Page 40 - MYM 2016

From the Periphery to the Core
all of the features of social
marketing and seek to apply
as many as possible, espe-
cially the key concepts of
value creation, citizen-centric
planning and the setting of
clear measurable behavioral
indicators. e job of govern-
ment is essentially to support
and enable people to live a
satisfying and happy life. To
do this they need to assist
citizens and create condi-
tions and social relationships
underpinned by respect.
ey also need to ensure
security and safety. Govern-
ments also have to encourage
and regulate markets so that
they produce net social good
as well as material wealth. To do this they need to understand people’s needs and wants and develop supportive services based on this understanding and o en incentivize services deliverers to deliver mea- surable value. social marketing is a key tool that can assist in all of these roles. Figure 4 sets out four clus- ters of processes that social marketing can add to the social policy and strategy development process.
Figure 4 illustrates how social marketing can help the social policy development and the strategy selection process. e input of citizens’ views about what policy imperatives exist and how to prioritize amongst these is a process that most politicians use when developing their manifestos. Social marketing can assist at this formulation stage but also with the re nement of manifesto commitments into more developed, working policy proposals. As indicated earlier, one of the key weaknesses of many social policies is the lack of clear objectives and congruent behavioral evaluation targets. Social marketing can assist with the collection & analysis of citizen under- standing, view, needs and behavior, and through this process aid the development of achievable behavioral objectives using behavioral modeling and completion analysis based on theory, insight data, situational analysis, evidence and assessments of existing practice. Social marketing can also help
policymakers with the development of targeted intervention strategies consisting of the optimum mix of interventions. Social marketing also has a role to play in assisting with ongoing policy and strategy development through impact evaluation and assess- ment of return on social investment.
conclusions
Social marketing should be pushing against an open policy door as politicians and policymakers are faced with a ra of di cult social policy issues, most of which relate to the behavior of citizens. Social marketing has many of the answers to tackle these issues and a set of principles that can help de ne and develop e ective policies, strategies, and interven- tions. Social marketing re ects the ideological stance of most modern democratic societies with its citi- zen-centric approach supported by evidence, insight and data. Social marketing’s systematic planning and evaluation approach also make it a natural t with modern policy development and strategic planning for social good. However, it will not be su cient to just wait for politicians and policymakers to beat a path to the door of those who believe in the added value of social marketing.
To rst embed and then sustain social marketing
fig. 4: What strategic social Marketing can add to social policy and strategy development
40 | MINd YOUr MarkETING OCTOBEr 2016