Download this fact sheet: How to design and run a social marketing campaign in your community [PDF: 427 KB]
Introduction
The aim of social marketing is to improve public health by using some of the principles of conventional marketing, such as consumer research, advertising and promotion, message design and testing, and media strategy and planning. Social marketing campaigns also incorporate public health and health promotion strategies, such as advocacy, and environment and policy change.
Although many social marketing campaigns are large-scale, big-budget, mass media campaigns, it is possible for the average public health practitioner to apply the same techniques to smaller scale programs.
This fact sheet provides some guidelines that workers can use to develop a social marketing campaign.
The basics
The basic steps in designing a social marketing campaign are:
- research the needs of your community
- set priorities and objectives
- design and implement the program
- evaluate the program.
Research and planning
The first step in developing a social marketing campaign is to develop clear objectives that are related to your goals. You can identify the needs of the population through research techniques, such as focus groups and surveys. Focus groups can be used to uncover new issues or reveal attitudes, and surveys allow you to find out whether focus group results are significant. It is also useful to review existing research conducted by governments, universities, national volunteer groups and market studies. The Australian Bureau of Statistics is another good resource.
Research will help you to select your target audience. Effective segmentation of your audience increases the possibility of success and decreases the amount of money involved. Many social marketing campaigns fail because they attempt to reach too many groups. The market can be segmented according to gender, age, socioeconomic status, psychological variables, values and lifestyle studies.
The ultimate objective of marketing is to influence action, so it is important to determine the motivational and resistance points of your target audience. Action is more likely if the target audience believes that the benefits they receive will be greater than the costs they incur.
The next step is to determine the marketing mix. This involves the four Ps: product, promotion, place and price. The product can be a recommended behaviour or a service. Promotion refers to advertising, public relations, promotion and media support. The focus is on creating and sustaining demand for the product. Price refers to what a person is willing to do to obtain the product (for example, time and effort). Place refers to the way that a product reaches the target audience.
Examine communication channels to determine which are best suited for reaching the target audience and achieving program goals. Advertising can be backed up by community wide programs. Decide how the work is to be carried out. Are you going to use a marketing communications company (advertising agency)? Some of these companies provide their services to community organisations at reduced costs.
Before progressing too far, review programs that are already being run in the community and nationally. Consider which organisation or institutions might collaborate with you.
Select outcome measures to judge your progress and success.
Budget
The costs involved in a social marketing campaign include:
- research
- purchasing advertising space or time; paid advertising and public service announcements can be expensive
- developing and producing promotional, public relations or direct marketing materials
- monitoring, testing and evaluation activities.
The costs are influenced by:
- the issue
- the size of the market
- the type of promotional material or advertising required to reach your target market
Produce enough promotional material to fill the demand. The type of promotional material you produce may depend on your budget and the income of your target group.
Study design
Translate the marketing mix into a strategy by developing the product, determining the price (or the benefits), selecting the place or system of distribution, and specifying the means of promotion.
Product development includes:
- testing the concepts and proposed products with the target group
- clarifying the ideas and information and developing pilot messages
- testing the message strategies on the target group and refining them if necessary
- producing communication materials.
Implementation
Successful implementation of the campaign relies on well-trained staff who can effectively execute the program. It may also be helpful to enlist collaborators for this stage.
Launching your campaign may involve an official launch and the distribution of advertising material. Public relations can be an inexpensive way to enhance the campaign. Public relations includes news releases and press conferences. Other ways to get the message out include: newsletters, exhibits, professional meetings, conferences, forums and organised social activities.
If the aim of the campaign is to motivate people to act it is important to identify how someone who is motivated may take follow-up action.
Evaluation
You should evaluate your campaign throughout. This information could be the basis for mid-campaign changes in marketing strategy and may help to improve future campaigns.
Evaluation should allow you to:
- assess the exposure of the target group to program communications
- evaluate the delivery of the product or service
- obtain data on the use of the product (reasons for using/not using).
When measuring campaign outcomes, it is important to consider any factors that may have some unknown impact on overall outcomes. It is difficult to isolate campaign messages during evaluation so the overall campaign effect may be difficult to determine. In the case of alcohol and smoking campaigns the effectiveness of your campaign may be influenced by counter advertising being carried out by these industries. Social marketing campaigns need to be sustained over time in order to change deeply rooted cultural norms and values.
Conclusion
It is possible to carry out social marketing campaigns on a small scale by using inexpensive research techniques and appropriate market segmentation. For more information about social marketing refer to the following resources: