Overcoming societal resistance through marketing : a qualitative study

Abstract

Societal resistance is a major hurdle in the spread of innovative ideas that change the way people go about their daily activities. Resistance comes in different forms by way of functional and psychological barriers. This study focuses on traditional resistance of ideas in Malta and investigates reception to campaigns concerning the divorce debate, in an effort to understand what marketing strategies could overcome resistance. Qualitative research was undertaken towards this purpose. Three focus groups were carried out with different age groups, investigating their opinions on the campaigns launched by the 'Moviment Iva għaż-Żwieg, Iva għad-Divorzju' and 'Moviment Żwieg bla Divorzju'. Moreover the impact of other entities in Malta, namely the Catholic Church and the two major political parties was discussed to analyse the extent of influence these had on public opinion. This study demonstrates that the movements of divorce did not provide the public with the type of information wanted. Respondents felt that the marketing campaigns were strong in nature but were not implemented in a manner that suited the divorce debate. Respondents noted that each of the movements were very keen on voicing their own views on the debate, but they failed to give an accurate rendition of the effects that divorce would have on individuals and society. This study argues that a marketing strategy based on information and two-sided arguments would have appealed more strongly to public opinion during this campaign.