Social Marketing

Social marketing refers to the use of marketing techniques to motivate behavioral change for the well-being of individuals, communities, or society. Social marketing may be undertaken by governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), or, less commonly, by businesses. Well-known targets of social marketing campaigns include behaviors related to public health and safety, environmental health, and community involvement. Examples include anti-smoking, anti-obesity, and responsible drinking campaigns. Social marketing occasionally addresses topics that are culturally sensitive, such as AIDS prevention, organ donation, and family planning and contraception.

Social marketing is one essential element of sustainable marketing. In their book Sustainable Marketing, Diane Martin and John Schouten describe sustainable marketing as both marketing sustainably (i.e., conducting marketing activities according to principles of environmental and social sustainability) and marketing sustainability (e.g., using marketing to influence social behaviors in order to help bring about a culture of sustainability). Social marketing is an indispensible tool for achieving the latter objective.

The academic history of social marketing goes back to the mid-20th century. In 1952, G. D. Wiebe argued that marketing or advertising techniques should be applied to the promotion of good citizenship. In 1971, Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman legitimized social marketing as a study and a practice in the marketing discipline. Since 1999, the Social Marketing Institute has been working as a bridge between research and practice. Currently, journals such as Social Marketing Quarterly and the Social Marketing Journal are devoted to the topic, and more mainstream journals welcome new advances in understanding social marketing.

In practice, social marketing for environmentally related purposes has an even longer history. For example, during World War II social marketing techniques helped promote strategically important civic involvement in practices such as resource conservation and home food production. One poster created to encourage Americans to recycle materials for the war effort read, “Salvage Scrap to Blast the Jap.” Another, which encouraged fuel conservation through car sharing, read, “When you ride ALONE, you ride with Hitler! Join a car-sharing club TODAY!” The U.S. government encouraged wartime home food production with a widespread “Victory Garden” campaign, encouraging Americans with posters bearing taglines such as “War Gardens for Victory: Grow Vitamins at Your Kitchen Door,” “Sow the Seeds of Victory,” and many others.

[Page 466]Beginning roughly in the 1960s, there has been strong societal interest in preserving the natural environment. Early environmentally focused social marketing in the United States included the “Don't Be a Litterbug,” “Give a Hoot—Don't Pollute,” and “Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires” campaigns.

At the onset of the 21st century, many regarded the task of changing the global consumer culture into a culture of sustainability as one of the most critical challenges facing humanity. Social marketing falls at the center of this task. The underpinnings of culture are held in place by myths and stories that communicate the values by which society lives. Social marketing, done well, has the power to help rewrite the stories that guide global consumer culture. Government, to some extent, and especially nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), continue to market sustainability. However, the real and emerging power of communicating with consumers is in the hands of businesses.

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