Social Marketing approach

Critically discussing social marketing as an approa
in public health - strengths and weaknesses




Chris Woodcock
Senior public health manager, North Tyneside Council

, The issue

“It would be easy to give the public information and hope they change
behaviour but we know that doesn’t work very satisfactorily. Otherwise
none of us would be obese, none of use would smoke and none of us
would drive like lunatics.”

Ian Potter, Director, New Zealand Health Sponsorship Council.

,What is social marketing?
• Social marketing is the systematic application of marketing concepts and techniques
achieve specific behavioural goals relevant to a social good.

• Social marketing is a process that applies marketing principles and techniques to crea
communicate, and deliver in order to influence target audience behaviours that benef
society as well as the target audience.’

• Health related social marketing is:
A systematic process, using marketing techniques and approaches, to achieve
behavioural goals, relevant to improving health and well being.

, Which is all very nice but why should we care?