Business

Everyday, millions of people all over the world are exposed to a barrage of media campaigns that promote a specific product or service that promise to make them feel younger, happier, healthier or even sexier than most people. From whitening products to massage services, the media declares the importance of having or owning such products so life would be better. Nonetheless, there are also more pressing issues that must be given solution by NGOS, government sectors and other institutions like millennium goals, global warming, increased prevalence of diseases like AIDS, negative habits like drunk driving and a lot more. Social marketing campaigns are powerful in reaching out to the public particularly when it’s a community based social marketing campaigns.

Social marketing campaigns are applications from the social marketing theory. Social marketing is defined by the National Social Marketing Centre 2006 as “systematic application of marketing, along with other concepts and techniques to achieve specific behavioral goals for a social good”. So if statistics reveal that smoking cause respiratory diseases that cuts productivity, then health agencies can launch social marketing campaigns that would influence the public to quit smoking. This has been currently practiced in some Asian countries where packs of cigarettes contain vivid images of sick lungs.

Social marketing campaigns can deliver effective messages and promote awareness to the public especially when the medium used is powerful For example, London’s media ad using social marketing campaigns directed towards use of seatbelt is powerful. This was a result of a focused campaign since they depicted gruesome accidents that influence behavioral change among drivers. However implementing social marketing campaigns is not that easy because people do not often change behavior especially when it’s a habitual act like smoking, drinking or reckless driving. This is why it is important for social marketing campaigns to identify barriers to behavior so the public can be influenced effectively. Statistical research for social marketing campaigns are also important for data increase credibility of reports. Also, using community based social marketing campaigns are quite efficient since they reach out to the people on a more personal level. Cost is another thing to consider since people measure the price of giving up or starting a habit. Technology like the Internet has also been popularly used for creating social marketing campaigns. Nonetheless, regardless of strategy adopted, social marketing campaigns are good for the rest of humanity.