Addressing SBHC Challenges Through Social Marketing

Liz Smith Currie

Maesie Speer

Today We Will

1. Identify the key elements of social marketing

2. Describe your target audience and their gatekeepers

3. Develop a pitch for your SBHC marketing efforts

4. Identify possible vehicles for marketing to your target audience

Social Marketing: Basics and History

The Power of Traditional Marketing…

Last year, Americans spent $15 billion on this luxury item.

No, it's not Apple iPods.

Nope, it's not on movie tickets.

How can we harness the power of traditional marketing to improve our community?

In brief…

Social marketing is planning and implementing programs to change

a behavior using concepts from commercial marketing.

Old School: We tell you what to do

No significant reduction in the use and trafficking of illegal drugs was seen during the height of this campaign.

New School…Social marketing takes into account the values, beliefs and desires of the audience

Stage 1 of Social Marketing:PLANNING

Given Circumstances:

- Urban high school

- SBHC is underutilized by students of color

- These students are at greater risk for negative health outcomes

- Majority of these students are uninsured

Goal Setting

Be SMART when setting your goal.

S = SpecificM = MeasurableA = AchievableR = RealisticT = Time-phased

* By June 2008, we will see 20 first-time clients of color.

Target Audience and Gatekeepers

The target audience is the focus of your marketing effort.

* Students of color

Gatekeepers: those who influence your target audience.* Peers, parents, teachers, admired public figures

You Don’t Have toSet the World on Fire(You Just Need to Start a Spark)

How many people do you need to reach? It may be less than you think.

Number of soldiers’ moms needed to galvanize

the public to start questioning the war: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 1

Number of parents who successfully petitioned a school

board in Vista, California, for abstinence-only education: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Number of families that pressed for the

9/11 Commission: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Ultimately, the goal is action

Be clear about what action you want from your target audience.

What is it you want them to do?

* Come into the SBHC and interact with staff

Values and Beliefs

What are the top concerns of your audience?

What do they care about and how does that influence their decision making process?

Don’t know? – ASK!

* Social acceptance, violence in school/neighborhood, passing classes

Exchange/Benefit

You must offer your audience something appealing in return for changing behavior.

What makes it worth their while to do what you want?

* Safe place to go, confidentiality, quick and easy to access, adults that care

Programs to influence action will be more effective if they are based on an understanding of the target audience’s perceptions of the exchange.

Barriers

What keeps your target from doing what you want them to do?

What barriers are in place that you need to consider?

* They don’t know about us, don’t understand importance of prevention, they don’t trust us yet, language and cultural barriers, stigma around accessing services, location of clinic

Assets

What assets can help you overcome these barriers?

* Bilingual staff member, extended hours, staff in neighborhood, supportive teachers/administration, board member at an African American church, a couple of strong student advocates

Stage 2 of Social Marketing:THE PITCH

Tailoring a message to your audience means taking the audience’s perspective into account—speaking to audience members rather than at them. It does not mean losing your own perspective or compromising your values to tell people what they want to hear.

Messages and Emotions

Many social marketing efforts discuss values, but few efforts actually make deliberate decisions about what kind of emotion they want to invoke. Anger? Hope? Empowerment?

All of these can be powerful motivators when it comes to getting someone to act.

So What? Why Should I Care?

Get them to care by making it personal:

• Make it personally relevant.• Make a personal connection.• Get people personally involved.• Give them a personal reward.

BUT…

Don’t rely on assumptions or conventional wisdom to identify what makes an issue personal for target audiences.

Vehicles and Activities

These are the “how” of your marketing plan.

What vehicle are your going to use to get your message to your target—a brochure? The press? The school electronic sign?

Where do you reach your audience? At football games? In the classroom? At lunch?

Marketing Efforts Include 4P’s

• Create an enticing "Product" (i.e., the package of benefits associated with the desired action)

• Minimize the "Price" the target audience believes it must pay in the exchange

• Make the exchange and its opportunities available in "Places" that reach the audience and fit its lifestyles

• Promote the exchange opportunity with creativity and through channels and tactics that maximize desired responses.

Vehicle Carousel Activity

You Don’t Have to Go It Alone!

Get Help

• Consider hiring a professional

• Who can you partner with? Other organizations? School clubs? Classes?

• Contact the Network. Liz and Maesie can help you work through your goals.