Societal issues, such as global warming, economic disparities, global conflict, severe health issues and so on, have focused the individual's attention on a sustainable future like never before, and, as emerged at Cannes this year, advertising agencies are tracking this shift in public participation and realising that their consumers want to see them producing campaigns that influence better behavior and not just encourage people to spend or become brand slaves.
According to Draftfcb's definition, social marketing is pertinent as “changing behavior requires a different approach to traditional advertising. It is this realisation that has given birth to a new marketing model called social marketing. A new offering for a new era… Social marketing applies commercial and innovative marketing technologies in behavior-change programmes with the aim of influencing the voluntary behaviour of target audiences for the greater good of the individual and society.”
Examples of how this has been applied in the South African context are the ‘Constitutional Assembly's Public Participation Programme'; Government's ‘Working for Water' campaign; HIV/Aids prevention campaigns; and the SARS campaign to build a tax compliant culture in South Africa. Draftfcb has many more case studies on its website for further information: www.draftfcb.co.za.
So how is it different to traditional advertising?
Draftfcb group MD Selomane Maitisa explained that the focal point was in changing behavior and attitudes and not simply selling a product or service, or building a brand. “In social marketing we are usually trying to persuade people to stop a behaviour they enjoy and/or prevent them from taking up a behavior that appears very attractive, ie, smoking or risky sexual behavior.”
The whole process requires the buy-in of individuals being targeted. It usually focuses on three critical issues, as indicated by the Draftfcb presentation:
It targets those who have a reason to care and uses partnerships to ensure impact and the efficient use of resources. It is not another ad campaign or driven by an expert's agenda.
The new team heading up the new division are: Social Marketing MD Pat Govender; strategic director Marion Sparg; and programme director Mariaan van Kaam.
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