Social Marketing Panorama

Is Social Marketing Right for Haiti, Right Now?

The recent disaster in Haiti has caused me to think about what role, if any, social marketing has in responding to a disaster—especially in one where the disaster is still “active,” if you will, as in the current dynamic situation in Haiti.

 

At first glance, it seems all the social marketing should already have been done, in planning programs and systems for disaster response.  Or it will become useful when “rebuilding” starts.  And there are certainly many opportunities at that point:  for creating societal structures that encourage “civil society;” for beginning new “human service” programs; for addressing the degradation of the natural environment; for the many ways that Kotler and Lee address in their book, Up and Out of Poverty.

 

But what about in the midst of an active crisis response, like now?  I don’t know.  However, if a person possesses a social marketing mindset, or an organization has a culture of social marketing, I think there are some possibilities.

 

Using an audience orientation (i.e. social triage):  Medical responders use triage to segment people for treatment.  Can an aid worker use this audience mindset to assess and segment members of the population most able to be “helpers” in a given situation?  Can she find out who the “natural leaders” are, and engage them?  Can she offer immediate aid in such a way that takes into account audience characteristics—or is the displacement too great?

 

Place:  Can a worker identify places that are important, sacred, or that have special meaning for people in a neighborhood, in which to offer aid (acknowledging safety factors of specific places)?  What can he do to make a space more welcoming, more comforting?  Can he go where people are naturally gathering, rather than have them travel to an aid site?

 

Price:  Is the exchange balance so uneven that any offering is acceptable?  Or are there things a worker can do to lower barriers and increase facilitators RIGHT IN THE MOMENT?  Does the social marketing formula “fun, easy and popular” even have a meaning in desperate situations?

 

Does the immediate need and grave danger of a situation like Haiti’s make all of this meaningless?  Do the disaster response protocols already shape worker responses in many of the same ways that a social marketing mindset would lead one to?

 

Are these just the pedantic musings of a professional who is safe in the US?  No.  I have been in Haiti on a church medical mission.  I have not worked in disaster relief.  Yet, I find that a social marketing mindset fits so much of my thinking, that it provides so many of my frames for understanding the world, that I think I would be processing my immediate actions in terms of it.  I love being a social marketer.  I want to know, can this approach that can facilitate so much good be used in the midst of a disaster?

 

What do you think?  Does social marketing have any place on the ground in Haiti, RIGHT NOW?

If Someone Mentions Messages, Communication or Social Media in the Same Breath as Social Marketing, KICK THEM IN THE SHINS!

Here I was, all ready to compose a nice post about using social marketing to address climate change, following up on the Copenhagen conference. Then several things happened to send me into a rant of desperation about the confusion between marketing and messaging!

The Irritants
1. First, I read several posts from the United Kingdom’s National Health Service Marketing blog that discussed the confusion in the UK over social media and social marketing.  Apparently the press and some members of Parliament are upset over large budgets for social media, which they are calling social marketing.  (There should be NO excuses for this confusion anywhere in the UK, given the wonderful resource of the UK’s National Social Marketing Centre!)

2. Next I read a blog post from ISIS-INC. (a non-profit dealing with sexual health) that equates social marketing with “Facebook and Twitter,” and then goes on to talk about a web-based Youth Social Marketing Toolkit (YSMT), created by the California Family Health Council Infertility Prevention Project and the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center to help “agencies with limited financial resources...develop a social marketing [read social media] campaign.”

I visited the toolkit.  It is nicely developed.  It defines social marketing correctly.  It defines the 4-Ps, and adds policy.  Then it trips up with the statement:  “Social marketing is not always a success. If the attitudes and behavior changes you are encouraging are still not perceived as beneficial, acceptable and attainable by the priority population, it may not be worthwhile to develop a social marketing campaign at this time. [“Beneficial, acceptable and attainable”—isn’t that what the 4 Ps are about?!] In this situation, it is better to introduce a behavior change recommendation by developing connections with community and agreeing on a unified goal before planning a social marketing campaign.” It trips up, and continues the long fall throughout the rest of the site by talking about how to do communication campaigns!

3. Next was a post on the web site 4Hoteliers; Hospitality, Hotels and Travel News.  It acknowledges the origins of social marketing with Kotler and Zaltman, then says of social marketing:  “It delivers a two-way communication link between the consumer/customer and the brand.  While social marketing was originally developed from the desire companies had to capitalize on commercial marketing techniques, it has evolved into a more integrative and comprehensive discipline that draws on a wide array of technology, from the traditional media to new media referred to as “’social media.’” It continues to discuss social media.

4. Finally, there was a meeting last week where a colleague of mine says at a meeting, “Social marketing is a way to make communication more effective, right?”

Cue Eduard Monck’s painting, “The Scream!”

How did those of us involved in promoting health, community well-being and positive behavior change around other issues get so enamored with communication and messaging?  Do we think just telling someone about something, or to do something leads to their doing it?  Do any of us have children?!  Are we looking at what works in behavior change efforts?  Not only did we “drink the Kool-Aid” on communication and messaging, we tied cement blocks to our feet and jumped in!

I AM NOT “DISS-ING” COMMUNICATION!  I am “diss-ing” our over-reliance on it as the panacea for all problems!  I am “diss-ing” the confusion of social media and using communication with social marketing.

This Holiday, Repeat after Me:
1.  Communication may be a necessary condition for behavior change, but it may not be a sufficient condition;

2. Social marketing is more about removing barriers to behavior, and increasing benefits and facilitators, than it is about communicating;

3. Social media is a communication tactic.  Social marketing is a strategic process for effecting social change;

4. Social marketing (and commercial marketing) utilizes a mix of Product, Price, Place and Promotion;

5. If I Hear Someone Mention Messages, Communication or Social Media in the Same Breath as Social Marketing, I WILL KICK THEM IN THE SHINS!

(To be continued…!)

On Blogging, and Maintenance of Behavior

Just when you thought it was safe to go on-line:  I am back and blogging!   Despite wonderful intentions, I have not blogged since July 29th.  I even missed the first anniversary of my entrée into the blogosphere, September 6th!  Despite a deep desire to blog—a longing, even, despite the belief that somebody besides myself likes to read these things, despite there being no lack of worthy material, I have not blogged!  Why?  This got me thinking about the determinants of behavior, and about how to maintain desired behaviors. (And talking here about something desired by me!)  What could I glean from theory and best practice to support my desired behavior of blogging regularly?

I. The first place I thought of turning for guidance was Fostering Sustainable Behavior, by Doug McKenzie-Mohr and Bill Smith.  Their book offers a set of tools, grounded in social science, to support behavior change, such as:  1) commitment (written, made in a group setting); 2) prompts (noticeable, close to the desired action); 3) Norms (made visible, reinforced by personal contact); 4) Incentives (paired with the behavior, positive, non-monetary).  Hey, looks good!  How do they apply to this erstwhile blogger?  Commitment—well, I have written here, in front of you, my commitment to blog. Prompts—Let’s see, I put reminders on my calendar, post-its on the computer.  Norms—bloggers I admire and follow and want to emulate set a good role model.  They offer encouragement. Incentives—Publishing a blog post is its own incentive for me.  I respond well to high quality coffee and dark chocolate—but why wait till I finish, I’ll get a cup of java now!  The diagnosis:  I have in place a lot of these things.  Maybe my wife could dole out the chocolate to keep the incentive out of my reach till I finish.  Not much help here!

II. Next I turned to one of my favorite resources, a list of behavioral determinants from a consensus conference of leading behavioral theorists, sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health.  Participants agreed that there are both external and internal determinants of behavior.  Let’s see:

External:  1) Access—I have access to a computer, a blogging solution, many sources of ideas; 2) Skills—I can easily create a post; 3) Actual consequences—okay, writing is a slow process for me, but when I publish I feel great, and I get good feedback!  4) Culture—among my professional peeps, blogging is held in high esteem.  And, I have a group of social media angels who are the “wind under my wings” (Craig, Nedra, Alex, Andre—you know who you are!)

Internal:  1) Knowledge—Got all sorts of pertinent knowledge!  2) Attitudes—Believe blogging is worthwhile.  3) Perceived consequences—I’ll be better known, readers will benefit, BUT I expect it to be a long, slow process to compose a post.  4) Intention—I intend to write as soon as I get home; tonight; as soon as I finish this project; before the month’s end.

The diagnosis:  Lots of determinants in place.  Might be an “intervention” around consequences, related to the writing, making it easier.  Still not much help…

III. Finally, I turned to the concept of exchange, which is at the heart of marketing:  the balance of barriers and benefits (or facilitators).  This seemed more hopeful! 

Barriers
Time—having enough time to write, with my competing demands (H1N1, Healthy People 20-something, building capacity for social media, family things)

Place—where is the appropriate place?  My day job? (But, I am blogging privately, not as part of work.)  At home?  (I do want to spend time with family, though!)

Fatigue—Home seems like a better place than work, but after my workday, then dinner, then clean-up…Please, can I just “veg” with something mindless?!

Slowness of writing—I write well, but it is painful, like giving birth!  Going from primary to secondary process thinking.  Getting the words just right.

Benefits/Facilitators
Enjoy being a part of the social marketing conversation!  I have something to add.

Like to see myself in print! (A corollary of a line from The Eagles, “It’s a certain kind of fool that likes to hear the sound of his own name.”)

I value the medium of blogging.

Positive feedback from readers.

Keeps me thinking, mentally fresh!

No lack of topics to comment on!

Blogging positions me, promotes me as a brand

The diagnosis:  THIS feels like I am getting somewhere!  These barriers and benefits “fit” for me, and feel like something I can get a handle on.  The benefits for me are very compelling, therefore I will focus on reducing the barriers!

My Personal Social Marketing Plan for Maintenance of Blogging

1. Time and place—Set aside a specific day and time to blog.  Possibly set a specific amount of time, during which to work.  Perhaps compose on a laptop, while the family is involved in “parallel play” in the living room.
2. Fatigue—Write during the day when I have more energy (during lunch or breaks away from the day job).  Or at home, write first, then do the dishes, so my best energy is applied to writing.
3. Writing—Perhaps write in more of a bulleted format.  Record myself talking out the post, then transcribe it.  Take a lesson from Twitter and write in bursts of 140 characters!  Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.  Have recurring “features” that are easy to put together.

And from you, dear reader:  send me suggestions of things that work for you that I can consider; comment on posts; and if you like my writing, let me know!  I will be giving you plenty of opportunities to do that in this next year!

Social Marketing Anniversary-Phil Kotler's Thoughts!

As I wrote in my July 6th posting, this month marks the 38th anniversary of the birth of social marketing--the anniversary of Kotler and Zaltman's article "Social Marketing:  An Approach to Planned Social Change," (the Journal of Marketing, Vol. 35, pp. 3-12, July 6, 1971) in which they first conceptualized social marketing !

I was interested in Kotler's thoughts about social marketing now, after 'lo these many years. Here is what you had to say.

"In the 1970s, a few of us academic marketers at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University started to assert that marketing can be applied to a broader range of issues beyond the marketing of goods and services.  Marketing could help create interest in places, persons, organizations, ideas, and causes.  In the last case, Professor Gerald Zaltman and I had been exchanging ideas about social change and social movements.  We decided to research and write an article on how marketing could be used to "sell" better behaviors, such as "say no to drugs," "don't litter,"  "exercise regularly," and so on.  We chose the name "social marketing" to help the public's gain a better view of marketing.  In retrospect, we could have called it "cause marketing" or "social cause marketing."   

 

The field of social marketing grew slowly at first.  Ned Roberto and I wrote the first book, Social Marketing, on the subject. Eventually social marketing drew the interest of the Center for Disease Control, the World Bank, World Vision, Population Services International, the Population and Community Development Association of Thailand, and other organizations.  Social and health oriented advocates began to appear from different countries.  Alan Andreasen and others wrote books on social marketing and organized annual meetings.  This culminated with the launching of the World's First Social Marketing Conference in Brighton England in late September 2008 which drew 700 attendees.  In July 2009, Nancy Lee and I published Up and Out of Poverty: The Social Marketing Solution, the first book applying social marketing to a specific and grave problem, poverty. 

 

It appears that social marketing has passed the take-off stage and is entering a period of steady growth." 

When I asked him the current practice of calling social media "social marketing," he had this to say:

We wish that those who talk about social media use that term [i.e. social media].  They can call it social media marketing.  But it shouldn't be abbreviated to social marketing. 

So, there is a brief history of social marketing from one of its fathers!  And the next time you hear someone say "social marketing" when they are talking about social media, resist the impulse to throttle them (or not!)--whip out the quote from Dr. Philip Kotler!

Global Social Marketing Association--Interested? Want to Learn More?!

Efforts to create a global social marketing membership association received a major boast at the recent Social Marketing in Public Health Conference!  Attendees variously heard reports from interest surveys, agreed that intensive planning activities go forward, and signed up to participate in the process.  

However, one member of the social marketing community expressed concern that many potential interested practitioners might be left out of discussions if they did not attend the conference.  So, Lea Pounds, from the Center for Biopreparedness Education, in Omaha, Nebraska, has set out to broaden the circle with a discussion on July 29th, at 2:00 pm US Central Daylight Time!  I'll let her give you the scoop!

"There's been a lot of buzz the last several months about establishing a global association for those involved in social marketing. Most of the substantive discussions appear to be happening at conferences and other gatherings. I've not been able to attend those conferences and have, quite frankly, felt a little left out! 

"I'm a big believer in 'where's there's a will, there's a way' so I reached out to Craig Lefebvre after reading yet another blog post about these efforts. 

"To make it possible for more folks to join in these discussions in more immediate format, we're hosting a conference call on July 29th at 2:00 pm US Central Time.  Bob Marshall (RI DoH), Bill Smith (AED), and Craig Lefebvre (GWU) have agreed to be on the call to share what's happened with this effort so far. Then we'll kick things around a bit. 

"If you haven't been able to attend the conferences where this effort has been discussed, this is your opportunity to join in the conversation. 

"RSVP to Lea Pounds at lpounds@unmc or 402.552.3112 to receive the conference call phone number and call in code. The call is limited to 120 slots. 

If you've been feeling left out, too, now's your chance. Don't miss out!" 

Thanks, Lea, for creating this excellent opportunity. Like she says, "Don't miss out!"

Happy Anniversary Social Marketing!!

 

This month, July 2009, marks the 38th anniversary of the conceptualization of social marketing, by Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman! Their seminal article, "Social Marketing:  An Approach to Planned Social Change,"  appeared in the Journal of Marketing (Vol. 35, pp. 3-12) in July 1971.  In the article, Kotler and Zaltman discussed how "the logic of marketing [could be applied] to social goals."  And a new approach to supporting social change for the well-being of individuals and communities was born!

Everyone who uses social marketing should read this article.  It is a grounding text, a "sacred text," for what we do.

(And,for those who would equate social marketing with either advertsing or messages alone, or with the use of interactive, social media, Kotler and Zaltman are precise in grounding social marketing in the management, research and planning of marketing science, using all of marketing's strategies--product, price, place and promotion.)

Since 1971, social marketing has been used, literally, around the world to remediate a variety of health, environmental and societal concerns.  A small sampling of users includes: WHO; The North Carolina Division of Public Health; US Department of Agriculture; RARE Conservation; World Wildlife Fund; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Rock the Vote; Red Cross; the Episcopal Church.  Issues have ranged from promotion of oral rehydration therapy and breastfeeding, to woodlands management and recycling, to anti-doping in sport and democratic voting in civil society.

There are more than 25 universities that offer social marketing courses; 11 text books on the topic; an international list serve with approximately 1,700 members; at least three international conferences (the oldest of which just had its 19th meeting); a dedicated journal; social marketing centers in Scotland, Canada, Poland and Australia; a governmental social marketing center in the UK. And, as many of you know, an international social marketing professional organization is in development, with expected roll-out in summer, 2010.

So, pour a glass of your favorite libation, sit down with a copy of the article, and raise a toast to Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman!  They have given us a way to change the world for the better.

(Photo: robokow)

Social Marketing Professional Organization: Ensuring a Future for Social Marketing

I am part of a movement to create a global membership organization for people and organizations which use social marketing to make the world a better place to live.  I want YOU to be a part of that movement, too!  (A reminder here, I am talking the one, true, original social marketing: use of commercial marketing research, planning and intervention processes to identify and lower barriers to behaviors that lead to individual and community well-being--not talking about message, nor PSAs nor social media.)

What are the benefits of a social marketing professional organization?

• A way to strengthen ties with colleagues, whether they are across town, or across
  the ocean
• No longer being the only person in your organization who understands the social marketing process, and how it can support positive behaviors
• Promoting an understanding of social marketing to funders, government planners, partner organizations, your own boss--decision-makers whose "yes" you need
• A nexus for collecting and sharing ideas, successes, failures; for translating research into practice, and for identifying needs from the field that could benefit from research
• Advocacy for social marketing, a la Kotler and Zaltman (1971), to correct mis-use of the concept, and to represent it in every discussion about policy, funding, or
  social ills
• Perhaps even way cool tchotchkes that brand social marketing, like t-shirts, wristbands, notepads and portfolios!

Your can be a part of this movement! You can sign a charter petition, showing your support for creation of a global membership organization by going to http://fusomar.epetitions.net.  We will use the charter to demonstrate to funders, governments, and others that social marketing is alive and well and has deep roots, when we ask for their support.

So...pick up your pen--I mean your keyboard--and sign now!

Resources, Resources, Resources

Recovering from the long Memorial Day weekend, I offer this short post of very interesting informational resources I discovered last week!

1. For folks in North and Central America, and living in the Caribbean, hurricane season begins in just over a week. (Yes, in the midst of concern about H1N1 flu, there are other issues of concern!) The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers a number of hurricane safety tips and guidelines.

2. The Pew Internet and American Life Project has a fascinating typology of communication technology users! Pew also has a rich library of other Internet-related datasets for both reading and downloading.

3. CDC offers a free, self-paced Pandemic Influenza Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication course, online at: http://emergency.cdc.gov/cerc/CERConline/pandemic/index.html

4. Need health or public health images for you blog, web site or report?  CDC has two image libraries that you might find helpful:  a "Newsroom Image Library;" and a "Public Health Image Library."  Most of the images in each library are in the Public Domain.

I hope you find these resources useful!  Please pass them on to your colleagues.

Public Health: From Cholera to H1N1

Many agencies and organizations in the US use April to showcase what public health does.  I  had intended, as April drew to a close, to write a post highlighting public health, and its relationship with social marketing. Then, the novel H1N1 flu began to emerge, and provided public health with the opportunity to showcase itself! (Although my involvement in the response delayed my completing this post.)

Though one can trace the historical roots of public health back to classical times, epidemiology--the scientific basis for public health--traces back to the work of John Snow. (Epidemiology, by the way, is the science of how and why diseases spread through populations.)  John Snow was a physician in 19th Century London who used the emerging discipline of epidemiology to discover and remediate the source of a deadly cholera outbreak.  Without knowing about the bacterium, Dr. Snow was still able to identify the source of infection--a contaminated community water pump--and execute an intervention to quell the epidemic:  he removed the handle from the offending pump! (Thus, one of the first "modern" public health interventions was a change in the environment!) The methods our current day Epidemic Intelligence Surveillance personel use to trace the source and spread of H1N1, while more sophisticated, still follow in John Snow's footsteps. Our modern public health personnel also exhibit the same tenacity, caring and passion, as he! (Some things don't change.)

Several years ago, I had work in London.  Being the good public health geek that I am, I asked my host to help me find the center of John Snow's work:  the famous Broad Street Pump in Soho! (Its near Carnaby Street, the center of 1960s London, for all you old hippies.) At the site of the pump, there is an appropriate plaque, with a stone set in the sidewalk to mark the pump's location. There is also the John Snow Tavern, the upstairs of which hosts a collection of memorabilia, as well as the John Snow Society, which celebrates his work. The book, The Ghost Map, by Steven Johnson, provides a very riveting, readable account of the outbreak and of Snow's work.

Public health tourist that I am, I had my wife photograph me at various spots around the pump's location! I have been extraordinarily proud of public health's response to the novel H1N1 flu outbreak. I think Dr. Snow would smile, too! 

Public Health and Swine Flu

With the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico, and in three states in the US(California, Kansas andTexas), CDC has stepped up communication and education efforts about symptoms, treatment and prevention. The latest updates are available at http://bit.ly/cnoT2.  Regarding prevention, handwashing is the single most important thing you can do to keep from getting sick.  Visit http://bit.ly/vhNpe for a great video on how to wash your hands properly.

(Photo:  CDC Image Library)