Journal of Social Marketing

Best practices in social marketing among Aboriginal people

Judith Madill Libbie Wallace Karine Goneau-Lessard Robb Stuart MacDonald Celine Dion
Article information:
To cite this document:
Judith Madill Libbie Wallace Karine Goneau-Lessard Robb Stuart MacDonald Celine Dion , (2014),"Best
practices in social marketing among Aboriginal people", Journal of Social Marketing, Vol. 4 Iss 2 pp. 155 -
175
Permanent link to this document:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSOCM-08-2013-0056
Downloaded on: 22 March 2016, At: 13:41 (PT)
References: this document contains references to 53 other documents.
Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

To copy this document: permissions@emeraldinsight.com

The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 501 times since 2014*
Users who downloaded this article also downloaded:
Marie-Louise Fry, (2014),"Rethinking social marketing: towards a sociality of consumption", Journal of Social
Marketing, Vol. 4 Iss 3 pp. 210-222 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSOCM-02-2014-0011
Jennifer Lynes, Stephanie Whitney, Dan Murray, (2014),"Developing benchmark criteria for assessing
community-based social marketing programs: A look into Jack Johnson’s “All at Once” campaign", Journal
of Social Marketing, Vol. 4 Iss 2 pp. 111-132 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSOCM-08-2013-0060
Ross Gordon, Lauren Gurrieri, (2014),"Towards a reflexive turn: social marketing assemblages", Journal of
Social Marketing, Vol. 4 Iss 3 pp. 261-278 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSOCM-02-2014-0015

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:393177 []
For Authors
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for
Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines
are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.
About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com
Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company
manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as
providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.
Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee
on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive
preservation.

*Related content and download information correct at time of download.

 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/2042-6763.htm

Best practices in social marketing Best practices in

social marketing
among Aboriginal people
Judith Madill
Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
155
Libbie Wallace and Karine Goneau-Lessard
Marketing and Communications Directorate, Health Canada, Received 15 August 2013
Ottawa, Canada Revised 14 February 2014
Accepted 18 March 2014
Robb Stuart MacDonald
MacComm Social Marketing, Orillia, Canada, and
Celine Dion
Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

Marketing and Communications Directorate, Health Canada, Ottawa,

Canada

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify, summarize and assess literature focused on
developing social marketing programs for Aboriginal people.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted a literature search and review of research
papers concerning social marketing and Aboriginal populations over the period 2003-2013.
Findings – The research reveals very little published research (N ⫽ 16). The literature points to a wide
range of findings including the importance of segmenting/targeting and avoiding pan-Aboriginal
campaigns; cultural importance of family and community; the importance of multi-channels; universal value
of mainstream and Aboriginal media outlets, use of print media, value of elders and story-telling for message
dissemination; increasingly important role of Internet-based technology; need for campaign development to
reflect Aboriginal culture; and importance of formative research to inform campaign development.
Social implications – Considerable research is warranted to better develop more effective social
marketing campaigns targeted to Aboriginal audiences to improve health outcomes for such groups
across the globe.
Originality/value – This paper provides a baseline foundation upon which future social marketing
research can be built. It also acts as a call to action for future research and theory in this important field.
Keywords Social marketing, Literature review, Best practices, Aboriginal target audiences,
Indigenous target audiences
Paper type Literature review

Introduction and purpose of the paper

Recent writing attests to significant disparities between the health of Aboriginal and
Indigenous people (including Inuit, First Nations and Métis) and that of non-Aboriginal
populations in Canada (cf. Jenkins et al., 2003; Public Health Agency of Canada, 2011;
Journal of Social Marketing
Vol. 4 No. 2, 2014
The authors wish to thank three anonymous reviewers whose comments have helped the authors pp. 155-175
© Emerald Group Publishing Limited
substantially improve the paper. Of course, all errors and omissions remain the responsibility of 2042-6763
the authors. DOI 10.1108/JSOCM-08-2013-0056
 JSOCM Smylie, 2000) and other nations, including, for example, the USA (Parker et al., 2011),
Australia (Ipsos-Eureka Social Research Institute and Winangali Pty Ltd, 2010a) and
4,2 New Zealand (National Social Marketing Centre Research Team, 2011).
In Canada, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada (2008), health
inequalities are rampant among Aboriginal populations and are often due to “unequal
access to key factors that influence health like income, education, employment and
156 social supports”. In New Zealand, cervical cancer has been identified as just one
particular instance of significant health inequality, with Maori and Pacific women
experiencing higher incidence, higher mortality rates and lower screening rates than
other population groups (National Social Marketing Centre Research Team, 2011).
Parker et al. (2011) and Thackeray and Neiger (2003) discuss the disproportionate
burden born by Native Americans from nutrition-related diseases including obesity,
type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Adams et al. (2011) cite evidence that
Australian Indigenous people experience 2.5 times the level of chronic disease in
Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

comparison to non-Indigenous Australian populations. McDonald et al. (2011) note

that Australian Aboriginals living in remote communities experience extreme
disadvantages across all the measurable social determinants of health. In particular,
they note that children in remote communities experience high rates of skin, ear,
respiratory and diarrheal disease that lead to poor health and negative social outcomes
throughout their lifespan.
Numerous additional examples could be described, but the overall picture is very
clearly one of Aboriginal and Indigenous people experiencing negative health
consequences at highly disproportionate rates. Accordingly, Aboriginal audiences are
important groups for realizing health changes to benefit both Aboriginals as well as
non-Aboriginals in countries across the globe. While a variety of approaches for
achieving such changes is indeed possible and has been utilized, one approach for
achieving these desired changes is social marketing. Social marketing programs, by
definition, are generic marketing programs carried out to change behaviours that are in
an individual’s or society’s interests (Andreasen and Kotler, 2003), and provide “a
framework for developing innovative solutions to social problems that have long
perplexed and frustrated us” (Lefebvre, 2009, p. 143).
While Health Canada and practitioners in other parts of the world have utilized the
social marketing approach to effect positive health and societal outcomes among
Aboriginals and have learned much from their “on the ground” experiences (Health
Canada, 2012), relatively little formal study and reporting have been done concerning
effective development of social marketing programs targeted specifically at Aboriginal
audiences. The authors could locate no literature review that summarizes and assesses
what is known about developing social marketing programs in Aboriginal
communities.
Accordingly, the overall purpose of this paper is to identify, summarize and assess
the literature that is focused specifically on developing social marketing programs for
Aboriginal people. In filling this gap, the paper is intended to be of potential value to
both social marketing practitioners and researchers who will gain better understanding
of best practices as presented in the literature as well as research issues, and research
shortcomings concerning this critical topic. As stated by McCalman et al., (2013, p. 726),
“community – based organizations themselves, for example, do not have ready access to
the intervention or implementation literatures to ensure that their programs are
 informed by the best available evidence”. Yet, McDonald et al., (2011) found that Best practices in
building on literature evidence is helpful in increasing success of campaigns. This paper
seeks to address that gap, providing a summary of the available evidence. Perhaps, most
social marketing
critically, this paper will show a dearth of research on this important topic, and, as such,
provide a foundation upon which future social marketing research can be built. It also
acts as a call to action and identifies fruitful avenues for social marketing research and
theory in the future. 157
Specifically, the objectives of this paper are:
• to identify, review and assess research literature that reports specifically on social
marketing programs in Aboriginal populations;
• to summarize key recommendations from the research literature for developing
social marketing to effect change in Aboriginal groups; and
• to highlight key avenues for future research to improve social marketing
Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

campaigns targeting Aboriginal people.

The next section of the paper discusses briefly how social marketing is defined for the
purpose of this research – what benchmarks were used in specifying the research
literature included in the paper. The methodology utilized in the literature review is then
described. The literature review findings are summarized next and the paper concludes
with a discussion of the findings, research issues and opportunities for future research in
this area.

Definition and benchmarks of social marketing

Current definitions of social marketing suggest that it seeks to influence social
behaviours to benefit target audiences and the wider societies of which those audiences
are a part. Social marketing programs then, are carried out to change behaviours that are
in the individual or society’s interests (Andreasen and Kotler, 2003; Lefebvre, 2013). It
has become widely recognized that social marketing involves utilizing the marketing
framework to help deal with many of life’s most challenging, perplexing and difficult
social problems including health and environmental issues in varying cultures,
economies and countries around the world (Kotler and Lee, 2008; Kotler et al., 2002;
Lefebvre, 2013). Lefebvre (2013) argues that when faced with the “wicked” (complex
issues that defy complete definition where stakeholders have varying ideas concerning
both problem definition and appropriate solutions) social problems of today, applying a
marketing orientation aimed at social innovation may lead to more original and
improved solutions. He argues further, that social marketing provides a framework for
developing innovative solutions to such social problems.
Recent thinking emanating from the community-based social marketing literature
suggests that it works well because it has deep intellectual roots in psychology and other
social sciences so that it builds on strong understanding of potential target markets
and their motivations for engaging or not engaging in particular behaviours
(McKenzie-Mohr et al., 2012). In addition, it is widely recognized that social marketing
can involve both traditional “downstream” approaches which involve efforts to
encourage change on the part of those who have already adopted unhealthy or negative
habits, as well as “upstream” approaches which are more focused on preventing people
developing unhealthy negative habits (Andreasen, 2006; Goldberg, 1995; Kenny and
Hastings, 2011). French (2011a,2011b) advocates the use of social marketing by the
 JSOCM government – making the case that it is important for the government to see marketing
as a core function, much the way business does. While social marketing is traditionally
4,2 carried out by government organizations as well as non-profits, companies have also
engaged in the development of such campaigns – however, recent thinking by Hastings
and Angus (2011) questions the motives of such organizations and raises doubts as to
whether such programs can truly be considered social marketing due to underlying
158 pervasive commercial motivations.
Earlier writers (c.f. Andreasen, 2002; Kotler and Roberto, 1989; Rothschild, 1999)
introduced the idea that what makes social marketing potentially unique is that its
major goal is behaviour change rather than simply education or communication. More
recently, this characteristic of social marketing has been widely accepted (French et al.,
2012; Hastings, 2011; Lefebvre, 2013) with Donovan (2011) going as far as to state that
the behaviour change goal in social marketing is obvious. Accordingly, distinguishing
characteristics of the social marketing approach include a behavioural focus, being
Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

target group-driven, as well as being driven by the creation of exchanges that will
encourage a behaviour change on the part of the targeted audience. Audience research,
pretesting, monitoring, careful market segmentation, when appropriate, as well as
development of strategies that seek to provide beneficial exchanges to target audience
members further characterize it.
Andreasen (2002) identifies key benchmarks for identifying an approach that could
legitimately be called social marketing. His benchmarks include dimensions such as
voluntary behaviour – change being the goal, using audience research, segmenting
target audiences, crafting strategies to create exchanges with selected target audiences
and developing a strategy utilizing the four Ps while paying attention to one’s
competitors. French et al. (2012, p. 14) utilize a similar list of benchmarks with the
important proviso that “few “perfect” social marketing interventions apply every single
principle […]”.
Faced with the challenge of identifying characteristics of research focused on social
marketing campaigns for inclusion in their empirical studies, researchers (Madill and
Abel, 2007; Stead et al., 2007) have utilized the benchmarks developed by Andreasen
(2002). For example, the meta-analysis of Stead et al. (2007) identified six very similar
benchmarks that a campaign must have to be considered effective social marketing (i.e.
behaviour change is the goal, consumer research forms the foundation for the
intervention, segmentation and targeting are done and the marketing mix is utilized to
create an exchange that will motivate the target market to engage voluntarily with the
intervention, program developers consider carefully the competition – the appeal of
competing behaviours).
While, Andreasen (2002) in agreement with (French et al., 2012)) points out that
programs do not have to have all of these elements to qualify for the label “social
marketing”, he and Donovan (2011), as well as Lefebvre (2011a,2011b), argue that
campaigns that are purely communications are definitely not social marketing. These
features of social marketing are an important consideration in the current research in
that the papers identified as being of value for inclusion in the set of literature reviewed
were papers where the social marketing approach was utilized. Related papers, which
utilize communication, education and other approaches designed to possibly educate or
communicate with the target audience were not included in this research study, as the
focus of the research was to identify and assess social marketing research literature.
 Methodology Best practices in
The research team conducted the literature search and review in two different phases.
During the first phase (2011), Health Canada commissioned an environmental scan (“a
social marketing
means of understanding the nature and extent of the problem as well as external
influences that may affect intervention viability and effectiveness”; Lefebvre, 2013,
p. 13) and an evidence review of social marketing targeted to Aboriginal audience for the
purpose of identifying best practices to best develop their own social marketing 159
programs (MacComm International Inc, 2011). During this phase of the research, the
Health Canada team utilized two overlapping search criteria:
(1) social marketing; and
(2) Aboriginal and Indigenous populations (searching for on- and off- reserve, Metis
and Inuit populations in Canada, as well as Indigenous populations in North
America, Australia, and New Zealand).
Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

This search utilized publicly available databases as well as professional networks in

collecting resources to be reviewed.
The second phase of the research was conducted during winter of 2013 and updated
in January 2014. In this phase of the research, the team expanded the searched databases
to include academically available databases (such as Scholars Portal and Academic
Source Complete among others. Scholars Portal is a digital repository of ⬎ 35 million
scholarly articles drawn from journals covering every academic discipline. “The content
you will find in Scholars Portal comprises the most complete muti-disciplinary database
of peer reviewed academic literature available anywhere” (ocul.on.ca accessed January
7, 2014). Databases were searched using “social marketing” and “Aboriginal” as well as
“social marketing” and “Indigenous” as search terms covering the previous ten-year
period, 2004-2013. This period was chosen to cover the most current research literature
as well as going back to get a ten-year perspective.
For the purpose of this review, criteria for retention of articles to be included in the
study were:
• the paper must be research based (could be empirically based or a literature
review, but not simply a description of a social marketing campaign; and
• the paper must describe research concerning a social marketing campaign
directed to Aboriginal or Indigenous populations.

To be classed as a social marketing campaign, the authors must self-identify that they
adopted a social marketing strategic framework in the development of the campaign,
and the campaign must have utilized four of the six benchmarks utilized by Stead et al.
(2007). Most importantly, the paper could not self-identify as social marketing and
utilize only promotion.
The authors examined each citation developed through the database searches and
retained all papers that met these criteria. The most typical reasons for exclusion of
papers were that the paper did not deal at all with social marketing. Even though papers
were identified utilizing search criteria described above, a considerable number of
papers focused on completely different topics such as wind power and marketing
renewable energy on tribal lands, or development aid and social impact. Other common
reasons for exclusion were that the papers were not research based, rather they might
 JSOCM have been short descriptions of social marketing campaigns, short opinion pieces or
they might have mentioned social marketing as a possible approach for dealing with an
4,2 issue in the recommendations section of the paper rather than focusing on research
concerning a social marketing program.
The first phase of the research identified (through professional networks) three
commissioned reports on social marketing and aboriginal audiences which were not
160 identified through the use of the academic databases in phase two, but these were
included in the research, as they met the criteria for focusing on social marketing
campaigns and being research based (although they were not refereed).
A total of 16 papers were retained because they describe research related to social
marketing programs and Aboriginal people worldwide. Each of the retained research
papers was then assessed with emphasis on identifying best practices as well as
weaknesses and strengths in the research approaches taken in the studies to identify
gaps in the research literature.
Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

The research team considered broadening the search criteria to be used in searching
the databases to include terms such as “health and Aboriginal” or “health research and
Aboriginal”, but the search results yield an unmanageable number of citations
(exceeding 20,000 and often 30,000 depending upon the search terms used). The
overwhelming proportion of papers located in such a search falls well outside the
purpose of the current paper and reports on issues such as Aboriginal health status,
pathways to health, social determinants of health, state of knowledge of Metis health or
Inuit public health. Similar unmanageable numbers of citations are found when using
other search terms such as “change research and Aboriginal” or “cultural research and
Aboriginal” or “community research and Aboriginal”. No summary literature reviews
were found which could inform the present study. Overall, while some of this knowledge
might be useful and inform Aboriginal social marketing programs, the field is too broad
and extensive to review effectively in this paper. (Recommendations for tackling an
expansion are discussed in the Summary, Discussion and Conclusions section of the
paper below).
To address the objectives established for the paper, the research team reviewed each
paper, then moved on to assess the state of the total research available and summarize
the key insights concerning social marketing strategies and tactics that appear to be
important in designing a social marketing campaign targeted at Aboriginal
populations.

Findings
Following the research objectives of this paper, the findings are summarized briefly in
Table I, and then described, in greater detail, in the paragraphs below. In Table I, each
paper is identified by author, date, publication source and type (whether peer reviewed
or not); methods utilized in the research described in each paper; the focus of the research
(issue at core of the social marketing program studied in the paper); and the subjects
included in the research, as well as highlights from the findings of the research described
in each paper.

Research objective one: identification, review and assessment of the literature

Table I shows that little published research (N ⫽ 16) has reported on issues related to
social marketing in Aboriginal or Indigenous populations over the previous 10 years. Of

Author/date
Adams et al. (2011)
Environics Research
Group (2011)
Filiault and
Drummond (2010)
Ho et al. (2006)
Table I.
summary of the literature
Aboriginal audiences:
programs targeted toward
Social marketing
Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)
Source Methods Focus Subjects Findings
Australian Quantitative Nutrition Australia Respondents more likely to change behaviors
Social work Online and postal survey Physical activity Urbanized Indigenous related to nutrition and physical activity-less
Refereed N ⫽ 82 Tobacco peoples ready to cease smoking
Peer support preferences were for face-to-face
or group support for physical activity and
smoking and assistance with food costs for
nutrition
First Nations and Inuit Quantitative Environment Canada 82 per cent of First Nations, 73 per cent of
environmental health Telephone survey N ⫽ 400 Health First Nations and Inuit are confident in abilities to reduce
awareness campaign Inuit aged 18 and over health risks from environmental issues
baseline survey 40 per cent of both would rely on Internet
Non-refereed where Google is most popular. Women, as
well as the more highly educated and those
with higher income, were more likely to use
the Internet. Health professionals are second
most popular source of information
Critical public health Literature review Use of health call Australia Indigenous men more likely to use health call
Refereed centers Men –including centers.
aboriginal Knowledge determines use.
Social marketing that takes into account
voices and concerns may enhance use
Health promotion Qualitative and quantitative Diabetes Canada Variations in health beliefs, attitudes and
international Interviews N ⫽ 78 First Nations on three environments require tailoring of programs
Refereed Observations N ⫽ 6 Ontario reserves to each reserve.
Demonstrations N ⫽ 13 Importance of formative research
Survey N ⫽ 72
(continued)
161
social marketing
Best practices in
 Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

4,2

162

Table I.
JSOCM

Author/date Source Methods Focus Subjects Findings

Ipsos-Eureka Social Developmental Qualitative Access to and Australia Belief–chronic diseases unavoidable in
Research Institute research to inform the Focus groups ⫽ 37 awareness of health Indigenous people contemporary life.
and Winangali local indigenous Depth interviews N ⫽ 30 services and health Low motivation–why and how to take action.
(2010a) community campaigns professionals Negative health behaviors often shared
to promote better activities – important for social cohesion.
health Shyness re-exercise but positive view of sport,
Non-refereed walking culturally appropriate.
Healthy food perceived costly.
Low levels of understanding about healthy food,
cooking and food budgeting skills.
Fear of unknown concerning health services–the
nature of local services and personnel.
Preference for holistic health services, perception
that health services geared to acute health not
health promotion/prevention.
Costs barrier to accessing preventative health
services.
Benefits for children and family important.
Awareness of past social marketing campaigns.
Term “chronic disease” not commonly used.
Preference for visual communications,
conversational storytelling approaches.
Internet suitable for younger target markets.
Social gatherings seen as information hubs.
Little support for gender segmentation.
Remote areas have unique needs – English often
second or third language
(continued)
 Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

Author/date Source Methods Focus Subjects Findings

Ipsos-Eureka Social Developmental Qualitative (large-scale) Anti-smoking Australia Superficial awareness of negative smoking
Research Institute research to inform the 37 focus groups N ⫽ 220 campaigns Indigenous and health health effects –conscious of effects on
and Winangali national action to Depth interviews N ⫽ 37 professionals (nation- children.
(2010b) reduce smoking rates wide -urban and Some interest in cessation.
social marketing remote) Barriers–social normalization of smoking,
campaign cost.
Non-refereed Motivators–family and kin, decreased fitness
and sports performance.
Moderate awareness of mainstream
campaigns.
Positive feature Indigenous faces, voices,
cultural imagery, tie to holistic approach to
health, conversational approaches,
storytelling.
Television popular as are radio, poster,
billboards
Majid and Grier Social marketing Qualitative Food mail program Canada Outcomes mixed-growth in past five years,
(2010) quarterly Case study Stakeholders - yet, rate of obesity- and dietary- related
Non-refereed Interviews customers, retailers, illness is increasing
airlines, government Challenges faced in changing established
officials food consumption behaviors
McCalman et al. BMC public health Qualitative Binge drinking Australia Provides a theoretical model for partners
(2013) Refereed Key informant interviews Campaign partners, working together to tailor the development of
with target group, Researcher researchers, youth a health improvement initiative.
self-reports and interviews target market The case example “Beat da Binge” seeks to
prevent harm from binge drinking through
alleviating boredom, increasing
empowerment, achievement and pride
(continued)

Table I.
163
social marketing
Best practices in
 Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

4,2

164

Table I.
JSOCM

Author/date Source Methods Focus Subjects Findings

McDonald et al. Global health Quantitative Hand-washing with Australia Found that building on literature evidence
(2011) promotion Secondary research soap Remote Aboriginal helpful in increasing success of campaign
Non-refereed Surveys communities
McShane et al. Canadian Journal of Qualitative Health information Canada Importance of visual learning, community
(2006) Public Health Key informant interviews sources/dissemination Urban Inuit elders, community cohesion, Inuit-non-Inuit
Refereed Focus group interviews distinction.
Core sources – families within Inuit community.
Prefer direct communication, one on one or small
groups
National Social Social marketing Qualitative Cervical screening New Zealand Embarrassment concerning the topic. Lack of
Marketing Centre quarterly Case Maori and Pacific awareness, discussion, and ways of talking
Research Team Non-refereed In-depth interviews, women about issue. Perception–clinics difficult to
(2011) Focus group interviews, Health professionals access and inconvenient.
Telephone interviews N ⫽ 58 Worry about painful procedures, costs
Parker et al. (2011) Journal Of Nutrition Qualitative Diabetes US Prefer:
Education and Focus group interviews Native Family based.
Behavior N⫽8 American women Prominent role by elders.
Refereed Interviews N ⫽ 8 Tribe sites at times conducive to work schedules
Smylie et al. (2009) Health promotion Qualitative Health information Canada Hypothesis supported– understanding local
Practitioner Community case studies Sources/dissemination Urban Metis, Urban Indigenous processes is pre-requisite to
Refereed N⫽3 Inuit, Semirural First effective knowledge translation
Focus group interviews, key Nations Distinct differences in each community as
informant interviews and well as commonalities.
document review Theoretical framework–decolonization.
Common themes: valuing shared experiential
knowledge.
Influence of community structure on health
information dissemination, i.e. word of mouth
in cohesive community, but challenge in
socially fragmented
Preference for within-community messages
Local effects of colonization –replacement of
traditional systems
(continued)
 Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

Author/date Source Methods Focus Subjects Findings

Thackeray and Diabetes spectrum Qualitative Diabetes interventions US Describes how the social marketing process
Neiger (2005) Refereed Application of social Groups at high risk can be used to create diabetes interventions
marketing response tool and for diabetes including that are culturally innovative and relevant.
literature review Aboriginals Use of model incorporates a systematic and
sequential process that includes preliminary
planning, formative research, materials
development and pretesting, implementation
and evaluation.
Shows how to apply the model to diabetes
interventions
Verrall et al. (2005 Preventive medicine Qualitative Increasing dietary Canada Cultural importance and potential motivating
and 2006) Refereed Depth interviews N ⫽ 54 intake Aboriginal Northern effect of family, particularly children, and
International Journal community infants community.
of Circumpolar Health and young children Refocusing the messaging of a campaign to
Refereed focus on the benefits to family and
community.
Radio, useful channel in Northern
communities.
Structure messages in vernacular

Table I.
165
social marketing
Best practices in
 JSOCM these papers, more than half (nine) focus on North American social marketing programs
with two focusing on Aboriginal populations in the USA, and seven reporting on
4,2 Canadian research (one on food issues in Northern Canada, four focusing on First
Nations people, two focusing on Inuit populations, one focusing on both First Nations
and Inuit and one on Metis). The other seven papers center on the southern hemisphere
with six in Australia and one in New Zealand. Of all of the located papers, almost
166 two-thirds (62.5 per cent or ten) are peer reviewed, while the remaining six are not peer
reviewed. (Note that two of the papers by Verrall (2005, 2006) report on different aspects
of one social marketing program – while the titles of these papers do not suggest that a
social marketing was utilized, closer examination shows that this approach was used).
The social problems addressed in the literature focus exclusively on health and
health-related issues including physical activity, nutrition issues, food and diabetes,
accessing health services and or health information, tobacco, binge drinking and health
risks from environmental issues, as well as one each on cervical screening and hand
Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

washing with soap.

Much of the empirical research reported in the published papers is formative
concerning issues related to effective development of specific campaigns. The dominant
methodologies used in the studies are qualitative in nature with 11 of the studies
reporting that they relied primarily on qualitative methodologies including mainly
focus groups (often done with the target audiences) and in-depth key informant
interviews (often done with health professionals working with the target populations),
as well as limited use of other qualitative methods such as case studies, observations
and demonstrations. Two research papers reported utilizing quantitative research
methods (telephone, online and postal surveys) and two papers utilized secondary
research primarily.
Considerable support of the use of focus group methodology is reported, as it is found
to align well and to be in keeping with storytelling traditions that are often a part of the
Aboriginal culture (Parker et al., 2011). As well, there was considerable support for
utilizing focus group moderators with Indigenous connections. Further, the focus group
interviews were often smaller in number (numbers of ⬍ 5) in much of the research
reported.

Research objective 2: summarizing key recommendations from the literature

Observations concerning recommended social marketing practices can be made from
examining the studies that are part of the literature base (Table I). These are expanded
upon and discussed in more detail to meet the second objective of this paper – to
summarize and discuss key conclusions and recommendations regarding social
marketing best practices from the literature. Highlights from the literature that are
mentioned in more than one of the reported studies are identified and discussed below.
The reviewed research points to the importance of segmenting First Nations and
Inuit populations and avoiding pan-Aboriginal campaigns (Environics Research Group,
2011; Ho et al., 2006; Ipsos-Eureka Social Research Institute and Winangali Pty Ltd,
2010a; Smylie et al., 2006). The research results from Smylie et al. (2006), as well as
Environics Research Group (2011) suggest that different attitudes, cultural values
related to community and different levels of knowledge around health-related topics
require segmentation and targeting within groups for effective social marketing.
Selecting a target audience is a key step in the social marketing planning process, but
 what is important here is the notion that numerous sub-segments exist within Best practices in
Aboriginal segments and that this must be remembered in designing social marketing
campaigns.
social marketing
The research also presents an opportunity for considering different segmentation
variables beyond demographics and even psychographics. For example, the level of
knowledge about chronic disease may vary according to the risk factor status for
chronic disease (i.e. further research is required concerning possible relationships 167
between risk factors and receptivity to chronic disease prevention messaging).
Similarly, segmenting by life stage can and should be used to help avoid campaigns
directed at the general public. Geography also appears to be important, as results from
both Canada and Australia demonstrate a difference in audience receptiveness based on
geographic location. For example, Aboriginal people living in urban communities may
exhibit more support for certain behaviour changes (for example, smoking cessation or
diabetes prevention) than those living on reserve or in remote communities where the
Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

cultural norms may reinforce more risky behaviours.

The reviewed research also points to the cultural importance of family, particularly
children, and community in the development of social marketing programs. Refocusing
campaigns away from – or at least as a complement to – the benefits of individual
behaviour change to focusing on the benefits to family and community should be
considered part of the strategic design in preliminary audience analysis and
segmentation (Ipsos-Eureka Social Research Institute and Winangali Pty Ltd, 2010b;
Parker et al., 2011; Verrall et al., 2006). Smylie et al., (2005) and McShane et al. (2006) also
reported on the importance of community and family networks within the urban Inuit
community.
It must be noted that a preponderance of the research findings focuses on the
promotion component of social marketing campaigns. (Perhaps not surprising, as many
social marketing campaigns tend to perhaps over-emphasize this aspect of social
marketing at the expense of other dimensions of strategies; Andreasen, 2002; Donovan,
2011; French et al., 2012; Lefebvre, 2011a and 2011b). The following discussion reflects
these findings. Multi-channel approaches appear to be critical for effective message
dissemination, as findings and recommendations from the extant studies strongly
support the need for multi-channel approaches:
• Three of the studies reviewed (Ho et al., 2006; Ipsos-Eureka Social Research
Institute and Winangali Pty Ltd, 2010b; Parker et al., 2011) identify the universal
value of mainstream and Aboriginal media outlets, including television and radio
for broadcast message dissemination. Radio, in particular, was identified as a
valuable channel in remote communities (Verrall et al., 2006).
• Print media, including posters and brochures, can be an important part of the
overall campaign, and many campaigns identified the value of print materials.
Recommendations from evaluators in Australia, Chickasaw Nation and Canada
suggest that print materials need to be visual and reflect back to the community
appropriate and relevant faces, words and cultural imagery (Ipsos-Eureka Social
Research Institute and Winangali Pty Ltd, 2010b). Verrall et al., 2006 found that
message recall from print materials was not as strong as other channels (especially
radio), and McShane et al. (2006) suggested that materials like pamphlets might
not be as strong as other methods, including audiovisual recordings, which are
more in tune with the Inuit oral communication methods.
 JSOCM • In addition, universally acknowledged in the Canadian and Aboriginal studies
was the value of elders for message dissemination. McShane et al. (2006) found that
4,2 urban Inuit people would even consult with elders who were still living in
Northern Canada for health-related information. In a related vein, numerous
reports identify the importance of face-to-face communication as an important
channel for information dissemination. For example, McShane et al. (2006) found
168 that members of the Inuit community in Ottawa strongly valued this type of
interaction because “it is necessary to see someone in order to understand that
person’s health problems”. Smylie et al., (2005) suggest that the more cohesive the
community, the more effective word-of-mouth approaches are, reinforcing the
importance of face-to-face communication with certain populations or
communities. They also found that, within a First Nations community, the more
stigmatized the topic (e.g. mental health or addiction issues), the more important
individual versus group consultations.
Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

• Another consistent finding was the value of delivering a campaign message

through storytelling. At the community level, there is an obvious connection
between using a storytelling approach and events and social gatherings.
Depending on the audience segment, the most appropriate role model(s) can be
local tribal leaders or peers (Parker et al., 2011; Ho et al., 2006).
• The Environics Research Group (2011) as well as Ipsos-Eureka Social Research
Institute and Winangali Pty Ltd, 2010b identify the increasingly important role
that Internet-based technology is playing, particularly for younger audiences and
educated women. They found that a considerable percentage (40 per cent) of both
Inuit and First Nations people identified the Internet as a valuable resource for
obtaining information about environmental health issues (Environics Research
Group, 2011). The use of social media applications such as Twitter, Facebook and
YouTube offer the potential for cost-effective methods message dissemination but
have not been well researched.
• The review revealed consistent findings concerning social marketing campaign
message development and content. At least two research reports (Parker et al.,
2011; Ipsos-Eureka Social Research Institute and Winangali Pty Ltd, 2010b)
support the use of light/humorous messages with non-authoritarian tone. In
addition, messages need to be designed at the appropriate literacy levels, be
simple, pragmatic and jargon-free (Ipsos-Eureka Social Research Institute and
Winangali Pty Ltd, 2010b; Verrall et al., 2006). Strong visual components reflecting
Aboriginal populations as well as utilizing local people to deliver messages in their
own vernacular was a consistent theme (Ho et al. 2006; Ipsos-Eureka Social
Research Institute and Winangali Pty Ltd, 2010b; Verrall et al., 2006).

Another consistent finding was the need for an overall campaign development to be
reflective of Aboriginal culture (Ipsos-Eureka Social Research Institute and Winangali
Pty Ltd, 2010a; Parker et al., 2010). For example, findings from Canada, Australia and
the Chickasaw Nation in the USA demonstrate the level of integration of cultural norms,
including a sense of fatalism regarding contracting chronic diseases (especially
diabetes) and smoking. Ipsos-Eureka Social Research Institute and Winangali Pty Ltd,
2010a note that negative health behaviors are often shared activities that are important
 for social cohesion. They also found shyness concerning participation in exercise but a Best practices in
positive view of sport and that walking is culturally appropriate. Better understanding
these assumptions and norms can help social marketers develop stronger campaigns
social marketing
while also helping to identify segments of the population most likely to be receptive to
change campaigns.
The reviewed research noted the importance of formative research to inform the
development of the social marketing campaigns (Ho et al., 2006; Ipsos-Eureka Social 169
Research Institute and Winangali Pty Ltd, 2010a; McCalam et al., 2013; Smylie et al.,
2009; Thackeray and Neiger, 2003). While this is considered standard social marketing
practice, it bears repeating that it may be even more important when designing
campaigns targeted to Aboriginal audiences. Reasons for the special importance to be
paid to formative research when working with Aboriginal groups include the need to
understand local Indigenous processes (Smylie et al., 2009), as well as specific practices,
needs and behaviours of different target markets and partners that may be involved in
Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

the development and delivery of the social marketing program (Filiault and Drummond,
2010; McCalman et al., 2013). Further, Ipsos-Eureka Social Research Institute and
Winangali Pty Ltd (2010a) found that remote areas often have very unique needs and
practices that need to be understood to develop effective social marketing campaigns.
Channels of delivery or distribution are also addressed in the literature with findings
pointing to preferences for designing programs to include peer support (Adams et al.,
2011), and findings suggesting that Australian Indigenous men are more likely to prefer
health call centeres for health issues (Filiault and Drummond, 2010). Ipsos-Eureka Social
Research Institute and Winangali Pty Ltd (2010a) point to the importance of social
gatherings as hubs, and Parker et al. (2011) show that native American women prefer
program delivery at tribe sites and, at times, which are conducive to work schedules.
The importance of leveraging social networks and social gatherings as channel
opportunities including message dissemination is strongly endorsed in virtually all
studies and campaigns. For example, McShane et al. (2006) reported that community
events, including community meals and workshops/presentations were preferred.
These findings reinforce the need to conduct formative research to fully understand
these varying needs among different segments.

Summary, discussion and conclusions

The overall purpose of this paper was to identify, review and assess published literature
on social marketing in Aboriginal and Indigenous populations during the previous ten
years, as well as summarize key recommendations from this research. Findings show a
limited number of published research papers utilizing primarily small samples and
qualitative methodologies.
Highlights in terms of practical implications and recommendations for social
marketing practitioners in developing more effective social marketing programs
targeted to Aboriginal populations were identified and, in summary, include:
• the importance of segmenting First Nations and Inuit populations and avoiding
pan-Aboriginal campaigns. This finding aligns with recent research, for example
(Walsh et al., 2010), examining European anti-smoking campaigns and showing
that sub-segments of target audiences respond differently to the promotional
components of such campaigns. Although the Aboriginal literature is extremely
limited, it clearly points to varying sub-segments within Aboriginal target
 JSOCM audiences and the need to consider these sub-segments in developing social
marketing campaigns;
4,2
• the importance of recognizing and understanding established cultural norms that
can influence individual behaviour change. This finding also ties in well with
recent work by Kenny and Hastings (2011) who discuss the importance of
understanding social norms for both “upstream” and “downstream” marketing
170 especially among the young and vulnerable. The research shows clearly that
Aboriginal target markets can frequently (although certainly not always) be seen
as vulnerable, and a clear recognition of cultural norms is a critical part of the
foundation for developing successful social marketing campaigns;
• the importance of developing community-specific and community-level
campaigns for engagement of key stakeholders, leveraging social networks and
influencing decision-makers (including training for health professionals). Recent
literature in social marketing (as well as in commercial marketing) has focused
Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

upon the importance of managing and developing relationships with important

stakeholders (Hastings, 2003; MarQues and Domegan, 2011). Hastings (2011, p. 9)
shows that “successful social change is influenced by the wider social context and
specifically by the actions of their stakeholders – as well as individuals”. Lefebvre
(2011a, 2013) has pointed to theoretical models including social networks to equip
social marketers in tackling “wicked” problems such as social change among those
living in poverty. Lefebvre (2011b, 2013) points to one of the major challenges
facing social marketing as understanding the nature and influence of social
networks on behaviours. The importance of key stakeholders as well as social
networks is clearly supported in the published work on social marketing among
Aboriginal people pointing the way toward the need for the development of more
successful social marketing to be build on a foundation of recognition and
understanding of such stakeholders and networks;
• when focusing on the message dissemination component of social marketing
programs, the importance of leveraging social networks and social gatherings
as opportunities for message dissemination (for example, community meals
and workshops/presentations were preferred channels for information
dissemination), the value of delivering a campaign message through storytelling
and the value of utilizing elders for message dissemination. These findings also tie
in well and are consistent with current writings in social marketing concerning
creating and overcoming resistance to persuasive messages promoting risky
behaviors and reducing resistance to messages promoting healthy behaviors
(Petrova and Cialdini, 2011); and
• the importance of formative research to develop solutions that are more likely to be
adopted by target audiences was another common theme arising from this review.
The role of formative research in social marketing programs is well established
and has been shown to be effective in the development of social marketing
strategies (Bellows et al., 2008; Gittelsohn et al., 2006).

While these best practices provide useful insights for social marketing practitioners, one
must exercise caution in that the research literature in this area suffers from key
limitations including the fact that the amount of research directly focused here is very
 sparse and over reliant upon small samples and qualitative methodologies. Future Best practices in
research is required before the findings reported in the literature (often based on single
studies) can be confirmed and generalized to other social marketing programs and
social marketing
countries.

Assessment of the research base and directions for future research

One of the key implications of the current literature review is that more empirical 171
research is required on social marketing campaigns targeted to Aboriginal and
Indigenous populations in virtually all areas. Very little published research was
uncovered, and yet disadvantaged health outcomes continue to be well documented in
North America, Australia and New Zealand in particular. Building social marketing
campaigns on foundations of empirical research will go a long way to improving the
probabilities for success (McCalman et al., 2013; McDonald et al., 2011).
While this paper addresses a gap in the literature, a fruitful avenue for future
Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

research would be to build upon this review focused on social marketing and Aboriginal
people. As described in the Methodology section of this paper, searching in related
tangential fields, such as “health research and Aboriginal” or “change research and
Aboriginal”, offers the potential to build our knowledge base. Examples of papers that
might be included in such an expanded search would be the work of Satterfield et al.
(2003) who conducted a literature search of 16 published community-based lifestyle
interventions (i.e. not social marketing) to prevent type-2 diabetes. The studies reviewed
in this work focused on populations disproportionately burdened by diabetes including
American Aboriginals (as well as other groups). It is interesting and important to note
that this review by Satterfield et al also found a very limited number of papers (N ⫽ 16)
in the area reviewed, and similar to the authors of the current paper, they conclude with
a call for conducting and publishing research on well-designed community-based
diabetes programs.
Extending the literature review outside the current focus to include such tangential
writings would help build understanding of Aboriginal populations and health
behaviors. For example, France et al., (2010) reported on a qualitative study in West
Australia aimed at identifying barriers that health professionals encounter when
addressing alcohol use by Aboriginal pregnant women. Knowledge of such barriers
could potentially be of use to social marketers designing social marketing programs. In
addition, literature is available on socially disadvantaged groups generally, but not
focused on Aboriginal or Indigenous populations specifically. For example, Guillaumier
et al. (2012) in Drug and Alcohol Review, focused a systematic review of the effectiveness
of anti-tobacco mass media campaigns and socially disadvantaged groups (found weak
study designs in this area as well and recommends improved methodological rigor).
Future research is needed to expand the literature review more broadly where such
tangential research is identified, summarized and assessed to build baseline knowledge
to inform the development of social marketing programs targeted to Aboriginal groups.
The difficulties in approaching this expansion of the literature review are considerable
in terms of the quantity of tangential literature that could be relevant – suggesting the
need for biting off chunks of this related literature, and reviewing and assessing how it
can affect our understanding of conducting effective social marketing among
Aboriginal peoples.
 JSOCM We further conclude that future research is needed to specifically utilize and test (as
appropriate) the recommendations developed in the current literature and report on their
4,2 success to build a chain of evidence concerning social marketing practices with
Aboriginal and Indigenous populations. We note the critical need for conducting and
publishing research on social marketing programs and Aboriginal populations
worldwide.
172 One of the key weaknesses in the existing literature base is the lack of use of
theoretical frameworks. The research team reviewed only one paper that utilized a
stated theoretical framework for the paper (Smylie et al., 2009 which utilizes
decolonization theory from the 1996 Canadian Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
as a theoretical framework for the paper). Future research would benefit from utilizing
appropriate theoretical frameworks rooted in both social marketing as well as
Aboriginal cultures.
Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

References
Adams, K., Paasse, G. and Clinch, D. (2011), “Peer-support preferences and readiness-to-change
behaviour for chronic disease prevention in an urban indigenous population”, Australian
Social Work, Vol. 64 No. 1, pp. 55-67.
Andreasen, A.R. (2002), “Marketing social marketing in the social change marketplace”, Journal of
Public Policy and Marketing, Vol. 21 No 1, pp. 3-13.
Andreasen, A. (2006), Social Marketing in the 21st Century, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Andreasen, A.R. and Kotler, P. (2003), Strategic Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations, Prentice
Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Bellows, L., Anderson, J., Gould, S.M. and Auld, G. (2008), “Formative research and strategic
development of a physical activity component to a social marketing campaign for obesity
prevention in preschoolers”, Journal Community Health, Vol. 33 No. 2, pp. 169-178.
Donovan, R. (2011), “Social marketing’s myth understandings”, Journal of Social Marketing, Vol. 1
No. 1, pp. 8-16.
Environics Research Group (2011), “First Nations and Inuit Environmental Health Awareness
Campaign Baseline Survey”, Health Canada, available at: http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/200/
301/pwgsc-tpsgc/por-ef/health/2010/112-09/summary.pdf (accessed 1 August 2013).
Filiault, S. and Drummond, M. (2010), “Health call centres and Australian men: using global
perspectives to inform local practice”, Critical Public Health, Vol. 19 Nos 3/4, pp. 457-474.
France, K., Henley, N., Payne, J., D’Antoine, H., Bartu, A., O’Leary, C., Elliott, E. and Bower, C.
(2010), “Health professionals addressing alcohol use with pregnant women in Western
Australia: barriers and strategies for communication”, Substance Use and Misuse, Vol. 45
No. 10, pp. 1474-1490.
French, J. (2011a), “Why nudging is not enough”, Journal of Social Marketing, Vol. 1 No. 2,
pp. 154-162.
French, J. (2011b), “Business as unusual: the contribution of social marketing to government
policymaking and strategy development”, Hastings, G., Angus, K. and Bryant, C. (Eds), The
Sage Handbook of Social Marketing, Sage, London, pp. 359-374.
French, J., Merritt, R. and Reynolds, L. (2012), Social Marketing Casebook, Sage, London.
Gittelsohn, J., Steckler, A., Johnson, C., Pratt, C., Grierser, M. Pickrel, J., Stone, E., Conway, T.,
Coombs, D. and Staten, L. (2006), “Formative research in school and community-based
health programs and studies: ‘State of the Art’ and the TAAG approach”, Health Education
And Behaviour, Vol. 33 No. 1, pp. 25-39.
 Goldberg, M. (1995), “Social marketing: are we fiddling while Rome burns?”, Journal of Consumer Best practices in
Psychology, Vol. 4 No. 4, pp. 347-370.
Guillaumier, A., Bonevski, B. and Paul, C. (2012), “Anti-tobacco mass media and socially
social marketing
disadvantaged groups: a systematic and methodological review”, Drug and Alcohol Review,
Vol. 31 No. 5, pp. 698-708.
Hastings, G. (2003), “Relational paradigms in social marketing”, Journal of Macromarketing,
Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 6-15. 173
Hastings, G. (2011), “Introduction: a movement in social marketing”, Hastings, G., Angus, K. and
Bryant, C. (Eds), The Sage Handbook of Social Marketing, Sage, London, pp. 1-12.
Hastings, G. and Angus, K. (2011), “When is social marketing not social marketing?”, Journal of
Social Marketing, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 45-53.
Health Canada (2012), First Nations and Inuit Health Social Marketing, Health Canada Files,
Ottawa, Fall.
Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

Ho, L., Gittelsohn, S., Harris, S. and Ford, E. (2006), “Development of an integrated diabetes
prevention program with first nations in Canada”, Health Promotion International, Vol. 21
No. 2, pp. 88-97.
Ipsos-Eureka Social Research Institute and Winangali (2010a), “Developmental research to inform
the local indigenous community campaigns to promote better health”, Project No:
09024065, May.
Ipsos-Eureka Social Research Institute and Winangali (2010b), “Developmental research to inform
the national action to reduce smoking rates social marketing campaign”, Project No:
09024065, June.
Jenkins, A.L., Gyorkos, T.W., Culman, K.N., Pekeles, G.S. and Mills, E.L. (2003), “An overview of
factors influencing the health of Canadian inuit infants”, International Journal Circumpolar
Health, Vol. 62 No. 1, pp. 17-39.
Kenny, P. and Hastings, G. (2011), “Understanding social norms: upstream and down stream
applications for social marketers”, Hastings, G., Angus, K. and Bryant, C. (Eds), The Sage
Handbook of Social Marketing, Sage, London, pp. 61-79.
Kotler, P. and Lee, N. (2008), Social Marketing Influencing Behaviors for Good, Sage, Thousand
Oaks, CA.
Kotler, P. and Roberto, E. (1989), Social Marketing, The Free Press, NY.
Kotler, P., Roberto, N. and Lee, N. (2002), Social Marketing: Improving Quality of Life, Sage,
Thousand Oaks, CA.
Lefebvre, R.C. (2009), “Notes from the field”, Social Marketing Quarterly, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 142-144.
Lefebvre, R. (2011a), “Social models for social marketing; marketing: social diffusion, social
networks, social capital, social determinants and social franchising”, Hastings, G.,
Angus, K. and Bryant, C. (Eds), The Sage Handbook of Social Marketing, Sage, London,
pp. 32-43.
Lefebvre, R.C. (2011b), “An integrative model for social marketing”, Journal of Social Marketing,
Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 54-72.
Lefebvre, R.C. (2013), Social Marketing and Social Change: Strategies and Tools for Improving
Health, Well-Being, and the Environment, Wiley, San Francisco, CA.
McCalman, L., Bainbridge, R., Shakeshaft, A., Singleton, M. and Doran, C. (2013), “Tailoring a
response to youth binge drinking in the aboriginal Australian community: a grounded
theory study”, BMC Public Health, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 726-735.
 JSOCM McDonald, E., Slavin, N., Bailie, R. and Schobben, X. (2011), “No germs on me: a social marketing
campaign to promote hand-washing with soap in remote Australian aboriginal
4,2 communities”, Global Health Promotion, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 62-65.
McKenzie-Mohr, D., Lee, N.R., Schultz, P.W. and Kotler, P. (2012), Social Marketing to Protect the
Environment: What Works?, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
McShane, K., Smylie, J., Hastings, P., Martin, C., Tungasuvvingat Inuit Family Resource Centre
174 (2006), “Guiding health promotion efforts with urban inuit: a community-specific
perspective on health information sources and dissemination strategies”, Canadian Journal
of Public Health, Vol. 97 No. 4, pp. 296-299.
MacComm International Inc. (2011), Environmental Scan and Evidence Review of Social
Marketing for Aboriginal/Indigenous Populations, Health Canada, Ottawa.
Madill, J. and Abele, F. (2007), “From public education to social marketing: the evolution of the
Canadian heritage anti-racism social marketing program”, Journal of Nonprofit and Public
Sector Marketing, Vol. 17, Nos 1/2, pp. 27-53.
Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

Majid, K. and Grier, S. (2010), “The food mail program: ‘when pigs fly’ – dispatching access and
affordability to healthy food”, Social Marketing Quarterly, Vol. 16 No. 3, pp. 78-95.
Marques, S. and Domegan, C. (2011), “Relationship marketing and social marketing”, in
Hastings, G., Angus, K. and Bryant, C. (Eds), The Sage Handbook of Social Marketing, Sage,
London, pp. 44-60.
National Social Marketing Centre Research Team (2011), “‘Don’t just say it matters’: reducing the
inequalities in cervical screening in New Zealand”, Social Marketing Quarterly, Vol. 17
No. 4, pp. 41-53.
Parker, S., Hunter, T., Briley, C., Miracle, S., Hermann, J., Van Delinder, J. and Standridge, J. (2011),
“Formative assessment using social marketing principles to identify health and nutrition
perspectives of native American women living within the Chickasaw nation boundaries in
Oklahoma”, Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, Vol. 43 No. 1, pp. 55-62.
Petrova, P. and Cialdini, R. (2011), “Novel approaches towards resistance and persuasion”,
Hastings, G., Angus, K. and Bryant, C. (Eds), The Sage Handbook of Social Marketing, Sage,
London, pp. 107-122.
Public Health Agency of Canada (2008), “The Chief Public Health Officer’s Report on The State of
Public Health in Canada 2008”, available at: www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/cphorsphc-respcacsp/
2008/fr-rc/cphorsphc-respcacsp06b-eng.php#2 (accessed 7 September 2012).
Public Health Agency of Canada (2011), “Diabetes in Canada: facts and figures from a public
health perspective”, available at: www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/cd-mc/publications/diabetes-
diabete/facts-figures-faits-chiffres-2011/index-eng.php?utm_source⫽Stakeholder_site&
utm (accessed 30 August 2012).
Rothschild, M. (1999), “Carrots, sticks and promises: a conceptual framework for the management
of public health and social issue behaviors”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 63, No. 4, pp. 24-37.
Satterfield, D.W., Volanskly, M., Caspersen, C.J., Engelgau, M.M., Bowman, B.A., Gregg, E.W.,
Geiss, L.S., Hosey, G.M., May, J. and Vinicor, F. (2003), “Community-based lifestyle
interventions to prevent type 2 diabetes”, Diabetes Care, Vol. 26 No. 9, pp. 2643-2652.
Smylie, J. (2000), “A guide for health professionals working with Aboriginal peoples: executive
summary”, Japan Society Of Obstetricks Gynecologist”, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 1056-1061.
Smylie, J., Kaplan-Myrth, N. and McShane, K., Métis Nation of Ontario-Ottawa Council,
Pikwakanagan First Nation, and Tungasuvvingat Inuit Family Resource Centre (2009),
“Indigenous knowledge translation: baseline findings in a qualitative study of the
pathways of health”, Health Promotion Practice, Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 436-446.
 Stead, M., Gordon, R., Angus, K. and McDermott, L. (2007), “A systematic review of social Best practices in
marketing effectiveness”, Health Education, Vol. 107 No. 2, pp. 126-191.
Thackeray, R. and Neiger, B.L. (2003), “Use of social marketing to develop culturally innovative
social marketing
diabetes interventions”, Diabetes Spectrum, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 15-20.
Verrall, T. and Gray-Donald, K. (2005), “Impact of a food-based approach to improve iron nutrition
of at-risk infants in Northern Canada”, Preventive Medicine, Vol. 40 No. 6, pp. 896-903.
Verrall, T., Napash, L., Leclerc, L., Mercure, S. and Gray-Donald, K. (2006), “Community-based 175
communication strategies to promote infant iron nutrition in Northern Canada”,
International Journal of Circumpolar Health, Vol. 65 No. 1, pp. 65-78.
Walsh, G., Hassan, L., Shiu, E., Andrews, C. and Hastings, G. (2010), “Segmentation in social
marketing: insights from the European Union’s multi-country, antismoking campaign”,
European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 44 Nos 7/8, pp. 1140-1164.

About the authors

Downloaded by RMIT University At 13:41 22 March 2016 (PT)

Judith J. Madill is Full Professor and Holder of the Paul Desmarais Professorship in Marketing in
the Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa. Judith Madill is the corresponding author
and can be contacted at: madill@telfer.uottawa.ca
Libbie Wallace is Senior Marketing Advisor, Marketing and Communications Directorate,
Health Canada.
Karine Goneau-Lessard is Chief of Marketing, Marketing and Communications Directorate,
Health Canada.
Robb Stuart MacDonald is a Senior Consultant, MacComm Social Marketing.
Celine Dion is a Marketing Officer, Marketing and Communications Directorate, Health
Canada.

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com

Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints