Pub Date : 2022-03-28DOI: 10.1177/15245004221077965
D. J. Olson, C. Purdy, R. Harrington, Dan Marun, J. E. García
Background and Situation Analysis For more than 50 years, social marketing has been used to address a variety of health issues in the Global South, including the promotion and distribution of condoms for family planning and HIV prevention. Condom social marketers aim not just to increase sales of their own brands; they seek to increase demand for all condoms—whether it be through the commercial, non-profit or public sectors. The number of male condoms distributed through social marketing increased from 591 million in 27 countries in 1991 to more than 1.5 billion in 66 countries in 2020. Concurrent with this growth in the number of countries, the size of the condom markets also grew in most, if not all, of those countries. Target Audience(s) The primary audiences of condom social marketing programs are low income and high-risk populations in the developing countries of Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. They often focus on young people and high risk groups—such as sex workers and their partners, injecting drug users, soldiers, and migrant workers—who do not always have reliable access to affordable condoms. As condom social marketing programs mature, they often use market segmentation to add higher priced condoms aimed at middle-income and even higher-income consumers, and the profits are used to “cross-subsidize” the lower-priced brands. Behavioral Objective To increase purchase and use of condoms, particularly with low-income people and certain high risk individuals (such as young people, commercial sex workers, injecting drug users and men who have sex with men), by selling them through a wide variety of sales outlets at highly subsidized prices. Strategy The authors examined mature condom social marketing programs in Ethiopia, Brazil and Indonesia where the growth in condom social marketing was accompanied by similar growth of the total condom market. They looked at the evolution and sales of these three programs, and the larger condom universes in those countries. The authors were interested to know if social marketing programs help expand the larger condom markets, and not just grow sales of their own products. Results Based on the evidence, the authors believe that these three programs contributed significantly to creating larger markets even though there were surely other forces at work (such as changes in government policy or fears of being infected with HIV). This article adds to the limited literature on the effect of successful condom social marketing programs on their broader markets. Recommendations for Social Marketing Practice The authors make five recommendations for social marketers interested in replicating the success of these programs: 1) keeping one product in each product category highly affordable, 2) applying market segmentation through cross-subsidization, 3) showing flexibility in distribution, 4) pushing the limits on behavior change communication, and 5) building the product category (Neuga
{"title":"How Social Marketing Contributed to Expanding Size of Overall Condom Markets in Ethiopia, Brazil, and Indonesia","authors":"D. J. Olson, C. Purdy, R. Harrington, Dan Marun, J. E. García","doi":"10.1177/15245004221077965","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15245004221077965","url":null,"abstract":"Background and Situation Analysis For more than 50 years, social marketing has been used to address a variety of health issues in the Global South, including the promotion and distribution of condoms for family planning and HIV prevention. Condom social marketers aim not just to increase sales of their own brands; they seek to increase demand for all condoms—whether it be through the commercial, non-profit or public sectors. The number of male condoms distributed through social marketing increased from 591 million in 27 countries in 1991 to more than 1.5 billion in 66 countries in 2020. Concurrent with this growth in the number of countries, the size of the condom markets also grew in most, if not all, of those countries. Target Audience(s) The primary audiences of condom social marketing programs are low income and high-risk populations in the developing countries of Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. They often focus on young people and high risk groups—such as sex workers and their partners, injecting drug users, soldiers, and migrant workers—who do not always have reliable access to affordable condoms. As condom social marketing programs mature, they often use market segmentation to add higher priced condoms aimed at middle-income and even higher-income consumers, and the profits are used to “cross-subsidize” the lower-priced brands. Behavioral Objective To increase purchase and use of condoms, particularly with low-income people and certain high risk individuals (such as young people, commercial sex workers, injecting drug users and men who have sex with men), by selling them through a wide variety of sales outlets at highly subsidized prices. Strategy The authors examined mature condom social marketing programs in Ethiopia, Brazil and Indonesia where the growth in condom social marketing was accompanied by similar growth of the total condom market. They looked at the evolution and sales of these three programs, and the larger condom universes in those countries. The authors were interested to know if social marketing programs help expand the larger condom markets, and not just grow sales of their own products. Results Based on the evidence, the authors believe that these three programs contributed significantly to creating larger markets even though there were surely other forces at work (such as changes in government policy or fears of being infected with HIV). This article adds to the limited literature on the effect of successful condom social marketing programs on their broader markets. Recommendations for Social Marketing Practice The authors make five recommendations for social marketers interested in replicating the success of these programs: 1) keeping one product in each product category highly affordable, 2) applying market segmentation through cross-subsidization, 3) showing flexibility in distribution, 4) pushing the limits on behavior change communication, and 5) building the product category (Neuga","PeriodicalId":46085,"journal":{"name":"Social Marketing Quarterly","volume":"28 1","pages":"91 - 108"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47125524","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-02-05DOI: 10.1177/15245004221074403
R. W. Hammond, Claudia Parvanta, R. Zemen
Background Much social marketing research is done on-line recruiting participants through Amazon Mechanical Turk, vetted panel vendors, social media, or community sources. When compensation is offered, care must be taken to distinguish genuine respondents from those with ulterior motives. Focus of the Article We present a case study based on unanticipated empirical observations made while evaluating perceived effectiveness (PE) ratings of anti-tobacco public service announcements (PSAs) using facial expression (FE) analysis (pretesting). Importance to the Social Marketing Field This study alerts social marketers to the risk and impact of disinterest or fraud in compensated on-line surveys. We introduce FE analysis to detect and remove bad data, improving the rigor and validity of on-line data collection. We also compare community (free) and vetted panel (fee added) recruitment in terms of usable samples. Methods We recruited respondents through (Community) sources and through a well-known (Panel) vendor. Respondents completed a one-time, random block design Qualtrics® survey that collected PE ratings and recorded FE in response to PSAs. We used the AFFDEX® feature of iMotions® to calculate respondent attention and expressions; we also visually inspected respondent video records. Based on this quan/qual analysis, we divided 501 respondents (1503 observations) into three groups: (1) Those demonstrably watching PSAs before rating them (Valid), (2) those who were inattentive but completed the rating tasks (Disinterested), and (3) those employing various techniques to game the system (Deceitful). We used one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) of attention (head positioning), engagement (all facial expressions), and specific facial expressions (FE) to test the likelihood a respondent fell into one of the three behavior groups. Results PE ratings: The Community pool (N = 92) was infiltrated by Deceitful actors (58%), but the remaining 42% was “attentive” (i.e., no disinterest). The Panel pool (N = 409) included 11% deceitful and 2% disinterested respondents. Over half of the PSAs change rank order when deceitful responses are included in the Community sample. The smaller proportion of Deceitful and Disinterested (D&D) respondents in the Panel affected 2 (out of 12) videos. In both samples, the effect was to lower the PE ranking of more diverse and “locally made” PSAs. D&D responses clustered tightly to the mean values, believed to be an artefact of “professional” test taking behavior. FE analysis: The combined Valid sample was more attentive (87.2% of the time) compared to Disinterested (51%) or Deceitful (41%) (ANOVA F = 195.6, p < .001). Models using “engagement” and specific Fes (“cheek raise and smirk”) distinguished Valid from D&D responses. Recommendations False PE pretesting scores waste social marketing budgets and could have disastrous results. Risk can be reduced by using vetted panels with a trade-off that community sources may produce more aut
{"title":"Caught in the Act: Detecting Respondent Deceit and Disinterest in On-Line Surveys. A Case Study Using Facial Expression Analysis","authors":"R. W. Hammond, Claudia Parvanta, R. Zemen","doi":"10.1177/15245004221074403","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15245004221074403","url":null,"abstract":"Background Much social marketing research is done on-line recruiting participants through Amazon Mechanical Turk, vetted panel vendors, social media, or community sources. When compensation is offered, care must be taken to distinguish genuine respondents from those with ulterior motives. Focus of the Article We present a case study based on unanticipated empirical observations made while evaluating perceived effectiveness (PE) ratings of anti-tobacco public service announcements (PSAs) using facial expression (FE) analysis (pretesting). Importance to the Social Marketing Field This study alerts social marketers to the risk and impact of disinterest or fraud in compensated on-line surveys. We introduce FE analysis to detect and remove bad data, improving the rigor and validity of on-line data collection. We also compare community (free) and vetted panel (fee added) recruitment in terms of usable samples. Methods We recruited respondents through (Community) sources and through a well-known (Panel) vendor. Respondents completed a one-time, random block design Qualtrics® survey that collected PE ratings and recorded FE in response to PSAs. We used the AFFDEX® feature of iMotions® to calculate respondent attention and expressions; we also visually inspected respondent video records. Based on this quan/qual analysis, we divided 501 respondents (1503 observations) into three groups: (1) Those demonstrably watching PSAs before rating them (Valid), (2) those who were inattentive but completed the rating tasks (Disinterested), and (3) those employing various techniques to game the system (Deceitful). We used one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) of attention (head positioning), engagement (all facial expressions), and specific facial expressions (FE) to test the likelihood a respondent fell into one of the three behavior groups. Results PE ratings: The Community pool (N = 92) was infiltrated by Deceitful actors (58%), but the remaining 42% was “attentive” (i.e., no disinterest). The Panel pool (N = 409) included 11% deceitful and 2% disinterested respondents. Over half of the PSAs change rank order when deceitful responses are included in the Community sample. The smaller proportion of Deceitful and Disinterested (D&D) respondents in the Panel affected 2 (out of 12) videos. In both samples, the effect was to lower the PE ranking of more diverse and “locally made” PSAs. D&D responses clustered tightly to the mean values, believed to be an artefact of “professional” test taking behavior. FE analysis: The combined Valid sample was more attentive (87.2% of the time) compared to Disinterested (51%) or Deceitful (41%) (ANOVA F = 195.6, p < .001). Models using “engagement” and specific Fes (“cheek raise and smirk”) distinguished Valid from D&D responses. Recommendations False PE pretesting scores waste social marketing budgets and could have disastrous results. Risk can be reduced by using vetted panels with a trade-off that community sources may produce more aut","PeriodicalId":46085,"journal":{"name":"Social Marketing Quarterly","volume":"28 1","pages":"57 - 77"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43441128","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-02-02DOI: 10.1177/15245004211073189
Marisol Alonso Vazquez, N. Aya Pastrana
Background Although research about the trajectory of social marketing in the Global South has recently emerged, there is still limited scientific evidence exploring the past and current state of social marketing in Latin America. Understanding how social marketing has been used broadly in Latin America can help identify areas to prioritize and further advance social marketing research in the region. Focus of the Article This article provides evidence of the evolution of social marketing in Latin America from the 1960s. It offers a better understanding of the application of social marketing in this region, and focuses on identifying challenges and applications illustrative of its evolution. Importance to the Social Marketing Field This study provides a historical overview of the evolution of social marketing in Latin America. It explores how social marketing has been applied across time to drive positive social change in this region. Relevant studies identified during this study serve as valuable information for researchers and practitioners interested in studying and applying social marketing in Latin America and similar contexts. Methods This exploratory study presents a broad overview of the body of literature with a focus on illustrative examples that depict the trajectory of social marketing in Latin America across time. Evidence in English, Spanish, and Portuguese languages were collected through diverse sources including search engines, academic databases, social marketing journals, and consultation with researchers and practitioners from the region. This search was complemented with evidence from a selection of classic social marketing books. Results The evidence collected shows that social marketing has been used in Latin America for four decades but still has not achieved its full potential. Findings show a predominant use of downstream social marketing approaches as opposed to midstream or upstream approaches. Results also show that international funding was a key element for grounding the use of social marketing in Latin America between the 1970s and 1990s but it appears to be less predominant after these decades. Recommendations for Research or Practice Further research is required to provide a more nuanced understanding of the Latin American social marketing landscape. Scholars and practitioners are invited to share experiences and further investigate conceptualizations of social marketing from their unique contexts, realities, and native languages. Limitations This study was delimited to provide a historical overview of the use of social marketing in Latin America based on a synthesis of the existing literature. A systematic approach to evidence synthesis is recommended for future studies on this topic.
{"title":"Social Marketing in Latin America: A Historical Overview","authors":"Marisol Alonso Vazquez, N. Aya Pastrana","doi":"10.1177/15245004211073189","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15245004211073189","url":null,"abstract":"Background Although research about the trajectory of social marketing in the Global South has recently emerged, there is still limited scientific evidence exploring the past and current state of social marketing in Latin America. Understanding how social marketing has been used broadly in Latin America can help identify areas to prioritize and further advance social marketing research in the region. Focus of the Article This article provides evidence of the evolution of social marketing in Latin America from the 1960s. It offers a better understanding of the application of social marketing in this region, and focuses on identifying challenges and applications illustrative of its evolution. Importance to the Social Marketing Field This study provides a historical overview of the evolution of social marketing in Latin America. It explores how social marketing has been applied across time to drive positive social change in this region. Relevant studies identified during this study serve as valuable information for researchers and practitioners interested in studying and applying social marketing in Latin America and similar contexts. Methods This exploratory study presents a broad overview of the body of literature with a focus on illustrative examples that depict the trajectory of social marketing in Latin America across time. Evidence in English, Spanish, and Portuguese languages were collected through diverse sources including search engines, academic databases, social marketing journals, and consultation with researchers and practitioners from the region. This search was complemented with evidence from a selection of classic social marketing books. Results The evidence collected shows that social marketing has been used in Latin America for four decades but still has not achieved its full potential. Findings show a predominant use of downstream social marketing approaches as opposed to midstream or upstream approaches. Results also show that international funding was a key element for grounding the use of social marketing in Latin America between the 1970s and 1990s but it appears to be less predominant after these decades. Recommendations for Research or Practice Further research is required to provide a more nuanced understanding of the Latin American social marketing landscape. Scholars and practitioners are invited to share experiences and further investigate conceptualizations of social marketing from their unique contexts, realities, and native languages. Limitations This study was delimited to provide a historical overview of the use of social marketing in Latin America based on a synthesis of the existing literature. A systematic approach to evidence synthesis is recommended for future studies on this topic.","PeriodicalId":46085,"journal":{"name":"Social Marketing Quarterly","volume":"28 1","pages":"8 - 27"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44156404","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-31DOI: 10.1177/15245004211073187
Judit Sarai Alvarado, Ximena Perez-Velazco, Victoria Gregorio, Mike Newton Ward, M. De Marco
Background The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, serves as the primary method of governmental-funded defense against food insecurity in the USA through the provision of food-purchasing assistance to eligible low-income people and families. However, participation in SNAP has been associated with dietary disparities and increased risk of chronic disease associated with overweight and obesity. Low-income individuals are more vulnerable to diet-related chronic disease, as they often have limited resources, are unable to afford healthier foods, such as fruits and vegetables, experience a lack of geographic access to healthy foods, and find themselves without time to prepare healthy meals. As a result, financially marginalized populations are less likely to adhere to Federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Objective The purpose of this study was twofold: first, to gain insight into factors influencing food choices and grocery shopping behaviors of women with children, on a limited budget, who utilize or are eligible for SNAP; second, to develop and implement interventions based on these insights to enable participants to better adhere to the Federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Methods We conducted independent formative interviews with 19 women in Spring 2018 to develop a social marketing campaign to promote a behavior change associated with healthy grocery shopping practices. These participants were interviewed using a loosely guided interview that gauged barriers, benefits, motivators, competition, and influencers of using a food budget. Of these participants, we identified those who were actively practicing the selected behavior of budgeting for and purchasing healthy foods, like fruits and vegetables. To empower women within this community by drawing from the experiences and knowledge of other women from this same community, participants were selected to participate in a more thorough interview process, followed by a journey mapping exercise. Data collected from the interviews and journey mapping exercise were analyzed for barriers and facilitators to developing and maintaining the adoption and use of a healthy food budget. In response, the research team conducted a search for interventions that aligned with the outlined barriers noted from the interviews and developed a social marketing campaign. This social marketing campaign was then delivered in a series of sessions where pre- and post-surveys were administered to assess grocery shopping behaviors and budgeting practices. Results Specific topics yielded from the journey mapping exercise included tips and tricks mothers used to successfully budget for and purchase healthy foods. Additionally, mothers who participated in the social marketing intervention reported grocery shopping at least one to two times a week. When asked about their habits related to purchasing fruits and vegetables through pre- and post-surveys, 60% of the participants rep
{"title":"Using Formative Research to Develop a Social Marketing Campaign to Understand Food Shopping Behaviors in Young Mothers","authors":"Judit Sarai Alvarado, Ximena Perez-Velazco, Victoria Gregorio, Mike Newton Ward, M. De Marco","doi":"10.1177/15245004211073187","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15245004211073187","url":null,"abstract":"Background The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, serves as the primary method of governmental-funded defense against food insecurity in the USA through the provision of food-purchasing assistance to eligible low-income people and families. However, participation in SNAP has been associated with dietary disparities and increased risk of chronic disease associated with overweight and obesity. Low-income individuals are more vulnerable to diet-related chronic disease, as they often have limited resources, are unable to afford healthier foods, such as fruits and vegetables, experience a lack of geographic access to healthy foods, and find themselves without time to prepare healthy meals. As a result, financially marginalized populations are less likely to adhere to Federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Objective The purpose of this study was twofold: first, to gain insight into factors influencing food choices and grocery shopping behaviors of women with children, on a limited budget, who utilize or are eligible for SNAP; second, to develop and implement interventions based on these insights to enable participants to better adhere to the Federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Methods We conducted independent formative interviews with 19 women in Spring 2018 to develop a social marketing campaign to promote a behavior change associated with healthy grocery shopping practices. These participants were interviewed using a loosely guided interview that gauged barriers, benefits, motivators, competition, and influencers of using a food budget. Of these participants, we identified those who were actively practicing the selected behavior of budgeting for and purchasing healthy foods, like fruits and vegetables. To empower women within this community by drawing from the experiences and knowledge of other women from this same community, participants were selected to participate in a more thorough interview process, followed by a journey mapping exercise. Data collected from the interviews and journey mapping exercise were analyzed for barriers and facilitators to developing and maintaining the adoption and use of a healthy food budget. In response, the research team conducted a search for interventions that aligned with the outlined barriers noted from the interviews and developed a social marketing campaign. This social marketing campaign was then delivered in a series of sessions where pre- and post-surveys were administered to assess grocery shopping behaviors and budgeting practices. Results Specific topics yielded from the journey mapping exercise included tips and tricks mothers used to successfully budget for and purchase healthy foods. Additionally, mothers who participated in the social marketing intervention reported grocery shopping at least one to two times a week. When asked about their habits related to purchasing fruits and vegetables through pre- and post-surveys, 60% of the participants rep","PeriodicalId":46085,"journal":{"name":"Social Marketing Quarterly","volume":"28 1","pages":"44 - 56"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44535608","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-27DOI: 10.1177/15245004221076858
A. Canhoto, A. Brough
Background Government and private responses to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the generation and dissemination of personal data not previously available in the public sphere. Focus of the Article This “Notes from the Field” paper reflects on the implications of this surge of new data for the study and practice of social marketing. The paper examines how this phenomenon impacts on the following aspects of social marketing: (1) Setting of explicit social goals; (2) citizen orientation and focus; (3) value proposition delivery via the social marketing intervention mix; (4) theory-, insight-, data-, and evidence-informed audience segmentation; (5) competition/barrier and asset analysis; and (6) critical thinking, reflexivity, and being ethical. Research Question How are the government and private responses to the pandemic shaping the generation and use of personal data, and what are the implications of this eruption of data for the social marketing scholarly community? Approach The paper highlights how the pandemic resulted in significant changes in behavior of government and citizens alike, and how these changes, in turn, spurred the generation and dissemination of new personal data. Subsequently, we draw on the Core Social Marketing Concepts framework to explore how the aforementioned data explosion impacts on the six dimensions of this central framework. Importance to the Social Marketing Field The COVID-19 pandemic is more than a temporary public health event. Therefore, it is important to consider the lasting consequences that may stem from the pandemic-induced personal data explosion, for both consumers and social marketing scholars and practitioners. Methods This paper comments on a topical matter, and discusses its implications for the social marketing community. Results We find that the data explosion creates conflicting social marketing goals, and that inequalities in access to digital technology are increasingly impacting what voices are heard, and which concerns are prioritized. Moreover, new innovations may be enabled or needed, leading to the improvement of firms' ability to create value for individual citizens; the creation of new datasets—particularly among demographics that previously had a limited digital footprint—enhances the ability to segment markets and target social marketing activities. Furthermore, the pandemic-induced data explosion may lead to the identification of additional barriers to positive social behaviors that have emerged, diminished, or even disappeared during the pandemic; but researchers need to critically examine the consequences of the government and private behaviors at the macro, meso, and micro levels. Recommendations for Research or Practice We propose a research agenda for the social marketing community, consisting of 21 research questions. Limitations Our analysis focuses on the behavior of government and citizens in North America and Western Europe.
{"title":"The Pandemic-Induced Personal Data Explosion","authors":"A. Canhoto, A. Brough","doi":"10.1177/15245004221076858","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15245004221076858","url":null,"abstract":"Background Government and private responses to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the generation and dissemination of personal data not previously available in the public sphere. Focus of the Article This “Notes from the Field” paper reflects on the implications of this surge of new data for the study and practice of social marketing. The paper examines how this phenomenon impacts on the following aspects of social marketing: (1) Setting of explicit social goals; (2) citizen orientation and focus; (3) value proposition delivery via the social marketing intervention mix; (4) theory-, insight-, data-, and evidence-informed audience segmentation; (5) competition/barrier and asset analysis; and (6) critical thinking, reflexivity, and being ethical. Research Question How are the government and private responses to the pandemic shaping the generation and use of personal data, and what are the implications of this eruption of data for the social marketing scholarly community? Approach The paper highlights how the pandemic resulted in significant changes in behavior of government and citizens alike, and how these changes, in turn, spurred the generation and dissemination of new personal data. Subsequently, we draw on the Core Social Marketing Concepts framework to explore how the aforementioned data explosion impacts on the six dimensions of this central framework. Importance to the Social Marketing Field The COVID-19 pandemic is more than a temporary public health event. Therefore, it is important to consider the lasting consequences that may stem from the pandemic-induced personal data explosion, for both consumers and social marketing scholars and practitioners. Methods This paper comments on a topical matter, and discusses its implications for the social marketing community. Results We find that the data explosion creates conflicting social marketing goals, and that inequalities in access to digital technology are increasingly impacting what voices are heard, and which concerns are prioritized. Moreover, new innovations may be enabled or needed, leading to the improvement of firms' ability to create value for individual citizens; the creation of new datasets—particularly among demographics that previously had a limited digital footprint—enhances the ability to segment markets and target social marketing activities. Furthermore, the pandemic-induced data explosion may lead to the identification of additional barriers to positive social behaviors that have emerged, diminished, or even disappeared during the pandemic; but researchers need to critically examine the consequences of the government and private behaviors at the macro, meso, and micro levels. Recommendations for Research or Practice We propose a research agenda for the social marketing community, consisting of 21 research questions. Limitations Our analysis focuses on the behavior of government and citizens in North America and Western Europe.","PeriodicalId":46085,"journal":{"name":"Social Marketing Quarterly","volume":"28 1","pages":"78 - 86"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44430174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-26DOI: 10.1177/15245004211071057
L. Warner, John M. Diaz, M. Dukes
Background This work addresses the increasing prevalence of water scarcity. Droughts are projected to worsen as a result of climate change and urbanization, increasing the need for all sectors to reduce the amount of water used. Home landscape irrigation represents an important opportunity to reduce water use in the United States. Focus of the Article This formative research study used social marketing techniques to estimate potential impact of irrigation water conservation behaviors, weight and prioritize the behaviors to guide behavior selection in the context of residential irrigation conservation. Research Objective The objectives were to estimate (1) the potential impact of, (2) current adoption levels and likelihood of adoption of, and to (3) prioritize various landscape irrigation water conservation behaviors. Program Design/Approach When addressing any issue, including water scarcity, identifying target behaviors is the first, foundational step for a successful social marketing campaign. This research focuses on formative social marketing research to inform local interventions designed to reduce the amount of water applied to residential yards across the United States. Importance to the Social Marketing Field This study outlines a process to compare and prioritize water conservation behaviors with the goal of reducing residential landscape irrigation usage. We demonstrate a technique for obtaining this type of formative research, the lack of which can serve as a barrier to change agents promoting behaviors in any context. Methods We employed a two-pronged quantitative survey research approach to collect technical experts’ impact ranking and U.S. residents’ current adoption levels and likelihood of adopting potential irrigation water conservation behaviors. The 14-member expert panel was selected using purposive and snowball sampling techniques, and the residential sample (N = 2601) was recruited using purposive sampling. Results Mean weights ranged from −46.55 to 61.13. Singly considering impact, current adoption levels, or likelihood of adoption would result in a different behavior receiving priority for a campaign (eliminating irrigated areas in landscapes, installing smart irrigation controllers, and following local watering restrictions, respectively). However, when these values were considered together, installing drought-tolerant plants in the yard had the greatest overall weight. Limitations A possible conceptual limitation of this case study was the national scope of our research. The findings provide valuable baseline data for behavior change practitioners working across the country, and it is advisable to replicate this process at a local scale corresponding to the targeted intervention. Recommendations for Research or Practice The findings underscore the importance of including technical experts and target audience members early in social marketing program planning and reveal the importance of systematically approaching behavio
{"title":"Selecting High-Impact Landscape Irrigation Conservation Behaviors: Formative Research to Inform Behavior-Change Efforts","authors":"L. Warner, John M. Diaz, M. Dukes","doi":"10.1177/15245004211071057","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15245004211071057","url":null,"abstract":"Background This work addresses the increasing prevalence of water scarcity. Droughts are projected to worsen as a result of climate change and urbanization, increasing the need for all sectors to reduce the amount of water used. Home landscape irrigation represents an important opportunity to reduce water use in the United States. Focus of the Article This formative research study used social marketing techniques to estimate potential impact of irrigation water conservation behaviors, weight and prioritize the behaviors to guide behavior selection in the context of residential irrigation conservation. Research Objective The objectives were to estimate (1) the potential impact of, (2) current adoption levels and likelihood of adoption of, and to (3) prioritize various landscape irrigation water conservation behaviors. Program Design/Approach When addressing any issue, including water scarcity, identifying target behaviors is the first, foundational step for a successful social marketing campaign. This research focuses on formative social marketing research to inform local interventions designed to reduce the amount of water applied to residential yards across the United States. Importance to the Social Marketing Field This study outlines a process to compare and prioritize water conservation behaviors with the goal of reducing residential landscape irrigation usage. We demonstrate a technique for obtaining this type of formative research, the lack of which can serve as a barrier to change agents promoting behaviors in any context. Methods We employed a two-pronged quantitative survey research approach to collect technical experts’ impact ranking and U.S. residents’ current adoption levels and likelihood of adopting potential irrigation water conservation behaviors. The 14-member expert panel was selected using purposive and snowball sampling techniques, and the residential sample (N = 2601) was recruited using purposive sampling. Results Mean weights ranged from −46.55 to 61.13. Singly considering impact, current adoption levels, or likelihood of adoption would result in a different behavior receiving priority for a campaign (eliminating irrigated areas in landscapes, installing smart irrigation controllers, and following local watering restrictions, respectively). However, when these values were considered together, installing drought-tolerant plants in the yard had the greatest overall weight. Limitations A possible conceptual limitation of this case study was the national scope of our research. The findings provide valuable baseline data for behavior change practitioners working across the country, and it is advisable to replicate this process at a local scale corresponding to the targeted intervention. Recommendations for Research or Practice The findings underscore the importance of including technical experts and target audience members early in social marketing program planning and reveal the importance of systematically approaching behavio","PeriodicalId":46085,"journal":{"name":"Social Marketing Quarterly","volume":"28 1","pages":"28 - 43"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43388962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-11-16DOI: 10.1177/15245004211053853
E. Quaye, Kgaiso Mokgethi, Leeford Edem Kojo Ameyibor
Background As lifestyle-related diseases increase globally, there is a need to focus on the mechanisms for promoting healthy living and healthy behavioral intentions. Focus of the article The present study investigates how health self-identity influences health consciousness, self-efficacy, consumer knowledge, and normative beliefs. Moreover, the study analyzes the moderating effect of consumer knowledge and normative beliefs on behavioral intentions to maintain a healthy lifestyle. A posthoc segmentation analysis through latent class analysis distinguishes two main segments of health-conscious individuals. Research questions The following research questions guide the study (1) how does health self-identity as a motivational factor influence (a) health consciousness, (b) self-efficacy, (c) consumer knowledge, and (d) normative beliefs and, in turn, account for healthy behavioral intentions? (2) How does consumer knowledge interact with normative beliefs to predict behavioral intentions to maintain a healthy lifestyle? Methods A correlational research design was employed for this study where an online survey of 249 South African audiences was recruited to participate in this study. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and latent class analysis through Mplus were used for data analysis. The interaction effect analysis was also performed using the latent moderated structural model approach, which employs the unique capabilities of SEM. Results The findings highlight the important role of health self-identity as a motivation base for maintaining health consciousness, self-efficacy beliefs, consumers’ knowledge about healthy living, and normative beliefs. Health consciousness and self-efficacy, in turn, influenced healthy behavioral intentions. Although consumer knowledge and normative beliefs independently did not impact healthy behavioral intentions, when both factors interact, the effect becomes significant, suggesting that levels of consumer knowledge about healthy living associate reasonably with the extent of susceptibility to normative influence in explaining healthy behavioral intentions. Two segments classified as moderately health-conscious, and pure health enthusiasts were identified based on six psychographic and two demographics variables. Recommendations for practice Social marketers interested in effecting positive change in healthy living should emphasize the role of health self-identities to generate health consciousness and encourage a sense of self-belief about people’s ability to make positive health choices. Moreover, communications seeking to promote healthy living among individuals should have campaigns highlighting the role of a knowledgeable audience about healthy living in social networks. Finally, social marketing campaigns may also focus on the extent of health consciousness, self-identity, and attitudes towards healthy living to encourage behavior change. Limitations The cross-sectional nature of the study does not warrant t
{"title":"Health Self-Identity–Based Motivations and Behavioral Intentions: A Predictive Model and Segmentation Analysis","authors":"E. Quaye, Kgaiso Mokgethi, Leeford Edem Kojo Ameyibor","doi":"10.1177/15245004211053853","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15245004211053853","url":null,"abstract":"Background As lifestyle-related diseases increase globally, there is a need to focus on the mechanisms for promoting healthy living and healthy behavioral intentions. Focus of the article The present study investigates how health self-identity influences health consciousness, self-efficacy, consumer knowledge, and normative beliefs. Moreover, the study analyzes the moderating effect of consumer knowledge and normative beliefs on behavioral intentions to maintain a healthy lifestyle. A posthoc segmentation analysis through latent class analysis distinguishes two main segments of health-conscious individuals. Research questions The following research questions guide the study (1) how does health self-identity as a motivational factor influence (a) health consciousness, (b) self-efficacy, (c) consumer knowledge, and (d) normative beliefs and, in turn, account for healthy behavioral intentions? (2) How does consumer knowledge interact with normative beliefs to predict behavioral intentions to maintain a healthy lifestyle? Methods A correlational research design was employed for this study where an online survey of 249 South African audiences was recruited to participate in this study. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and latent class analysis through Mplus were used for data analysis. The interaction effect analysis was also performed using the latent moderated structural model approach, which employs the unique capabilities of SEM. Results The findings highlight the important role of health self-identity as a motivation base for maintaining health consciousness, self-efficacy beliefs, consumers’ knowledge about healthy living, and normative beliefs. Health consciousness and self-efficacy, in turn, influenced healthy behavioral intentions. Although consumer knowledge and normative beliefs independently did not impact healthy behavioral intentions, when both factors interact, the effect becomes significant, suggesting that levels of consumer knowledge about healthy living associate reasonably with the extent of susceptibility to normative influence in explaining healthy behavioral intentions. Two segments classified as moderately health-conscious, and pure health enthusiasts were identified based on six psychographic and two demographics variables. Recommendations for practice Social marketers interested in effecting positive change in healthy living should emphasize the role of health self-identities to generate health consciousness and encourage a sense of self-belief about people’s ability to make positive health choices. Moreover, communications seeking to promote healthy living among individuals should have campaigns highlighting the role of a knowledgeable audience about healthy living in social networks. Finally, social marketing campaigns may also focus on the extent of health consciousness, self-identity, and attitudes towards healthy living to encourage behavior change. Limitations The cross-sectional nature of the study does not warrant t","PeriodicalId":46085,"journal":{"name":"Social Marketing Quarterly","volume":"27 1","pages":"347 - 369"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42823904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-11-14DOI: 10.1177/15245004211053847
Bo Pang, S. Deshpande, Tuyet-Mai Nguyen, Jeawon Kim, Yara Almosa, Amna Arif, D. Arli, Marat Bakpayev, B. Erdogan, Haruka Fujihira, H. Gallage, M. Kadir, Derek Ong Lai Teik, Patama Satawedin, N. Weinreich, Murooj Yousef
Background Social marketing has been used in Asia to combat various social issues (Deshpande & Lee (2013). However, our understanding of social marketing awareness, adaptation, and achievement in Asian countries is limited. The focus of the Article An historical overview of social marketing developments in Asia. Importance to the Social Marketing Field This paper is one of the first attempts to integrate social marketing theory and practice in Asia to understand its strengths and weaknesses and to provide a recommendation to enhance the adoption and effectiveness of social marketing program design, implementation, and evaluation to generate social and behavioral change. Design/methodology/approach The authors representing 18 Asian countries searched for social marketing growth and trends in prominence, conceptual developments, social issues and solutions, and effectiveness in English and local language literature. This paper describes themes by highlighting examples of initiatives. Findings Our analysis reveals a broad spectrum of social marketing practices in Asia, focusing traditionally on managing overpopulation and preventing communicable diseases and, more recently, non-communicable diseases and climate action. The practice also revealed close integration with policies, overreliance on the government sector, lack of robust research studies, theorizing, documentation, training, and community involvement, and challenges presented by cultural factors and the confusion of understanding the term. Recommendations for research or practice The study recommends establishing the Asian Social Marketing Association and Asian Social Marketing Institute, adopt a Total Market Approach, improve documentation, clarify the boundaries of social marketing, enhance the effectiveness of strategies by embracing research, involving the beneficiary communities, and by learning from others.
{"title":"A Critical Overview of Social Marketing in Asia","authors":"Bo Pang, S. Deshpande, Tuyet-Mai Nguyen, Jeawon Kim, Yara Almosa, Amna Arif, D. Arli, Marat Bakpayev, B. Erdogan, Haruka Fujihira, H. Gallage, M. Kadir, Derek Ong Lai Teik, Patama Satawedin, N. Weinreich, Murooj Yousef","doi":"10.1177/15245004211053847","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15245004211053847","url":null,"abstract":"Background Social marketing has been used in Asia to combat various social issues (Deshpande & Lee (2013). However, our understanding of social marketing awareness, adaptation, and achievement in Asian countries is limited. The focus of the Article An historical overview of social marketing developments in Asia. Importance to the Social Marketing Field This paper is one of the first attempts to integrate social marketing theory and practice in Asia to understand its strengths and weaknesses and to provide a recommendation to enhance the adoption and effectiveness of social marketing program design, implementation, and evaluation to generate social and behavioral change. Design/methodology/approach The authors representing 18 Asian countries searched for social marketing growth and trends in prominence, conceptual developments, social issues and solutions, and effectiveness in English and local language literature. This paper describes themes by highlighting examples of initiatives. Findings Our analysis reveals a broad spectrum of social marketing practices in Asia, focusing traditionally on managing overpopulation and preventing communicable diseases and, more recently, non-communicable diseases and climate action. The practice also revealed close integration with policies, overreliance on the government sector, lack of robust research studies, theorizing, documentation, training, and community involvement, and challenges presented by cultural factors and the confusion of understanding the term. Recommendations for research or practice The study recommends establishing the Asian Social Marketing Association and Asian Social Marketing Institute, adopt a Total Market Approach, improve documentation, clarify the boundaries of social marketing, enhance the effectiveness of strategies by embracing research, involving the beneficiary communities, and by learning from others.","PeriodicalId":46085,"journal":{"name":"Social Marketing Quarterly","volume":"27 1","pages":"302 - 323"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44927843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-11-04DOI: 10.1177/15245004211055688
A. Muposhi, R. Shamhuyenhanzva
Introduction The pollution of landscapes and coastal environments with plastic shopping bag litter is an escalating global problem. The introduction of plastic bag tax aimed at addressing this challenge achieved limited success in South Africa. This study explores South African shoppers’ perceptions towards social marketing anchored retailer voluntary initiatives, which is an emerging plastic bag policy option. Literature Adverse environmental and social effects of plastic shopping bags are discussed. Retailer voluntary initiatives used to de-market plastic shopping bags, including jurisdictions where they were implemented, are also reviewed. The focus is on retailer anti-plastic bag initiatives such as ‘reusable shopping bags’ and ‘plastic bag-free’ shops. Methods This study is situated within a constructivist research paradigm and a qualitative methodology. Data were collected from a sample of 31 grocery shoppers recruited from retailer outlets in South Africa’s metropolitan cities, Johannesburg and Pretoria. In-depth interviews were conducted to explore shoppers’ perceptions towards retailer-driven anti-plastic bag voluntary initiatives. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse interview data. Findings The findings of this study highlight shoppers’ negative perceptions towards retailer anti-plastic bag voluntary initiatives. Shoppers perceived retailer anti-plastic bag voluntary initiatives as forms of green capitalism, green entrepreneurship, symbolic corporate social responsibility, strategic business posture, commandeered green consumerism, measured environmental morality, masked green washing and calculated pre-emptive behaviour. Future studies may seek to extend the generalisability of these findings by using a larger sample size. Conclusion The study’s findings highlight the trust deficit associated with retailer anti-plastic bags voluntary initiatives and the importance of enhancing market acceptance and legitimacy. Mistrust and cynicism directed towards retailer anti-plastic bag voluntary initiatives point to the importance of consumer education aimed at emphasising the negative effects of single-use plastic shopping bags. This study concludes that reliance on retailer self-regulation may not be the best approach to solve the escalating problem of plastic bag litter. We argue that national governments need to implement interventions that strike a balance between environmental sustainability and economic development.
{"title":"Retailer Volunteerism as a Plastic Shopping Bag Governance Tool: Shoppers’ Reflections and Contributions to Environmental Social Marketing","authors":"A. Muposhi, R. Shamhuyenhanzva","doi":"10.1177/15245004211055688","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15245004211055688","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction The pollution of landscapes and coastal environments with plastic shopping bag litter is an escalating global problem. The introduction of plastic bag tax aimed at addressing this challenge achieved limited success in South Africa. This study explores South African shoppers’ perceptions towards social marketing anchored retailer voluntary initiatives, which is an emerging plastic bag policy option. Literature Adverse environmental and social effects of plastic shopping bags are discussed. Retailer voluntary initiatives used to de-market plastic shopping bags, including jurisdictions where they were implemented, are also reviewed. The focus is on retailer anti-plastic bag initiatives such as ‘reusable shopping bags’ and ‘plastic bag-free’ shops. Methods This study is situated within a constructivist research paradigm and a qualitative methodology. Data were collected from a sample of 31 grocery shoppers recruited from retailer outlets in South Africa’s metropolitan cities, Johannesburg and Pretoria. In-depth interviews were conducted to explore shoppers’ perceptions towards retailer-driven anti-plastic bag voluntary initiatives. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse interview data. Findings The findings of this study highlight shoppers’ negative perceptions towards retailer anti-plastic bag voluntary initiatives. Shoppers perceived retailer anti-plastic bag voluntary initiatives as forms of green capitalism, green entrepreneurship, symbolic corporate social responsibility, strategic business posture, commandeered green consumerism, measured environmental morality, masked green washing and calculated pre-emptive behaviour. Future studies may seek to extend the generalisability of these findings by using a larger sample size. Conclusion The study’s findings highlight the trust deficit associated with retailer anti-plastic bags voluntary initiatives and the importance of enhancing market acceptance and legitimacy. Mistrust and cynicism directed towards retailer anti-plastic bag voluntary initiatives point to the importance of consumer education aimed at emphasising the negative effects of single-use plastic shopping bags. This study concludes that reliance on retailer self-regulation may not be the best approach to solve the escalating problem of plastic bag litter. We argue that national governments need to implement interventions that strike a balance between environmental sustainability and economic development.","PeriodicalId":46085,"journal":{"name":"Social Marketing Quarterly","volume":"27 1","pages":"370 - 391"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47127839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}