Thinking Like a (Social) Marketer Jim Bender, MHS, CHES Academy for Educational Development Kari Sapsis, MPH National Immunization Program, CDC

What is Social Marketing?

A Definition Combining a marketing mindset... with behavioral science... for a good cause

What Social Marketing is NOT  Selling  Manipulation  A single intervention  Advertising or media campaigns

Challenges for Immunization Promotion Organizations  Identifying and prioritizing target audiences and their prevention needs  Designing interventions to meet those needs

Social Marketing: Four Principles 1. Audience-centered 2. Focuses on behavior 3. Program maximizes meaningful benefits and minimizes barriers 4. Decisions are based on evidence

TARGET AUDIENCE 1 ACTIVITIES 4 We will address these benefits & barriers through these activities. We will help a specific target audience To take a specific action. ACTION 2 BENEFITS & BARRIERS3 Base decisions on evidence and keep checking in To influence that action we will focus on these benefits and barriers. The BEHAVE Framework

Who are they? What do they want and need?

Social Marketing Principle #1 Know exactly who your audience is and look at everything from their point of view.

Traditional Public Health Education Mindset “What is the greatest need ?” GREATER NEED GREATER PRIORITY

Targets of Opportunity Less Need>> More Need Easy to Change>>>>>>Hard to Change

Social Marketing Mindset “Where is the greatest opportunity for prevention of disease?” GREATER OPPORTUNITY GREATER PRIORITY

Audience Segment- a definition  A group of people who are enough alike that a single intervention will be reasonably successful with everyone in the group.

Why Audience Segmentation?  Segmenting allows you to reach the largest number of people possible, who have similar needs and wants  Efficiency  Effectiveness

Segmentation Variables or Criteria  Demographics  Current behaviors  Stage of “readiness” for change  Benefits and barriers  What else??

Criteria for Deciding on a Target Audience  Where is the need?  How big is the audience segment?  How easy are they to reach?  How likely are they to take the necessary action?  How feasible is it for your organization to reach them?

Prevention Challenge  Identifying and prioritizing target audiences and their prevention needs

“My City” Priority Target Populations  Children with asthma  African American seniors  The general population  High risk adults

Example— Influenza vaccination: Seniors age 65 and over in “My Town” Females Males

Seniors age 65 and over Segmented by Previous Behavior and Intention: Influenza Vaccination Never tried Tried and do each year Tried, will never do again Tried and have not done consistently Intend to do again

“All seniors, age 65 and over who have gotten a flu shot in the past and intend to get one again”

Target Audience— Let’s Think Broadly  Consumers  Influencers  Intermediaries  Providers

What Will I Help Them Do?

Social Marketing Principle #2 Your Bottom Line: When all is said and done, the audience’s action is what counts Behaviors

A Well-Defined Action  Is Observable  Is Measurable  Has a specific context  Time  Place  Quantity or duration  Is Feasible

What are Some Vaccine- related Actions?  For consumers (the one who decides to get the shot)  For influencers (family members, friends, social contacts)  For intermediaries (teachers, church health programs, health plans)  For providers (docs, nurses, pharmacists, mass immunizers)

How Can I Maximize Benefits? How Can I Minimize Barriers?

Social Marketing Principle #3 Make the behavior FUN, EASY and POPULAR for an audience by: 1. Maximizing benefits 2. Minimizing barriers from THEIR point of view

Exchange Principle  People do things in exchange for benefits they hope to receive

Competition: What the Goal Behavior Must Beat Out  All other options, including the risk behavior that I’m doing right now!

Florida’s TRUTH Campaign Problem: How to stem the growing numbers of teen smokers? Challenge: What exchange can we offer teens to compete with smoking?  What do teens really want? What do they get out of smoking? How can we offer that?  What do they really dislike? How can we link that with tobacco?

Looking at Smoking from the Audience’s Point of View Allure of Smoking (competition) Brand identity (cool, hip) Independence (rebellion) Individuality Nicotine high Relieves stress Allure of Not Smoking (benefits) Health Keeps some adults happy

Offering an Exchange Allure of Smoking Brand identity (cool, hip) Independence (rebellion) Individuality Nicotine high Relieves stress Allure of Not Smoking Health Keeps some adults happy Undermine Benefits (overcome barriers to nonsmoking) Add Benefits

TRUTH Campaign Benefits: Offer teens independence, a sense of self-control, a voice, and connection to a group by joining the TRUTH campaign Competition: Portray the competition as big tobacco that manipulates, lies, and makes teens look like ‘‘suckers”

Florida’s Big Idea Reposition the tobacco industry —and the anti-tobacco movement— By creating a hip, youth anti-tobacco brand.

Behavior Change 19% decline in cigarette use among middle school youth 8% decline in cigarette use among high school youth Source: FYTS, 1998 & (n=22,000)

I know a lot about you. I understand you well. I understand your problems, frustrations, aspirations and needs I know a lot about you. I understand you well. I understand your problems, frustrations, aspirations and needs

Social Marketing Principle #4 Base decisions on evidence and keep checking in

Formative Research  Gathering data to make every program decision.

Sources of Information  Census data  State or local surveys  Health Department data  Data from membership organizations  Physician office or clinic records  Qualitative Research (interviews, focus groups, etc.)

Your Intervention…  …should promote the benefits and address the barriers to the BEHAVIOR, from the audience point of view  Examples  Group meetings or workshops  One on one meetings or counseling  Centralized information and referral  Standing orders  Incentives  Advocacy  Community mobilization  Mass or “small” media

Challenges for Immunization Promotion Organizations  Identifying and prioritizing target audiences and their prevention needs  Designing interventions to meet those needs

What Social Marketing Offers  Audience-centered methodolgy  Systmatic way to segment audiences; find targets of opportunity  A focus on behavior  Framework for targeting interventions to increase benefits and reduce barriers for target audience  Evidence-based decisionmaking

Q.C.C.O?? Zikomo Kwambiri