Mike RamosThink of a time where you saw an ad on TV, poster, or billboard that inspired you to take a stand or stop something you had no idea was causing a problem to the environment. This capacity to change human behavior is the soul of social marketing.
Social marketing is responsible for a collective change in human behavior, trend or pattern which is done towards a common goal like inspiring a young demography of a vibrant society to end drunk driving or the working-class demography of the same society to end racial, ethnic or gender discrimination in the workplace.
There are key instances that highlight the essence of social marketing in respect to health, the environment, social issues and several others which is the focus here. At the end of this write up, you would be able to extensively understand the concept of social marketing and what it entails.
- Getting Hispanic Families Residing In The West Dallas Area To Adopt Usage Of Child Car Seats
The Injury Prevention Centre of Greater Dallas (IPCGD) noticed a pattern amongst the Hispanic community residing in West Dallas where a large percentage of Hispanic babies and toddlers were rarely kept in car seats. Research showed that the number fell short to less than 15% which was drastically low compared to other races or communities.
Thanks to valuable insight about the Hispanic women community, the IPCGD was able to close in on what the actual problems were, the motivation behind them and what exactly they needed to do to turn the situation around. This emphasizes the fact that insight is a key factor in driving socio cultural change when it comes to social marketing.
IPCGD discovered that there were safety concern Hispanic mothers had towards automobile travel. They felt that their lives in its entirety revolved around God.
This implied that they believed the safety of their children rested in the hands of God because he is the one that giveth life and can also take it whenever he deemed fit.
What the IPCGD did was tap into their existing belief about God being the protector and determiner of life, give incentives (reduced price for the children car seats) and create avenue for them to learn about the dangers of not using children car seats.
They liaised with local priests who had a level of impact around these communities to bless the car seats before getting them across to the Hispanic mothers. The next step was to invite these mothers to workshops focusing on the best and safest practices when in traffic or commuting in a vehicle at no cost. They also focused on educating them about the various ways to use a child car seat, what to avoid and what the best practices were.
In reality, this approach turned the situation around. There was an exponential growth in the rate of child car seat adoption.
- Eliminating Killer Lung Disease By Reinforcing Healthy Lifestyle Benefits
In England, there was a sudden spike in cases of (COPD) Chronic Pulmonary Disease amongst a specific demography. This disease has a reputation for killing more than 35,000 yearly and England’s Department of Health could allow this continue.
The downside about this disease is it does not have an outright cure. To be safe from it, there has to be a conscious lifestyle change. This was how the Department of Health sprang into action with a goal in mind which was to “reduce the number of COPD cases vastly.
With valuable insight, they were able to identify the audience cluster who needed to be at the center of all the activities that would be carried out. What The Department of Health did was to pay close attention to the cluster in a bid to understand their lifestyle, state of mind and motivations. It was at this point they deduced that a large percentage of the cluster did not realize they had COPD.
This information pointed them in the exact destination to travel. Health practitioners were tasked with sensitization about the disease to all members of the cluster inclusive of those who had it and those who did not. They also ensured that those who were Asthmatic and prone to COPD had easy access to inhalers and all medications needed. The social marketing tactic deployed here was to spread the word about the preventive measures on a personal level to the target audience.
- Reducing Train Accidents In Australia With “Dumb Ways To Die” Video
The Australian Metro discovered that the numbers of accidents occurring around the metro station rose alarmingly. If left unchecked, it could have been a safety issue for the Australian Metro. They needed a way to condition people to be safer around trains or be vigilant and extra cautious in the metro station.
The insight was that some Australians that frequently used the metro did not see any need to be safe around the trains because by nature, it should be a safe means of transportation.
On a positive note, the socio-cultural change was achieved via a catchy song with fun lyrics that garnered over 200 million views. A few months after the launch of dumb ways to die, there was a 21% reduction in accidents around the trains.
- Reduction In Paper Usage To Save Our Rain Forests.
This was a clear social marketing effort that conditioned people to reconsider the amount of paper towels that they were using in public washrooms. Organized by (WFF) The World Wildlife Fund for Nature, the Save PAer, Save The Planet, this social cause effort featured a color-coded (green and black) approach with the picture of South America that turns black when the towels have been dispensed to a large extent.
The forced users to seek alternative means to ensure the earth is preserved.
- Skipping Specific Letters On Major Publications To Rekindle Interest In Blood Donations
There was a decrease in the number of people that donated blood which in turn meant that supply to the blood bank was affected. The job that needed to be done was clear and direct which was get as many young people as possible within the age band of 17-25 to donate consider donating blood.
What the (NHS) National Health Service did was to omit the two blood types that were in high demand (O&A) from some words in the headlines of key news releases.
This effort had an estimated reach of 3 billion and increased the number of blood donations by 47%.
Social Marketing has the capacity to change the world in itself. All that’s required is valuable insight, the right audience for segmentation and effective planning, pathway for execution and partnership with key drivers.
