Social Marketing Theory is about promoting significant behaviors that will benefit individuals of the society. Such behaviors should be socially accepted and valuable so that the integration of marketing tools and other social concepts would benefit the recipient of the message or the society as a whole by using creativity, rather than depending on public service announcements, like in the past for giving out information. This theory has two main concept namely, the operational social marketing and the strategic social marketing. The former targets the change in behavior while the latter is used to form a broader viewpoint of certain policies.

One notable example of strategic social marketing is the campaign or advocacy about the negative effects of cigarette smoking in our body. In the United States of America, according to the ADESF (Association for Smoker Awareness – Brazil) and Neogama BBH, anti-smoking advertisements starts in the U.S. in the year 1970s and have spread worldwide, with multiple campaigns produced each year by governments and public health organizations. Between 1970 and 2010 smoking adults in the United States decreased from 37 percent to 19 percent. Their campaign materials and ads include posters, infomercials and the like. At this point, designers already have the capacity of creating a moving and positive design that is capable of changing the minds of cigarette smokers.

Another example would be the social marketing of contraceptives here in the Philippines. Although it’s quite sensitive to discuss this campaign but nevertheless it’s still beneficial to the society. The Philippine Contraceptive Social Marketing Project (PCSMP) was formally launched in the Philippines in response to the large unmet needs in the country (which basically is the uncontrolled growth of population), and initial results and experiments seem to be promising. The project aims to reduce the need for family planning and promote “safe sex” by offering contraceptives at affordable prices through pharmacies, drugstores, grocery shops, and other retail outlets, and promoting them with social marketing programs and ads like posters and commercials, can do much to reduce the unmet need for family planning.

Social marketing theory does not only apply to health related propaganda, it can also include personal and life-changing agenda. For instance, the Dove Self-Esteem Project wherein, the company created a program of world-class resources, many of which have been scientifically proven to significantly develop and increase body confidence and self-esteem in young people. Dove used this to market not only the idea but also their product. Another is the campaign ads of Coca-Cola that targets sharing and living the happiness within friends and families. In fact, in their history, they even customized the costume of Santa Claus for their Christmas campaign ads, they colored it red (the brand color of Coca-Cola). See how companies try to create a beneficial social marketing style for the customers to relate and at the same time buy products.

The operational social marketing, on the other hand, as stated earlier depends greatly in implantation of ideas to change behavior. Like wearing seatbelts and application of child car seats. In Texas, efforts to increase the use of child car seats and safety belts among the Hispanic population kept failing. Consequently, researchers conducted free traffic safety and child safety seat training workshops and demonstration events that helped to achieve impressive results. After just three years, car seat use rose to 72% − exceeding the use across the other communities combined by three per cent.

To sum it up, using the theory of Social Marketing to catalyze or initiate actions rather than selling a product is not a novel or rare thing to do but actually, it can be significant for communicators like us – designers. In fact, this theory has already changed social norms across the society and the results are evident nowadays. As multimedia arts students, this theory can help us to direct our attention and the concepts of our design in helping and striving to make a relevant and significant change in our society. With this theory, we can make our design as meaningful and as helpful as it can be.
 

References:

Social Marketing Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved December 04, 2016, from      https://www.businesstopia.net/mass-communication/social-marketing-theory

Marketing for Social Good. (n.d.). Retrieved December 04, 2016, from      https://www.rare.org/pride#.WERg_4VOKid

Contraceptive social marketing in the Philippines. A new initiative. (n.d.). Retrieved       December 04, 2016, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12345740

Our Mission: What We’re Trying to do. (n.d.). Retrieved December 04, 2016, from       http://selfesteem.dove.co.uk/Articles/Written/Our_Mission_in_Practice.aspx

What is social marketing? (n.d.). Retrieved December 04, 2016, from       http://www.thensmc.com/content/what-social-marketing-1