NCJ Number
190736
Date Published
1997
Length
34 pages
Annotation
This document explores how social marketing can be employed to change how students establish patterns of alcohol and other drug use.
Abstract
Social marketing examines the numerous and often subtle pressures to which students respond, making them the basis for prevention strategies. Commercial marketing’s four Ps: product, price, place, and promotion can be seen in successful social marketing campaigns. The product may be a change in behavior or support for a new program or policy. The price may be breaking with tradition, or giving up a comfortable belief or habit. The place is where people can embrace a program or pursue a new course of conduct. Promotion is the means used to communicate messages and images justifying the change and making it appealing. A social marketing campaign may aim to generate support for a prevention initiative or for a policy change affecting the environment in which alcohol is sold and consumed. But while the ultimate goal of the campaign may be to change individual behavior, seeking changes in the environment that influence individual behavior may best pursue that goal. Communication is the essential tool of social marketing. The process of countering widely held beliefs and norms needs frequent repetition to be accepted and to motivate action. A social marketing campaign may, therefore, need an extended period of time -- even 2 to 5 years --to produce measurable results. The goals and strategies of a particular social marketing campaign must always be based on the characteristics of a specific target population. Social marketing can best facilitate change as part of a strategic plan. Wide support can be gained by framing the objectives of a campaign in terms of general benefit to the individual or to an entire group.