Prevention Works!

Social Marketing Can Enhance Prevention Programming

Social marketers use consumer-based models to design behavior change messages for target populations. Studies indicate that social marketing proves beneficial in selling “products”--prevention messages--to specific “consumer” groups--populations at risk for substance abuse.

These strategies are based on marketing principles called the 4 Ps: product, price, place, and promotion. While this expressly sales-oriented framework does not directly translate to a public health environment, it can enhance intervention programming in the prevention community.

Social marketing techniques create research-intensive, audience-centered interventions. For a social marketer, an effective prevention initiative begins by understanding the audience, clarifying the core message, and assessing available resources. Changing behavior patterns requires knowledge of current behaviors, particularly those that predispose populations to substance abuse or enable it to continue.

A social marketer's research involves various forms of data collection, including focus groups, surveys, and ongoing field work. Throughout all stages of program planning and implementation, social marketers continue to monitor communication channels, program successes, and barriers. Modifications are made along the way to increase favorable end results.

Social marketing programs are also designed to be benefits-oriented. Uniquely tailored to specific audiences, well-designed programs stress how the benefits of behavior change outweigh the perceived costs of making lifestyle changes.

While prevention professionals may not be familiar with social marketing theory and principles, their work often demonstrates its practical application. When community leaders develop programs based on their intrinsic knowledge of local populations, this method reflects the social marketing approach.

Source: Adapted by CSAP from “Social Marketing: Its Place in Public Health,” Ling, J. C.; Franklin, B. A. K.; Lindsteadt, J. F.; Gearon, S. A. N.; Annual Review of Public Health, vol. 13: 341-362, 1992.

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