Social change, social marketing and social representations

Abstract

Since Kotler and Zaltman introduced the term social marketing in 1971, much has been written about the subject. One of the first definitions of social marketing was the design, implementation and control of programs calculated to influence the acceptability of social ideas and involving considerations of product planning, pricing, communication, distribution and marketing research (Kotler & Zaltman, 1973, p. 56). The concept has been put into practice and used extensively to change public behaviour and promote social change. Literature reports the effective use of social marketing to promote among many other issues environmental awareness (e.g. Maibach, 1993), sustainable behavior (e.g. McKenzie-Mohr & Smith, 1999), health improvement (Gordon, McDermott, Stead, & Angus, 2006), reduction in alcohol consumption (Rothschild, 2006), condom use and reproductive health (Van Rossem & Meekers, 2007) and breastfeeding (e.g. Lomas, 2009).