A seminar and forum hosted by the DrugInfo Clearinghouse
on Wednesday 7 September 2005
St James Court Conference Centre, 12 Batman Street, West Melbourne
The seminar
This interactive seminar aimed to raise awareness of social marketing and provide a forum for discussion of social marketing and mass media campaigns. In this report we provide a summary of each speaker’s presentation and questions and discussion from the audience.
The speakers
Social marketing: what it is and what it isn’t
- Rob Donovan
Cancer Council of Western Australia , Chair in Behavioural Research Division of Health Sciences, Professor of Social Marketing and Director Social Marketing Research Unit, Curtin Business School , Curtin University
The role of mass media within the framework of social marketing
- Netzach Goren
Research Officer, Centre for Youth Drug Studies, Australian Drug Foundation
Anti-smoking advertising: lessons learned
- Melanie Wakefield
Director, Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, The Cancer Council Victoria .
Social marketing in road safety: “speed”—a case study
- David Healy
General Manager, Road Safety, Transport Accident Commission (TAC)
Social marketing: what it is and what it isn’t
Professor Rob Donovan
What is marketing?
Professor Donovan explained that over the past 10–15 years there has been a change in the way that health professionals perceive social marketing. Marketing did not always have a good reputation even in the commercial industry. It was considered mainly to constitute advertising. Now everyone is undertaking social marketing. The question is: are they doing marketing or advertising?
Marketing is based on the concept of exchange. In the past, the market was a place in which the community came together and exchanged products, goods and services. In its purest sense, marketing was good for the community. The context of marketing changed after the industrial revolution. It became a method of distributing goods and services as widely as possible and as quickly as possibly. Marketing is now permeating everything and almost everything is defined in terms of marketing. Rather than fix a problem or do a better job, it is generally considered effective to improve public relations on the job that is being done.
Marketing—the discipline
The discipline of marketing can be defined by the following points:
- Two fundamental concepts
- consumer orientation
- exchange concept
- Three overarching principles
- customer value (4 Ps: product, place, price, promotion)
- selectivity and concentration
- differential advantage
- Three defining features
- use of market research
- integrated approach to implementation
- monitoring and influencing environmental forces.
Marketing—the philosophy
Marketing is more than just selling and advertising; it is a mindset and involves listening to, and understanding, your clients. It is about providing them with the services that they need from your organisation.
Research is used to find out what people need and to fulfil those needs. The marketing mindset puts the customer first in the exchange.
What is social marketing?
Social marketing is the application of the principles and methods of marketing to the achievement of socially desirable goals. However, there’s more to social marketing. It is the use of marketing principles and methods to achieve change in the social determinants of health and wellbeing.
Marketing draws on communication, psychology and economics. Social marketing also draws on criminology, public health policy and government. All of these elements are used to achieve social change.
Social marketing:
- Targets individuals to change their behaviours via information, skills and persuasion.
- Targets environmental factors to minimise harm. For example, social marketing can lead to such things as packaging interventions that contain specific health warnings.
- Targets those in power to make structural changes that remove barriers; give individuals the capacity and resources for change; and facilitate the adoption of desired behaviours. For example, putting a pool in an Aboriginal community can improve school attendance due to the imposition of a “no school, no pool” policy.
What social marketing is not
Social marketing is not just running advertisements or just about targeting the end consumer. Coming up with simplistic slogans is not social marketing. Using health to sell products is not social marketing; for example, promoting the health benefits of beer. Cause marketing is not social marketing. In many cases private companies get involved in a cause because they want to sell more product. This is a particularly insidious form of exploitation. The use of “socially desirable goals” in the promotion of commercial products is not social marketing. For example:
- a cereal manufacturer providing information on fibre and cancer
- a condom manufacturer providing information on AIDS
- a container manufacturer providing information on recycling
- an alcohol distributor providing information about drinking and driving
- an insurance company providing information about health screenings.
The difference between social and other marketing
The difference between social marketing and commercial marketing is the motivation of the marketer. It is the difference between marketing to meet organisational goals (usually profit) and marketing to meet socially desirable goals (not for profit).
The major differences between social and commercial marketing is the complexity:
- of strategies
- of “product”
- tangibility
- immediacy of gratification
- political influence.
The competition
Like any good marketer, social marketers need to keep their eyes on the competition. Who are the competition and what are they up to? It is important to monitor and influence environmental forces.
It is also important to beware of dubious partnerships. The danger in getting into partnership with the competition is that they are in business to make a profit.
Self-regulation of alcohol advertising: an oxymoron?
A study of alcohol advertising done by Sandra Jones between May 1998 and April 1999 looked at 11 alcohol advertising complaints lodged with the Advertising Standards Board (ASB) by members of the general public. The researchers asked eight marketing academics who were unaware of ASB’s rulings to judge whether the advertisement(s) breached any of the clauses of the Australian Association of National Advertisers’ Code of Ethics or Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code. The same ads were similarly assessed by a group of second-year advertising students at an Australian university. There were only two ads that less than half the academics thought had not breached the code. The ASB had ruled that none of the ads had breached any of the codes.
The unfettered availability of alcohol appears to be causing many problems, and once you can get people to accept this you can move to the next step of controlling availability. Everyone knows that excess alcohol causes harm but linking this to the availability of alcohol is difficult. Australians have prided themselves on having liberalised dinking laws but we have not changed the drinking culture at the same time. However, it is possible to change the culture.
Conclusion
Social marketing applies the tools or technologies from commercial marketing to issues of social importance.
Social marketing uses an understanding of marketing to counter irresponsible marketing practices of health related product/service marketers.
Social marketing is a way of approaching an issue that emphasises the perspective of the target audience.
The goal of social marketing is to contribute to achieving a socially just society.
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The role of mass media within the framework of social marketing
Netzach Goren
Mass media campaigns (MMC) are used in social marketing campaigns because they can reach a diverse and vast audience. In order to use the media well in drug or alcohol prevention campaigns you need to have clear objectives. These objectives should be measurable, specific and realistic. For example, if trying to influence binge drinking among young people we have to be able to measure the effect of the campaign. It is important to have realistic aims and to recognise that even the best campaign cannot achieve its aims in a short time.
For a drug or alcohol prevention campaign to be effective, it is important to integrate the MMC with other approaches such as:
- school and peer education
- training parents in how to discuss drugs with their children and
- broader community work.
The audience
An important part of any campaign is to research the factors that affect the use of drugs among the targeted group. A clear understanding of consumer values, perceptions and needs will help to inform the campaign.
Segmentation
Targeted campaigns are more effective than those adopting a blanket approach. Targeting involves segmenting the population according to relevant variables (for example, gender, socioeconomic status, attitudes toward drug use) then designing appropriate messages and communication strategies for those segments
Types of message
Fear appeals are frequently used in drug campaigns; however, they may increase the undesired behaviour, and make it more resistant to change. The American National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign found that cannabis use increased after one of their campaigns aimed at reducing use. One of the reasons was that they exaggerated the fear appeals. It is important to keep in mind that the message should not be too scary and that there has to be some personal relevance to the audience. Make the audience think that any negative consequence could also affect to them.
Source and channel
When communicating about alcohol and drugs one factor to consider is the credibility of the sources. This determines the degree to which the source is perceived as expert, objective and believable by the audiences. Young people often perceive their peers as a good and reliable source of information, which provides a good argument to use peers in advertising campaigns.
The choice of channel for a campaign depends on the audience. It is possible to use multiple channels, such as radio, television, outdoor events.
The case of sensation-seekers
Sensation seekers have a particular personality type. People with this personality type are driven to seek “… varied, novel, complex, and intense sensations and experiences and the willingness to take physical, social, legal, and financial risks for the sake of such experience”. As a result sensation-seekers are more likely to become involved in substance use. This audience also prefers novel and dramatic television advertisements and respond to prevention messages that are high in sensation value (for example, intense images, sound saturation, unusual format and ending). Campaigns directed at sensation seekers have achieved significant decreases in substance use among this audience. This example illustrates that you can be very successful if you tailor the right message to the right audience.
Monitoring and evaluation
Monitoring and evaluation provide information on the effectiveness of a campaign and insights into how a campaign might be improved. Desirable behavioural change is the best measure of campaign effectiveness. However, it is sometimes very difficult to assess this if you are talking about a behaviour that might take time to change.
The factors that create variables that influence the effectiveness of the campaign include:
- intentions for behavioural change
- individuals’ exposure to campaign materials and messages
- population drug-use prevalence.
Other elements
Research
When carrying out a MMC it is important to be up to date with research and use the most promising ideas and techniques available.
Pre-test
Rely on research results during each phase of the production process.
Finances
Money is needed to buy advertising, conduct research and to design a good campaign. The greater the investment of resources, the greater the likelihood of a positive outcome.
Timing
The timing of a campaign launch should be chosen carefully; for example, if you want prevent binge drinking in young people it would be a good idea to launch a campaign before the beginning of the school holidays.
The limitations of mass media campaigns
Sustained campaign
It is very difficult to change deeply rooted cultural norms in a short time. However, carrying out a sustained campaign requires sufficient funds.
Counter-advertising
In some cases the competition has unlimited funds with which to carry out counter-advertising.
Other elements
The effectiveness of a campaign can be affected by other elements such as enforcement and supply.
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Anti-smoking advertising: lessons learned
Melanie Wakefield
Anti-tobacco advertising
Melanie Wakefield explained that the prevalence of smoking in Australia began to plateau in the 1960s after the Royal College of Physicians and United States’ Surgeon General’s reports linked smoking with cancer.
In 1967 the Anti- Cancer Council of Victoria did an audit of what was on television in Melbourne, and found that:
- One cigarette commercial was screened every 12 minutes on Melbourne evening television.
- The themes of these advertisements included the different qualities of the products; for example, filters, mild, smooth, quality tobacco, taste flavour, king size, smoke all the time (day-time or night-time ... It’s always the right time).
In 1971 the Anti-Cancer Council used television advertising to get a broadcast ban on tobacco advertising on the public and political agenda. One of the first anti-tobacco advertisements was created. This was the first time that Australians had seen an anti-tobacco ad, but the target was the policy makers as much as the public.
Broadcast cigarette advertising in Australia began to be phased out in 1973 and completed by 1976. In the United States they weren’t able to get a broadcast ban but one anti-tobacco ad was required to be broadcast for every three tobacco ads from 1976. Over a period of a couple of years tobacco use declined so quickly that cigarette companies voluntarily withdrew their tobacco advertising.
Lessons
- Anti-tobacco advertising can influence the tobacco policy agenda.
- Anti-tobacco advertising competes favorably with tobacco advertising in reducing consumption.
The National Tobacco Campaign
During the 1980s various Australian states developed anti-smoking campaigns. The first campaign was run in Sydney in 1983 and Melbourne was used as a control. There were some favourable effects in Sydney so the campaign was moved to Melbourne. Subsequently, other states started their own campaigns.
The success of these campaigns led to further calls for a national campaign in Australia , and in 1997 the National Tobacco Campaign (NTC) was launched. This campaign was aimed at:
- smokers aged 18–39 years
- blue-collar workers.
Part of the development of the campaign was based on comments from smokers who were interviewed for previous Quit campaign research. These comments included:
- I want to quit sometime. Most smokers regretted having started in the first place.
- Tell me something new!
- Shock me!
The communication brief included:
- Put quitting onto today’s agenda not sometime down the track.
- Translate intention into action.
- Actions (like quitting) that occur over time need resources and reinforcements .
The campaign was not just an advertising campaign but had a number of resources to help people with their quit attempt. One of the most important resources was the establishment of the national Quitline.
Anti-smoking advertisements need to stimulate a particular response from the smoker. Advertisements should include:
- an empathy device—a smoker moment, a slightly self-deprecating moment that leads to the response, “That’s me, I do that.”, “The people behind this ad understand me.”
- a conditioning device—linking the act of smoking with some kind of damage
- new news—information that smokers didn’t know before, “This affects me and I did not know it”
- certain effects rather than possible effects, “These are immediate and certain effects of smoking, not just a chance I take”.
A fear-based campaign was linked with the help to quit. The various advertisements ran from May 1997 to December 1998 and there was a direct connection between the advertisements and calls to the Quitline. There was an immediate response to the advertisements with calls.
Population surveys occurred throughout the campaign:
- baseline—May 1997 (artery, lung, tumour ads)
- 6-month follow-up—November 1997 (brain, call for help ads)
- 18-month follow-up—November 1998 (eye, tar ads)
- 3.5-year follow-up—November 2000.
Main findings after 6 months
- Campaign was seen and recalled by a majority of smokers in the target group.
- Campaign advertising was highly salient —especially the “artery” ad.
- There were increases in ad-specific learning —54–83 per cent agreed smoking blocks up arteries with fatty deposits.
- There was a slight increase in the percentage who disagreed that health effects are exaggerated— 59–64 per cent.
- More people were thinking about quitting—thought about quitting at least daily (up 18 per cent from baseline).
- More people were trying to quit—tried to quit in last 2 weeks (3–6 per cent).
- More people had quit—quit in past year (8.3–11.4 per cent).
- Fewer people were smoking—smoking prevalence (23.5–22.1 per cent).
Main findings after 18 months
- Continued high recognition of ads by 87 per cent of smokers and re cent quitters.
- Reported new learning about health effects of smoking maintained.
- Increases in getting help to quit in past 6 months:
– Quitline (2–5 per cent)
– NRT (7–15 per cent)
– reading how-to-quit literature (16–24 per cent).
- No further increases in intention to quit.
- Maintained decrease in smoking prevalence, no further decline.
Main findings after 3.5 years
- Continued high recognition of campaign advertising (88 per cent).
- Evidence of new learning related to new ad (especially “eye”).
- Continued increase in percentage disagreeing that the health effects of smoking are exaggerated.
- Since 18 month follow-up , maintained percentage of smokers who say they will not be smoking a year from now.
- Continued decline in smoking prevalence.
Confounding influences on prevalence?
- There was no price discounting during the first and second phases of the campaign.
- Major cigarette tax changes were introduced during 1999 and 2000 involving:
– per-weight to per-stick method of excise
– start of Goods and Services Tax (GST)
– extra increases in cigarette tax.
- During the first 6-month and 18-month periods, most change was probably due to the campaign (1997–1998); during the last two years (1999–2000), most change was probably due to tax changes.
Adolescents
Although the target group was adults it was very interesting to see the effect on adolescents. Among 400 Australian teens in 1998:
- 84 per cent of teen smokers thought NTC ads relevant to them
- 33 per cent said NTC discouraged some friends from smoking
- 85 per cent said NTC made smoking seem less “cool” and desirable.
Among 3714 Victorian teens in 1999:
- 8 per cent of experimenters said NTC ads helped them quit.
There has been a decline in the prevalence of smoking among adolescents. The smoking rates among Australian young people aged 12–15 years and 16–17 years are the lowest they have ever been.
Lessons
- Anti-tobacco advertising has rapid behavioural effects that decay quickly (prompted recall lasts longer).
- Anti-tobacco advertising is one component of effective tobacco control measures (cigarette price etc is important also).
- Anti-tobacco advertising designed for adults can also influence young people (at least in this campaign).
Teen-directed media campaigns in the United States —a natural experiment
The United States provides a natural experiment on the effectiveness of anti-tobacco advertising because of the variation in the timing and amount of anti-tobacco advertising carried out in different states. In the United States , the tobacco industry is back on television and they are running “youth smoking prevention” campaigns. One campaign was directed at young people and the other was directed at parents. It was possible to examine the relationship between the amount and type of anti-smoking advertising and youth smoking prevention advertising for different state campaigns.
The arguments for teen-directed media campaigns include:
- it is “easier not to start than to quit”
- it is important to avoid early exposure to carcinogens
- public approval.
The arguments against teen-directed media campaigns include:
- the are hard to do well
- they invite rebellion if they seem authoritarian
- the tobacco industry wants them (!)
- young people are suspicious of advertisements aimed at them; for example: “Why pick on kids when so many adults smoke?”, “Your attempt to do a ‘cool’ campaign to persuade us not to smoke is pathetic”.
In contrast it has been found that:
- Campaigns that influence parents to quit will reduce an important source of influence on youth smoking—parental role modelling.
- Campaigns that make adult smoking seem undesirable reduce motivation to use tobacco as badge of adulthood—change broader community norms.
As adult smoking prevalence declines, so does youth smoking because:
- Most adolescents aspire to be treated as adults.
- Adolescents at risk for smoking are at a developmental stage where their powers of cognition are those of adults.
Philip Morris’ youth prevention campaign
The results of a youth prevention campaign run by tobacco company Philip Morris and directed at children aged between 14 and 18 years had no effect on smoking attitudes, weakened intentions not to smoke in the future and reduced disapproval of adult smoking.
Lessons
- Cessation campaigns aimed at adults seem able to influence young people—“a two-for-one effect”.
- Youth campaigns are hard to do well and risk “boomerang effects”.
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Social marketing in road safety: “speed”—a case study
David Healy
General Manager, Road Safety
Victoria’s strategic approach to road safety looks at three factors:
- the vehicle
- the road
- the person.
In the case of the person, the factors under consideration include whether the person wearing a seat belt and whether they are driving at the right speed.
Speeding behaviour
The predominant contributor to road trauma is speed. There are three types of speeding behaviour:
- excessive speeding —usually by young people
- inappropriate speeding —going the wrong speed for the particular road conditions
- low-level speeding —going 5–10 km above the limit.
Low-level speeding
The low-level speeder was targeted by the TAC because safety research shows that a small drop in speed equals a large drop in trauma:
- a 5km/h decrease in speed equals a 32 per cent decrease in pedestrian deaths
- a 5km/h decrease in speed equals a 20 per cent decrease in serious trauma
- going 5km/h over the limit in a 60km/h zone doubles the risk of death and trauma.
This is the difference between life and death.
Market research
Market research revealed that habitual “low-level” speeders considered themselves to be law-abiding, conservative (in control), safety conscious (low-level speeding is the social norm) and a “better than average driver”. There was no “moral” imperative for them to change their behaviour.
Strategic considerations
The goal of the “wipe off 5” campaign was to achieve a new cultural norm regarding speed compliance.
- In order to achieve a cultural shift there had to be a long-term push. In these cases you should expect resistance!
- The campaign was anchored to compelling research findings. In this case there were the fundamental laws of physics to explain.
- Due to the multiple audience segments there was a need to diversify communications.
- The “low-hanging fruit” was targeted first in order to build critical mass for network effects. The “low-hanging fruit” are the people who are easy to convince.
- The campaign was linked to boosted enforcement activity.
Program features
The campaign commenced in early 2001 with multiple phases and diverse messages. Public education plays a role in raising the perceived chances of detection but this is only one piece of the puzzle. The other factors include: regulation, enforcement, the environment.
- Public education —this was the instructive element (the speed/crash relationship was explained).
- Enforcement —enforcement activity provided an impetus for change (“my chances of detection are much greater”).
- Emotive imperative (fear arousal)—without emotive reasons any change of behaviour due to enforcement would not be long term in nature.
Results
The results of the campaign have been encouraging.
- Average travel speeds are down.
- Speed camera hit rate is down.
Conclusion
Carefully developed public education can play a significant role in improving road safety but it needs to be integrated with other significant measures, such as enforcement.
Discussion
Petrol prices and road safety
It was noted that the increase in petrol prices may have a positive impact on road safety due to the reduction in travel by car and the increase in the use of public transport. Another impact may be the purchase of less powerful cars.
Fear appeals
The contradiction between smokers wanting to be shocked and the effectiveness of fear appeals was raised. It was noted that a good fear campaign scares the audience but also shows a way out.
Alcohol advertising and regulation
What is the incentive to control alcohol advertisements when people don’t complain about them and the government derives a substantial income from them? It was suggested that the community can achieve change by putting pressure on the government. Many people don’t know where to complain and don’t necessarily want to put things in writing. Providing an avenue for people to voice their concerns could be effective.
Young people and social marketing
Despite the difficulties associated with running social marketing campaigns that target young people, these campaigns can be effective if they are carefully designed. In the United States young people have been involved in the development of advertisements that are aimed at their peers. Peer education can work if it is done well. It is important to be aware of the boomerang effects and the influence of parents.
Market research and illicit drugs
Qualitative research into the use of illicit drugs is very important in order to determine what is going on in people’s heads. This is particularly important as in the case of illicit drugs it is not possible to conduct a random sample.
Why has the anti-tobacco campaign been more effective than anti-drug and alcohol campaigns?
It was noted that the anti-tobacco campaign has been going for longer than the other campaigns. Also, the link between tobacco and disease is much clearer. The adverse health effects of alcohol are not as clear. The social effects of alcohol are easier to distinguish but many campaigns have focused on alcohol as a health issue.
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