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What is Social Marketing?
Social Marketing gives policy makers and practitioners a powerful tool for positive social change. It borrows techniques developed by the commercial sector to help targeted individuals achieve behavioural goals. The behaviour is sustainable and measurable. It can sustainably transform attitudes and behaviours in individuals experiencing social or financial exclusion, poor health or low aspirations. Social Marketing is a philosophy, a framework and tool kit applied within a total planning process. It combines behavioral theory and social research with community engagement and integrated interventions, built around the traditional marketing mix. Quotes from leading experts: Social marketing is the application of marketing concepts and tools to influence the behaviour change of a target audience, in ways that create net benefits for the individual, community, and society at large. Typically, social marketing centres on such problem areas as health, environmental protection, better education, family planning and others. Philip Kotler, Distinguished Professor of International Marketing,
Northwestern University Social marketing is a method for applying the tools of commercial marketing to social, environmental and public health problems. The objective is to promote health and social welfare in a population through behavior change. Dr Robert Marshall, Assistant Director,
Rhode Island Department of Health What isn't social marketing?
What's happening in the UK?Social marketing isn't new - it has been applied all around the world over the last 30 years. However, its application within the UK is relatively recent. At Social Marketing East we want to bring best practice and academic thinking to the East of England in order to develop our social marketing landscape to its full potential. Currently the Department of Health is the largest user of social marketing services in the UK. The NHS commissions national, high profile campaigns that tackle smoking or eating habits. The DoH has also set up the National Social Marketing Centre as a central resource. DEFRA are also using social marketing services, having developed their 4 Es approach to the UK's Sustainable Development Strategy and the Community Action 2020. The subject is also gaining momentum in UK academic circles - with Stirling University hosting the Institute for Social Marketing and the University of Brighton launching a Masters degree in Social Marketing. Whilst to date, most social marketing applications in the UK have been health or environment related there are excellent case studies coming through in housing, enterprise, employability and regeneration. Our awards page illustrates local social marketing projects in a broad spectrum of applications. Is social marketing for you?It is if you are involved in promoting behavioral goals. Typically, this includes; Third sector or public organisations with a statutory remit to combat social and health inequalities and work towards positive social change. Some are already using social marketing to understand the motivations of their target audiences and are tailoring interventions appropriately (and effectively). Marketing agencies who want to provide social marketing services and are interested in forming partnerships with the public and Third sectors in the following areas: Health, Business Support, Back2Work, Sport, Education, Crime Prevention, Community Cohesion, Learning and the Environment, for example. And also, Voluntary/Social Enterprise sector, Charities, Housing Associations, Business Support Provider, Local Authorities, Credit Unions, Community development organisations, Learning promotion agencies. Why do we need social marketing?
The answer is that commercial organisations drill right down to understand their customers, they conduct research, they analyse data, they model, they customize, they listen, they respond and they successfully reach their target audiences. Social marketing has taken the success factors from commercial marketing and adapted, tried, tested and developed tools and processes which;
What evidence is there that social marketing works?There is a growing collection which evidences how social marketing has been successfully applied. Examples can be reviewed at the NSMC Showcase in the UK or the Social Marketing Institute based in the US but citing international examples. What are these "benchmark criteria" I keep hearing about?Developed by the National Social Marketing Centre there are 8 benchmark criteria - as shown below. They tend to be seen as the "glue" around which social marketing strategies and projects are built. 
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