SOCIAL MARKETING (not to confuse with Social-Media Marketing) "Why cant you sell brotherhood and rational thinking

like you can sell soap? Social marketing is the systematic application of marketing, along with other concepts and techniques, to achieve specific behavioral goals for a social good. Social marketing can be applied to promote merit goods, or to make a society avoid demerit goods and thus to promote society's well being as a whole. For example, this may include asking people not to smoke in public areas, asking them to use seat belts, or prompting to make them follow speed limits. Although "social marketing" is sometimes seen only as using standard commercial marketing practices to achieve non-commercial goals, this is an oversimplification. The primary aim of social marketing is "social good", while in "commercial marketing" the aim is primarily "financial". This does not mean that commercial marketers can not contribute to achievement of social good. Shaklee Coorporation, who pioneered social marketing over 50 years ago, has trademarked the term "Social Marketing." Social marketing uses the benefits of doing social good to secure and maintain customer engagement. In social marketing the distinguishing feature is therefore its "primary focus on social good, and it is not a secondary outcome. Not all public sector and not-for-profit marketing is social marketing. Public sector bodies can use standard marketing approaches to improve the promotion of their relevant services and organizational aims. This can be very important, but should not be confused with social marketing where the focus is on achieving specific behavioral goals with specific audiences in relation to different topics relevant to social good (e.g.: health, sustainability, recycling, etc.). For example, a 3month marketing campaign to encourage people to get a H1N1 vaccine is more tactical in nature and should not be considered social marketing. Whereas a campaign that promotes and reminds people to get regular check-ups and all of their vaccinations when they're supposed to encourages a long-term behavior change that benefits society. It can therefore be considered social marketing. As the dividing lines are rarely clear it is important not to confuse social marketing with commercial marketing. A commercial marketer selling a product may only seek to influence a buyer to make a product purchase. Social marketers, dealing with goals such as reducing cigarette smoking or encouraging condom use, have more difficult goals: to make potentially difficult and long-term behavioral change in target populations. It is sometimes felt that social marketing is restricted to a particular spectrum of clientthe non-profit organization, the health services group, the government agency. These often are the clients of social marketing agencies, but the goal of inducing social change is not restricted to governmental or non-profit charitable organizations; it may be argued that corporate public relations efforts such as funding for the arts are an example of social marketing. Social marketing should not be confused with the Societal Marketing Concept which was a forerunner of sustainable marketing in integrating issues of social responsibility into commercial marketing strategies. In contrast to that, social marketing uses commercial marketing theories, tools and techniques

to social issues. Social marketing applies a "customer oriented" approach and uses the concepts and tools used by commercial marketers in pursuit of social goals like Anti-Smoking-Campaigns or fund raising for NGOs. MARKETING MIX FOR SOCIAL MARKETING Like commercial marketing, in Social Marketing the primary focus is on the consumer--on learning what people want and need rather than trying to persuade them to buy what we happen to be producing. Marketing talks to the consumer, not about the product. The planning process takes this consumer focus into account by addressing the elements of the "marketing mix." This refers to decisions about 1) the conception of a Product, 2) Price, 3) distribution (Place), and 4) Promotion. These are often called the "Four Ps" of marketing. Social marketing also adds a few more "P's." Product The social marketing "product" is not necessarily a physical offering. A continuum of products exists, ranging from tangible, physical products (e.g., condoms), to services (e.g., medical exams), practices (e.g., breastfeeding, ORT or eating a heart-healthy diet) and finally, more intangible ideas (e.g., environmental protection). In order to have a viable product, people must first perceive that they have a genuine problem, and that the product offering is a good solution for that problem. Price "Price" refers to what the consumer must do in order to obtain the social marketing product. This cost may be monetary, or it may instead require the consumer to give up intangibles, such as time or effort, or to risk embarrassment and disapproval. If the costs outweigh the benefits for an individual, the perceived value of the offering will be low and it will be unlikely to be adopted. However, if the benefits are perceived as greater than their costs, chances of trial and adoption of the product is much greater. In setting the price, particularly for a physical product, such as contraceptives, there are many issues to consider. If the product is priced too low, or provided free of charge, the consumer may perceive it as being low in quality. On the other hand, if the price is too high, some will not be able to afford it. Social marketers must balance these considerations, and often end up charging at least a nominal fee to increase perceptions of quality and to confer a sense of "dignity" to the transaction. These perceptions of costs and benefits can be determined through research, and used in positioning the product. Place "Place" describes the way that the product reaches the consumer. For a tangible product, this refers to the distribution system--including the warehouse, trucks, sales force, retail outlets where it is sold, or places where it is given out for free. For an intangible product, place is less clear-cut, but refers to decisions about the channels through which consumers are reached with information or training. This may include doctors' offices, shopping malls, mass media vehicles or in-home demonstrations. Another element of place is deciding how to ensure accessibility of the offering and quality of the service delivery. By determining the activities and habits of the target audience, as well as their experience and satisfaction with the existing delivery system, researchers can pinpoint the most ideal means of distribution for the offering. Promotion Finally, the last "P" is promotion. Because of its visibility, this element is often mistakenly thought of as comprising the whole of social marketing. However, as can be seen by the previous discussion, it is only

one piece. Promotion consists of the integrated use of advertising, public relations, promotions, media advocacy, personal selling and entertainment vehicles. The focus is on creating and sustaining demand for the product. Public service announcements or paid ads are one way, but there are other methods such as coupons, media events, editorials, "Tupperware"-style parties or in-store displays. Research is crucial to determine the most effective and efficient vehicles to reach the target audience and increase demand. The primary research findings themselves can also be used to gain publicity for the program at media events and in news stories. Additional Social Marketing "P's" Publics--Social marketers often have many different audiences that their program has to address in order to be successful. "Publics" refers to both the external and internal groups involved in the program. External publics include the target audience, secondary audiences, policymakers, and gatekeepers, while the internal publics are those who are involved in some way with either approval or implementation of the program. Partnership--Social and health issues are often so complex that one agency can't make a dent by itself. You need to team up with other organizations in the community to really be effective. You need to figure out which organizations have similar goals to yours--not necessarily the same goals--and identify ways you can work together. Policy--Social marketing programs can do well in motivating individual behavior change, but that is difficult to sustain unless the environment they're in supports that change for the long run. Often, policy change is needed, and media advocacy programs can be an effective complement to a social marketing program. Purse Strings--Most organizations that develop social marketing programs operate through funds provided by sources such as foundations, governmental grants or donations. This adds another dimension to the strategy development-namely, where will you get the money to create your program? THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND: 1. The ultimate objective of social marketing is to benefit target individuals or society and not the marketer. 2. The basic means of achieving improved welfare is through influencing behavior, in most cases bringing about a change in behavior. Social marketers are in the behavior business. Influencing behavior is the bottom line in social settings just as much as it is in private settings. 3. The target audience has the primary role in the social marketing process.

PHASES IN SOCIAL MARKETING 1.The planning phase forms the foundation on which the rest of the process is built. To create an

effective social marketing program, you must understand the problem you are addressing, the audiences you are targeting, and the environment in which the program will operate. Research is used to analyze these factors and to develop a workable strategy for effecting behavior change. 2.The message and materials development phase uses the information learned in the planning phase to design the messages to be conveyed as well as the materials that will carry the messages to the target audience. 3.The pretesting phase involves using various methods to test messages, materials and proposed tactics with the target audience members to determine what works best to accomplish the program's objectives. It is not uncommon to go back and forth several times between development and pretesting as you make necessary changes in the messages, materials or overall strategy and explore whether the new approach works. 4.The implementation phase , in this phase, program is introduced to the target audience. Preparation is essential for success and implementation must be monitored to ensure that every element proceeds as planned. 5.The evaluation and feedback phase assesses the effects of the program as a whole as well as the individual elements of the strategy. Evaluation occurs throughout the process of program development, not just at the end, and feedback is used at each stage to improve the program. When planning a social marketing campaign there are a number of important factors that the agencies need to consider, such as: 1. The timing of the campaign, e.g. seasonality - a campaign to promote the use of sunscreen for prevention of skin cancer would not be appropriate during the winter season. 2. The language that is used - not just the translation, but also the terminology most suited to the target audience can greatly affect the success of the campaign. No use of having anti-spitting ad in High Class English, when majority of people who spit in public places cannot understand it. 3. Brand development and protection if the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is conducting campaigns, there must be a suitable level of validation (quality control) to keep their value. 4. Selecting an appropriate spokesperson the person who fronts the campaign should have the necessary knowledge to ensure the public has confidence in the campaign, reassuring them that the campaigns message is correct and that adopting the suggested changes in behaviour will be beneficial. Eg: One cannot use Salman Khan for PETA or Shahrukh for Anti-smokingCampaigns. People like Sachin Tendulkar or Amitabh Bachchan with good image can be used for various campaings.