EP#149 Driving Positive Change with Social Marketing
Aug 15, 2023
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Professor Sharyn Rundle-Thiele discusses the concept of 'social marketing' and its positive impact. She shares her recent work in mitigating koala threat from dogs and raising awareness of cleaning leaves in gutters. The podcast also explores the challenges of driving positive change in established bureaucracy and the importance of listening and engagement in government. Lastly, it mentions the upcoming Change 2023 conference, focusing on achieving measurable change for the benefit of people, communities, and the planet.
Social marketing focuses on creating broad changes and behaviors to make a positive impact on people and the planet.
Co-design is an essential aspect of social marketing, involving engagement tools like co-design, design thinking, and user experience to drive long-term behavior change.
Deep dives
The Power of Social Marketing
Social marketing goes beyond traditional commercial marketing by focusing on creating broad changes and behaviors. It involves looking for existing programs and recognizing the amazing work being done by others in the field. By applying marketing skills to deliver positive outcomes, social marketers can make a significant impact on both people and the planet.
Six Key Elements of Effective Social Marketing
Social marketing relies on a variety of approaches to achieve behavior change. These include customer orientation, segmentation, competition, having a clear behavioral focus, implementing a marketing mix, and focusing on engagement. By embracing these elements, social marketers can increase their success rates in driving behavior change.
The Importance of Co-Design in Social Marketing
Co-design plays a crucial role in social marketing, allowing programs to be designed with and not just for people. This includes using engagement tools like co-design, design thinking, and user experience to attract attention and keep people engaged for long-term behavior change. Co-design also involves segmentation and understanding different target groups to tailor communication effectively.
Overcoming Challenges In Social Marketing
Implementing social marketing principles in government or bureaucratic environments can be challenging due to time constraints and competing priorities. However, it can be done through training sessions that emphasize how quickly programs can be developed and the clear evidence supporting the effectiveness of using the six key elements of social marketing. The focus should be on starting conversations, learning from people, and taking action to create measurable outcomes.
On this episode of Govcomms, contentgroup CEO David Pembroke is joined once again by the Founding Director of Social Marketing @ Griffith, Professor Sharyn Rundle-Thiele.
Joining us from Queensland, Sharyn is an expert in all things social marketing. Drawing from her background in commercial marketing, her current research focuses on applying marketing to benefit both people and the planet. She has worked on numerous social marketing projects that help tackle issues such as marine pollution in Indonesia, unhealthy eating habits of military personnel, domestic pet and wildlife interactions and teen drinking habits.
In this conversation, we revisit the concept of ‘social marketing’ and uncover the positive impact it can create. Sharyn also highlights some of her recent work that involved mitigating koala threat from dogs and raising awareness of the importance of cleaning leaves in gutters.
We conclude the episode with details about the Change 2023 conference hosted by Social Marketing @ Griffith, which will take place on the 19th and 20th of October, with options to attend either in-person or online. This conference delves into the latest insights and best practices for achieving measurable change that benefits people, communities, and the planet. Govcomms listeners are eligible for a 10% discount on their tickets using the code CONTENTGROUP10. Reserve your spot today by visiting their website: https://www.griffith.edu.au/griffith-business-school/social-marketing-griffith/change-conference