Social marketing and communication in health promotion

Abstract

Communication is a central aspect of health promotion and the opportunity for mass communication makes the 'media' a popular option amongst health promoters. The media in this context includes any non-personal channels of communication, from leaflets to television commercials to teaching packs. These channels can be employed directly using deliberately designed media materials. Alternatively, they may be used indirectly by stimulating editorial interest and comment on a particular issue. This paper will make some suggestions for improving the use of the media in health promotion. In seeking guidance about how to make best use of the media, health promoters can turn to a number of disciplines, including education, medicine, social psychology and communication theory. Another obvious source of insights is commercial marketing, where purposeful media communication, most apparent in the form of advertising, is in continuous use. it is this source of advice that we want to examine here. In recent years much has been written about the application of commercial marketing approaches to social issues -- so called social marketing. This paper will begin by examining the origins of 'social marketing'. it will then discuss its key concepts and consider how these might help health promoters communicate more effectively. However, to interest active health promoters, the discussion needs to progress beyond ideas and concepts, beyond theory and demonstrate practical benefits that social marketing can provide in real life situations. The paper will therefore continue by examining the case histories of a number of media based health promotion campaigns and illustrate how the most basic of social marketing insights, consumer orientation, has contributed to them.