporates media sources such as DTC prescription drug advertising. While DTC advertising presents concerns, it also offers opportunities for studying effective message design to promote health behavior change. The DTC advertising debate is vigorous, with some critics maintaining advertisements cannot be educational – but the field of social marketing utilizes similar tactics and a consumer‐driven marketing perspective to promote preventive health behavior and health behavior change.Findings – One of the most prominent criticisms of DTC advertising is use of emotional appeals, but a variety of national public health campaigns engage in parallel tactics – employing emotional appeals over “pure” health education. While DTC adve...