Understanding the
Environment for a Social
Marketing Initiative
Emerson College Institute for
Social Marketing and Health Communication
June 7, 2016
Translation
“Planning before work
protects you from regret.
May you have prosperity
and peace.”
What is the Purpose of the Social
Marketing Initiative?
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Think broadly here
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In deciding the purpose of an initiative, planners must consider two
fundamental questions:
*What do we ultimately want to achieve?
*What difference will it make?
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Purpose does not deal with the question of “What do we want our
audience to do?
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The purpose can also be called the “goal”
Examples of a
Campaign Purpose
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Issue: Unintended pregnancy
Purpose: Reduce number of teen pregnancies
Issue: Drinking and driving
Purpose: Reduce injuries from underage
drinking and driving
Issue: Mentoring
Purpose: Increase number of caring adult relationships
in the lives of children
What is the Focus of the Social
Marketing Initiative?
When choosing a focus for your initiative,
the fundamental question to ask is:
What actions or behavior change
could reduce the problem?
Example of Choosing a Focus

Reduce the number of unintended
pregnancies among teenage girls in
Boston high schools
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Possible Foci:
-Birth control
-Abstinence
-Parent-child communication about sex
Example of Choosing a Focus
Purpose:
Reduce unwanted negative
health outcomes associated
with sports-related
concussions
Deciding on the Focus of a
Social Marketing Initiative
Factors to Consider in Choosing a Focus
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Behavior Change Potential
Repetitiveness of Behavior
Gateway Behavior Potential
Market Impact
Redundancy
Organizational Match
Funding Sources and Appeal
Source: Lee & Kotler, 2015; McKenzie-Mohr, 2011
Behavior Change Potential
Do we have a realistic probability of
getting people to change a
particular behavior?
Repetitiveness of Behavior
Can you make a substantial
difference with behaviors that
don’t need to be repeated or
require limited repetition?
Gateway Behavior Potential
Are there behaviors that can be
changed that have potential as a
gateway to other behaviors?
Market Impact
How many people would benefit
from a behavior change initiative
with a particular focus?
Redundancy
Is this issue already being
addressed by other organizations
and campaigns?
Organizational Match

Is this a good match for the sponsoring
organization?
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Is it consistent with the organization’s
mission and culture?
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Does the organization have staff expertise
to develop and manage the effort?
Funding Sources and Appeals
 Which
focus has the greatest
funding potential?
 Which
foci run the risk of alienating
constituents, partners, and
supporters?
What Is the
Behavioral Competition?
What are the behaviors that compete with
the behavior you want your audience to
adopt?
Target behavior:
Wearing a football helmet with a proper fit
Competing behavior:
Seeking comfort on a hot day
What Is the
Message Competition?
What are the messages that compete with
the message you wish to communicate to
your audience?
Promotional message:
Eat less saturated fat in your diet
Competing message:
McDonald’s commercials for the Big Mac
Setting Objectives
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Behavioral Objectives
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Knowledge Objectives
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Belief Objectives
Source: Lee & Kotler, 2015
Behavioral Objectives
Determine the exact thing you want your
audience to do
 The behavior should be simple, clear, and
doable, even though it might not be considered
easy
 You should be able to picture your audience
performing the behavior (Could I do it myself?)
 Audience members should be able to determine
for themselves that they have performed the
behavior
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Knowledge Objectives
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What is essential for your audience to
know?
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Knowledge objectives relate to stats,
facts, and other information and skills your
audience members will find motivating
and/or key to performing the behavior
Examples of Important Knowledge
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Stats on the risk of current behavior
Stats on the benefits of proposed behavior
Facts on attractive alternatives
Facts that correct misperceptions
Info on how to perform the behavior
Resources available for assistance
Locations where goods or service can be
purchased
Laws or fines that might not be understood
Belief Objectives

What are the attitudes, opinions, feelings,
or values that you want your audience to
hold?
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Current beliefs might need to be altered or
you might need to instill new beliefs
Potential Beliefs of the Audience
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Will personally experience the benefits of
adopting the desired behavior
Are at risk
Will be able to perform the desired behavior
successfully
Individual behavior can make a difference
Won’t be viewed negatively by others if they
adopt the behavior
Costs of adopting the behavior will be worth it
Negative consequences will be minimal
Expressing Objectives
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In the early stages of planning, the three
types of objectives can be expressed in a
more general fashion
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Before developing a plan for evaluation,
the objectives should be converted to a
form that is quantifiable both in terms of
time and scope (more on this later in the
week)
SWOT Analysis
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Internal Forces
*STRENGTHS to maximize
*WEAKNESSES to minimize
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External Forces
*OPPORTUNITIES to capture
*THREATS to prepare for
*See handout for more detail
References
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Lee, N. R., & Kotler, P. (2015). Social
marketing: Changing behaviors for good (5th
ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
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McKenzie-Mohr, D. (2011). Fostering sustainable
behavior: An introduction to community-based
social marketing (3rd ed.). Gabriola Island, BC:
New Society Publishers.