Change Can Happen

Social Marketing

Social marketing should not be confused with social media marketing. Social marketing is marketing designed to create social change, not to benefit a brand. Using traditional marketing techniques we can raise awareness for a problem or cause and aim to change people's behavior. These campaigns are in effect selling a behavior instead of a product. Social marketing is commonly used for causes like:

Health and safety - Anti-smoking, anti-drug, promoting exercise and healthy eating, and safe driving.

Environmental causes - Anti-deforestation, anti-littering, and endangered species awareness.

Social activism - Illuminating struggles that people of color, people with disabilities, etc. face, then inspiring people to fight against mechanisms that create inequality, anti-bullying, and fighting gender stereotypes.

The people who initiate social marketing campaigns are often not-for-profit organizations, government organizations, and the occasional commercial brands who will run campaigns about causes they are passionate about.

Social Marketing Example: Help A Dane

When researching social marketing I came across an interesting campaign called "Help A Dane". This organization, initiated by the Danish Cancer Society, is aimed at teaching Danes the importance of using sunscreen while on holiday. On their website, linked above, has the statistic that "4 in 10 Danish children are sunburned on holiday" and they provide helpful tips to protect Danish children from harmful UV rays. They also have an app that shows what the UV index is in your location. Here's one of the ads they ran:

This ad is obviously hilarious and it should be noted that Danish audiences appreciate well-placed humor which led to some ad success. Here's a quote from their campaign director, “Most people generally don’t like being told what to do, but Danes possess an admirable ability to laugh at themselves. The humorous nature of the campaign allows us to hold up a mirror to the Danes and show them how ridiculous it is to neglect sun protection. It’s an urgent reminder that invites them to play along and poke fun at themselves”. I love this campaign, not only because it is humorous but also because I was taught at a young age how important it is to take care of your skin. I have very fair, English, Irish, and Eastern European skin that can get sunburned SO easily. I know all too well the plight of a hot sunburn causing you not to move because of the pain. It's very important that kids learn at a young age to take care of their skin and fight against skin cancer.

What Causes Do I Care About?

Obviously right now we are at a pivotal time in history where the Black Lives Matter Movement has taken the forefront of media. The deaths of too many Black folk like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, and Ahmaud Arbery launched this movement to new heights but the fight for Black lives has been alive for years. During a time like this, as a privileged white person, it is my social responsibility to take a step back and raise the voices of Black folk whether this is through art, activism, community aid, fast facts, etc. I have done my best to post about what is happening with the protests, how we can help, donated to community bail funds, talked to my family about the movement, and more. During this time, due to the pandemic, it's not safe for everyone to be out on the streets fighting for Black lives because they may be immunocompromised. With social media, it is now easier than ever to share a message for change. It's important that we keep speaking out because all lives can't matter until Black lives matter.

I also have a special place in my heart for reproductive justice. In my sophomore year of college, I was one of the social media managers for Planned Parenthood Generation, a club on campus advocating for reproductive freedom. With the club I ran all of their social media accounts, occasionally led meetings, and organized events such as the Erotic Bake Sale to fundraise money. I also participated in the Condom Fashion Show and tabled in Red Square for Safe Sex Friday each week to teach people about reproductive justice, what their rights are, whom to get in contact with health services, and hand out free condoms to promote safe sex on campus. This organization and Planned Parenthood are extremely important to me because of the work they do for reproductive justice and sex education reform. The way sex education is taught in the U.S. is quite frankly appalling and is one of the reasons why the rates of teen pregnancy are so high. For reference, I had barely any sex education classes, and when I did, they were taught by a P.E. teacher and a pastor. In my life, I promote these causes on my social media by sharing informational posts to help people learn about the topic. To get people engaged in these posts, they need to be easy to read and aesthetically appealing to grab attention.

So Why Is Social Marketing Important?

"Well-executed social marketing captures attention, and spreads awareness about a social issue, through creativity and emotion. Most importantly, it presents a compelling, simple way to make the world better, and makes this beneficial behavior more desirable than any “competing” behavior. Through these elements, social marketing is able to successfully “sell” a beneficial behavior." - Business 2 Community

Social marketing is important because it sells beneficial behavior. People don't like to be told what to do, social marketing makes this behavior desirable. As humans, many of us want to help change the world and social marketing provides us with the opportunity to do so by illuminating worthy causes.