The social marketing was created from the theory and skills of traditional marketing but with a slight change. This marketing is looking to achieve a social change or a “social good”. The companies using this marketing the most are public health-related. The objective of these companies is not only to increase sales but also to change an aspect or habit of society. The clearest example of social marketing is when public institutions launch campaigns in order to create an impact on society and achieve a social change. These campaigns are constantly seeking the benefit of individuals and the greater social good for communities, although this doesn’t guarantee the sale.
Social marketing and commercial marketing are frequently confused. Traditionally, commercial marketing is looking for just one simple goal: make customers purchase a product. While social marketing has a more difficult task: motivate a change in a population’s behaviour that could or could not lead to a purchase. Therefore, selling is not as important as creating a positive impact on the target population.
The first deliberated use of social marketing registered was in 1963 in India due to a national family plan the government implemented in the country. The campaign consisted of promoting low-cost condoms branded by the government. The purpose was to achieve a social change in terms of family planning in a moment when births, mostly in young women were rapidly increasing.
After this first time, many other countries have implemented social marketing campaigns causing different changes in society. In occidental countries this campaign had special attention in HIV preventions, generally sanitary methods, or even the rational use of water. The topics could be infinite as long as it raises awareness about a problem in society and looks for a real change.
If, as we are saying, the goal is to change behaviours in a society, the measurement of the results seems difficult. While in commercial marketing the variation of the sales gives a clue of the results of the campaign, in social marketing numbers are not trustable enough to jump into a conclusion.
Social marketing or marketing for nonprofit causes is very common nowadays, even within the online universe. There are programs from tech giants like Google AdGrants, the version of Google Adwords for nonprofits, as well as “Causes” from Facebook, and these initiatives help charities and nonprofits develop social marketing campaigns.
It might sound like every government campaign or nonprofit organisation is doing exclusively social marketing, however it is not that simple. In order to be considered as social marketing, there are eight components that must be present. Craig Lefebvre and June Flora introduced social marketing to the public health community in 1988 and developed these eight requirements that still holds nowadays.
