Question

Reflect on the content from this course and consider the health issues present in your community.(u.s.)

1. Describe a health concern or service in your community( U.S.) that needs improved social marketing.
2. What recommendations do you have to improve the social marketing related to this health concern or service?
3. How could improved social marketing address this issue?

Answer 1

1.

• Covid 19 infection
• Physical Activity and Nutrition.
• Overweight and Obesity.
• Tobacco.
• Substance Abuse.
• HIV/AIDS.
• Mental Health.
• Injury and Violence.
• Environmental Quality.

2. All the above mentioned need improved social marketing

3 and 4

“Social marketing is a process that applies marketing principles and techniques to create, communicate, and deliver value in order to influence target audience behaviors that benefit society (public health, safety, the environment and communities) as well as the target audience.” Philip Kotler, Nancy Lee and Michael Rothschild (2006)

Individual action for conducive behaviour towards prevention of certain health problems (non-communicable diseases: obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc.) and health-related events like accidents, smoking, drug addiction, etc. carry important significance. Unless people are made aware of their own health problems and the implications of their self-reliant activity, any national level health programme/project will not be successful. Mere provision of healthcare service without its proper use and utilisation indicates the failure of the programme. Hence social marketing is needed to motivate people towards health promotive behaviour and to increase participation in healthcare programmes.

Social marketing is the practice of utilising philosophy, tools and practices of commercial marketing for health and/or social programmes.

Social marketing evolved as a concept by Phillip Kotler (often referred to as the ‘father of marketing’) in the 1970s. However, it has only been in the past couple of decades that this form of marketing has matured into a reality, with many companies incorporating this marketing style into their products and services. So what is the social marketing concept? The concept of social marketing is different from the traditional form of ‘commercial marketing’. Although every form of marketing aims to boost the sales of products and services of a firm, and help a company earn profit, the concept of societal marketing differs in origin. By following marketing ethics incorporated in societal marketing, firms not only ensure that there is profit in the business, they also take care of the fact that there is well-being and growth of society. Andreasen and Drumwright suggest formulating ethical standards to govern social marketing as a whole and to develop procedures for discussing and resolving ethical issues. As mentioned by Smith a more elaborate and integrative social contract theory is important. It gives recognition to community norms, provides a process for determining their appropriateness and proposes a method for resolving differences in norms across communities. Further, Kirby and Andreasen offer a practical and tangible mechanism by introducing the Social Marketing Ethical Assessment Matrix which can help us to develop a concrete, clear and accessible mechanism to distinguish the issues and to guide our decision making.

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Healthcare is an expression of concern for fellow human beings. It is defined as a: “multitude of services rendered to individuals, families or communities by the agents of the health services or professions, for the purpose of promoting, maintaining, monitoring or restoring health”. Such services may be staffed, organised, administered and financed in every imaginable way, but they all have one thing in common: people are being served i.e. diagnosed, helped, cured, educated and rehabilitated by health personnel and supported by community leaders and community volunteers. Further, Millennium Development Goals^7,8 place health at the heart of development and represent commitments by governments throughout the world to do more to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, to reduce child mortality, to improve maternal health, to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, to ensure environmental sustainability and to develop a global partnership for development towards health-related goals

This article aims to highlight various components of social marketing which will eventually benefit programme planners to organise healthcare services with positive outcomes, and the community for its sustainable behaviour change.