Social marketing is a strategic approach to promoting social change and influencing social behaviors for the benefit of society as a whole. It is a discipline that aims to address various social issues and bring about positive transformations by incorporating marketing techniques and principles. Unlike commercial marketing, which focuses on selling products and services, social marketing focuses on promoting behaviors and attitudes that improve social well-being.
The core objective of social marketing is to design and implement initiatives that encourage individuals, groups, and communities to adopt desired behaviors or abandon harmful ones. This may involve raising awareness about important social issues, providing information and education, creating persuasive messages, and utilizing various communication channels to disseminate these messages effectively.
Social marketing campaigns often target specific audiences based on demographics, geographic locations, or socio-economic factors. They utilize market research techniques to understand the target audience's needs, motivations, and barriers to change. By understanding these factors, social marketers can tailor their interventions and communication strategies to maximize their impact and effectiveness.
Measurement and evaluation are critical aspects of social marketing. It involves monitoring and assessing the outcomes and impacts of campaigns and interventions to determine their success in achieving intended behavioral changes. This can help inform future strategies and optimize resource allocation for maximum social impact.
Overall, social marketing is a powerful tool for social change, combining marketing principles with a social mission to address pressing issues, influence behaviors, and improve social well-being.
The term "Social Marketing" originated in the 1970s and combines the concepts of "social" and "marketing". The word "social" refers to society or community, while "marketing" relates to the promotion and selling of products or services.
According to Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman, who popularized the term in their book "Social Marketing: An Approach to Planned Social Change" (1971), social marketing refers to the application of marketing principles and techniques to promote positive behavioral change for the betterment of society. It focuses on persuading individuals or target audiences to adopt voluntary and beneficial behaviors that will enhance their well-being or that of society as a whole.
The concept of social marketing evolved from commercial marketing, which aims to promote the consumption of products or services to satisfy individual desires.