What is more powerful – politics or communications ?

Vita SavickaFormer project consultant pf communication

campaign for social issuance and pension system

Lector in Riga Stradina University

Director of Baltic Communication Partners

Approach to political communication

Insure political communication; Inform; Create positive image; To get feedback from society.

Types of campaigns

Awareness campaign; Informative campaign; Education campaign; Creation of attitudes and values; Change of attitude and values; Change of behavior.

Social marketing

Social marketing campaigns promote social changes in society, achieving that target groups voluntarily changes their attitude by making better life for themselves and society as well.

Social marketing approach

First goal of communication is to affect action not at immediately to change target groups;

Communication is started even target audience do not believes that benefit will be greater than what they will lose.

When is it easer to change behavior

Advantage of new behavior – it promises greater benefit than instant behavior;

New behavior correspond to existing social values and norms;

Accepting new behavior is easier if behavior is not too complicated.

Challenges to change behavior

Considering that people who are in the target groups rarely are united in their way of the thinking, because in the different situations they attitude differ;

Preferable feedback may be different than we want to receive, because it is crucial to define the feedback which we want to receive from the each audience;

Situations constantly changes, that is why it is crucial to monitor every marketing campaigns effectiveness, and according to observations have to be ready to change strategics and tactics if it is necessary.

Typical causes, why social marketing campaigns are not effective

Ignorance – target audience do not value those benefits which it receives in case of change in attitude.

Flaw in the character - the target audience knows the benefits which they may receive in the case of change in attitudes, but do not react afterwards.

Campaign of pension system on 2000- 2001- one of

largest communicative campaigns in Latvia

First phase – “More you invest – more you can receive”;

Second phase – “Save for future”.

Communication tools

Direct mail – two times Events for mass media 29, 11 in regions Seminars for social insurance employees and interessents Web page with pension calculator (about 12 000 respond) Five brochures - 260 000 copies Brochures - 820 000 copies Advertisement – TV, Radio, outdoor Publicity During 16 month - 2974 publications Cooperation with TV and radio

– 11 regional TV media directly mailed 15 video release about different issues– totally 165 subjects. – 410 radio broadcasts about 65 issues – 4 national radio stations and 4 regional radio stations.

Communication campaigns in Latvia and Sweden

Goals of campaigns

Sweden - 50% participation in pension system; 75% understand how pensions system works.

Latvia - Recover that 75% would be informed about new pension

system; Recover that 5 - 6 % would participate in pension level 2,

which would be implemented during the campaign.

Results of communication campaigns in Latvia and Sweden

Sweden- 67 % make a choice – target is reached; 20% admit that they are not interested.

Latvia- 75% admit that they are informed about pension level 2, but

just 5% are accepted to participate it.

Analysis of campaign in Latvia

Social marketing 4P – product, price, place, promotion

Analysis of campaign in Latvia Product

Base product – benefit that target audience has received, when it will accept desirable attitude.

Is it had relative privileges comparing with instant system? Is it well matched with instant social norms? Is it not too complicated? May it be tried? Has it been noticed that somebody has already done it in like

manner?

Analysis of campaign in Latvia Product

Specific product – promoted specific attitude. This product is needed to gain all benefits, which are defined in base product;

Additional Product- tangible products and services promoted along with preferable attitude. It is not obligatory, but sometimes they motivate on action.

Analysis of campaign in Latvia Price

Price refers to what the consumer must do in order to obtain the social marketing product. However, if the benefits are perceived as money, psychological and social expenses, and also of none used alternatives and barriers which has to been overcome to receive exact attitude.

Defining change of attitude, that what is proposed to target audience should be equal or greater than that what should

target audience give back.

Analysis of campaign in Latvia Place

Place describes the way that the product reaches the consumer. It is a distribution system trough the product with information about it will reach the target audience.

Analysis of campaign in Latvia Promotion

• integrated use of advertising, public relations, promotions, media advocacy, personal selling and entertainment vehicles.

• responsible for information which will be distributed trough the channels (how it will reach the target audience in the right time).

Conclusion

The main Social marketing indicators are not just quantitative ones.

Conclusion

Communication is a power to do our lives better for ourselves and society!

Thank you!