Social Marketing Activity

Social marketing applies commercial marketing strategies to promote public health.

Social marketing is widely used to influence health behavior. Social marketers use a wide range of health communication strategies based on mass media, they also use mediated (example, through a healthcare provider), interpersonal, and other modes of communication, and marketing methods such as message placement (for example, in clinics), promotion, dissemination, and community level outreach. Social marketing encompasses all of these strategies.

Courtesy: NIH

Application of social marketing strategies for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination. in young children’s. People in many developing countries have misgivings, fear and other reasons against MMR vaccination resulting in resurgence or disease epidemics. Social marketing theory work well in countering these obstacles while encouraging administration of the vaccine to improve the health of the society.

Concepts-

1. Consumer orientation- In this approach planning, implementation and evaluation strategies of consumer marketing is employed to motivate the parents for vaccination of their children’s against MMR. We took advice from people to what change we make to adopt this healthy behavior. Needs assessment this message is appropriate from them what barrier environment we have to take. Also take care how people respond to the healthy behavior. Citizen advisory panels help to get feedback.

2. Audience segmentation- . Parents of the children are selected that largely influences the success of MMR vaccination in the children. Positive behavior change to vaccinate their children is encouraged by educating them and creating awareness about the complications associated with MMR viral epidemics. We target the group which have similar variable and advise them.

3. Channel analysis- Method to deliver the required message and the desired place to target the population/desired audience (parents). Usage of print ,news and online social media to convey the benefits and the risks associated with vaccinating and not vaccinating with MMR Other places that can be targeted are gynecologic and pediatrics hospitals while utilizing other public places with posters to spread the awareness and the benefits of MMR. We also have to find appropriate time when to advertise and advice these desired population.

4. Strategy- In this stage of planning the idea is to meet the objectives. We can use different strategies like making the vaccine available in every hospital facility for easy access, making vaccine cost effective to eliminate the barriers of our target population.

5. Process tracking- In this evaluation phase of the program we check and monitor if the applied interventions are rightly executed to achieve the objectives. After undertaking surveys, reviewing and revisiting the steps, progress can be tracked. We can also obtain feedback from the target population to improve and enhance the performance of the program.

· Social Marketing wheel- various steps are employed for implementing the social marketing program.

Courtesy: NIH.

Flow chart displaying social marketing strategies and the application of health behavior constructs.

Step1- planning and strategy – for every technique that’s planned and every strategy that’s exercised, we decide which strategy can be used according to our goals and objectives. Our goal is to ensure every child gets MMR vaccine, if any barriers exists, any issues persists, we tailor the strategies accordingly, so as to immunize the population to the maximum against those lethal infectious diseases developing due to lack of or insufficient MMR vaccination and the social marketing strategies.

Step2- selecting various media channels and using print materials- in this step, we make use of mass media and the role model to target our audience. Utilization of pamphlets and different advertisement methods to educate, bring awareness and motivate the people.

Step3- Generating material and pretesting- we draft lectures, distribute pamphlets regarding why it is essential to vaccinate the children, the benefits of MMR vaccine and the risks associated with avoidance of vaccination. We can also get the feedback from the target population for pretesting.

Step4- Implementation- we have to begin communication program. We have to run mass media campaigns and educate the people. Also engage in one on one discussion about their experiences toward receiving the vaccine. This way we can encourage them to take the vaccine and also facilitate others doing so.

Step5- Assessing effectiveness- to assess the effectiveness of the program we have to see how well the targeted population knows about the disease, associated complications and the risks and are they taking precautions or not against the disease along with their responses and reaction to the program which is vital for the program’s success and effectiveness.

Step6- Feedback to refine the program- we collect the feedback from our target population and ask for the ways to improve and understand the flow for future communication and effective implementation of the social marketing strategies.

This theory is quite effective at changing the behavior at population level by utilizing the social marketing model.

Courtesy: NIH.