Social Marketing Campaigns and Children’s Media Use Social Marketing Campaigns and Children’s Media Use W. Douglas Evans Summary Media-related commercial marketing aimed at promoting the purchase of products and ser- vices by children, and by adults for children, is ubiquitous and has been associated with nega- tive health consequences such as poor nutrition and physical inactivity. But, as Douglas Evans points out, not all marketing in the electronic media is confined to the sale of products. Increas- ingly savvy social marketers have begun to make extensive use of the same techniques and strat- egies used by commercial marketers to promote healthful behaviors and to counter some of the negative effects of conventional media marketing to children and adolescents. Evans points out that social marketing campaigns have been effective in helping to prevent and control tobacco use, increase physical activity, improve nutrition, and promote condom use, as well as other positive health behaviors. He reviews the evidence from a number of major recent campaigns and programming in the United States and overseas and describes the evaluation and research methods used to determine their effectiveness. He begins his review of the field of social marketing by describing how it uses many of the strategies practiced so successfully in commercial marketing. He notes the recent development of public health brands and the use of branding as a health promotion strategy. He then goes on to show how social marketing can promote healthful behavior, how it can counter media mes- sages about unhealthful behavior, and how it can encourage discussions between parents and children. Evans concludes by noting some potential future applications to promote healthful media use by children and adolescents and to mitigate the effects of exposure to commercial marketing. These include adapting lessons learned from previous successful campaigns, such as delivering branded messages that promote healthful alternative behaviors. Evans also outlines a message strategy to promote “smart media use” to parents, children, and adolescents and suggests a brand based on personal interaction as a desirable alternative to “virtual interaction.” www.futureofchildren.org W. Douglas Evans is vice president for public health and environment at RTI International. VOL. 18 / NO. 1 / SPRING 2008 181 W. Douglas Evans ommercial marketing is cen- promote health behavior change. I argue tral to the American, indeed that, like commercial marketers, social the global, economy. Since the marketers create value for target audiences early twentieth century, mar- through their own form of branding—by keting strategies have grown creating positive associations with health Cin reach and influence as media channels have behaviors and encouraging their adoption proliferated and people’s exposure to media and maintenance. Social marketers also use has increased. At its core, marketing is about market research to identify attitudes and an exchange of value between the marketer beliefs among their target audiences that may and consumer. If the marketer can promote support or inhibit the intended behavior a product or service to make the consumer change—increasing exercise or using a perceive sufficient value, the consumer is condom, for example. They apply audience more likely to purchase it. In the past thirty- segmentation techniques to develop targeted five years, marketers have begun to use the (to a group) and tailored (to an individual) same powerful idea in a new way—not to sell messages and promotional activities. products and services but to promote socially beneficial causes and behaviors. A growing Substantial evidence, especially from subject body of evidence shows that marketing is areas such as tobacco control, nutrition and highly effective in this arena as well. physical activity, and HIV/AIDS, suggests that social marketing can change health be- Marketing is perhaps best exemplified by the havior and is a broadly effective social-change strategy of “branding” products, services, strategy that can be applied in other subject organizations, and ideas. Brands, recognition areas as well. Well-funded social marketing of brands, and the relationship between brand campaigns, such as the American Legacy and consumer largely explain the tremendous Foundation’s truth campaign, have demon- success of product advertising and the growth strated robust effect sizes and have had major of the American and global consumer econo- population-level effects on health behavior, my over the past century. Marketers use morbidity, and mortality.2 The challenge for brands to build relationships that enhance the social marketers is to compete successfully value of products and services for consumers. in a media-saturated environment against By providing additional value for consumers, better-funded commercial marketers and brands can instill a sense of loyalty and their often unhealthful commercial mes- identification that causes consumers to sages for products such as junk and fast food, continue purchasing the branded products tobacco, and alcohol. and services over competitors. Brands project a personality with which consumers identify After discussing the evidence that social mar- and seek to associate themselves through keting works, I turn to the question of how owning and using the branded products and it works. As noted, social marketing applies services.1 Very much like reputations, brands the central marketing strategy of building precede the individual or organization and positive relationships with the audience to shape how the world responds. increase the value of promoted behaviors and to encourage exchange in the form of In this article, I examine social marketing and behavior adoption. Many social marketing its use of commercial marketing principles to campaigns have used branding to meet the 182 THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN Social Marketing Campaigns and Children’s Media Use competition head-on. The anti-tobacco use as nutrition and physical activity messages truth campaign, for example, developed promoted by the 1% Or Less milk campaign behavioral alternatives and creative branded and the 5-4-3-2-1 Go! campaign in Chicago, messaging to counter its competition, tobacco have targeted parents to encourage them to industry advertising. The approach used in change the home health environment and truth and other anti-tobacco use campaigns talk to their children about health behaviors.5 is often called “countermarketing.” Counter- These efforts also use relationship-building marketing campaign advertisements provide strategies, and many have used community behavioral alternatives to smoking, such as outreach as well as mass media components rebelling against industry manipulation and for a multi-channel message strategy. expressing independent thinking, thereby outdoing the industry’s own marketing of These strategies have clear applications to cigarettes as hip and cool products. Similar children’s media use and the effects of adver- approaches have been developed in nutri- tising on children’s health behavior. Market- tion, physical activity, and HIV/AIDS social ers have the ability to reach parents of young marketing. children and adolescents with targeted social marketing campaigns aimed at changing social norms about media use. They can pro- Social marketing has also mote “smart”—limited in time and self-aware been used to promote better in terms of influences—media use and a cul- ture of parental involvement with messages parent-child communication that vary by children’s stage of development. and improved family health. At the same time, marketers are able to target adolescents with messages to promote “smart” Social marketing in fields such as these can media use and brand it as socially desirable target not only individual behavior, but also behavior. The evidence suggests that social public policy. Social marketing in tobacco marketers would be most likely to succeed not control, for example, has been used to by demonizing media use but by competing promote policy change and new legislation, with media influences by providing appealing leading to changes in social norms and the behavioral alternatives. Using positive mes- acceptability of smoking.3 Public health orga- sages and imagery, they could promote nizations use branding strategies to promote alternatives to media use—for example, social mobilization and to influence public “branding” direct social interaction as cool and debate and opinion.4 Whether to focus on hip. Such a strategy could lead to a culture of individual behavior or larger policy issues more healthful engagement with, and under- involves a strategic decision by the social mar- standing of, media and its influences. keting campaign based on available resources and competition for public attention. Social Marketing Social marketing uses the principles and Social marketing has also been used to processes of commercial marketing, but not promote behaviors such as better parent- with the aim of selling products and services. child communication and improved family Rather, the goal is to design and implement health. Many social marketing messages, such programs to promote socially beneficial VOL. 18 / NO. 1 / SPRING 2008 183 W. Douglas Evans behavior change.6 In public health, social a nonsmoker, being physically active, or using marketing attempts to increase healthful be- a condom in an effort to encourage those haviors in a population by using such proven behaviors.7