Social Marketing Strategies of Companies in Indian Economy
Social marketing in era of globalization:
Social marketing is the systematic application of marketing along with other concepts and techniques to achieve specific behavioral goals for a social good. Social marketing can be applied to promote, for example, merit goods, make the society avoid demerit goods and thus to promote that considers society’s well being as a whole. This may include asking people not to smoke in public areas, for example, ask them to use seat belts, prompting to make them follow speed limits.
Although ‘social marketing’ is sometimes seen only as using standard commercial marketing practices to achieve non-commercial goals, this is an over-simplification. The primary aims of ‘social marketing’ is ‘social good’, while in ‘commercial marketing’ the aim is primarily ‘financial’. This does not mean that commercial marketers can not contribute to achievement of social good.
Increasingly, social marketing is being described as having ‘two parents’ – a ‘social parent’ = social sciences and social policy, and a ‘marketing parent’ = commercial and public sector marketing approaches.
Beginning in the 1970s, it has in the last decade matured into a much more integrative and inclusive discipline that draws on the full range of social sciences and social policy approaches as well as marketing.
Applications of social marketing:
Health promotion campaigns in the late 1980s began applying social marketing in practice. Notable early developments took place in Australia. These included the Victoria Cancer Council developing its anti-tobacco campaign “Quit” (1988), and “Sun Smart” (1988), its campaign against skin cancer which had the slogan Slip! Slap! Slop!
Work Safe Victoria, a state-run Occupational Health and Safety organization in Australia has used social marketing as a driver in its attempts to reduce the social and human impact of workplace safety failings. In 2006, it ran ‘Homecomings’ , a popular campaign that was later adopted in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia, and named the 2007 Australian Marketing Institute Marketing Program of the Year.
Dance Safe followed the ideas of social marketing in its communication practices.
On a wider front, by 2007, Government in the United Kingdom announced the development of its first social marketing strategy for all aspects of health.
Two other public health applications include the CDC’s CDCynergy training and software application, and SMART (Social Marketing and Assessment Response Tool).
Social marketing theory and practice has been progressed in several countries such as the U.S, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and in the latter a number of key Government policy papers have adopted a strategic social marketing approach. Publications such as ‘Choosing Health’ in 2004, ‘it’s our health!’ in 2006; and ‘Health Challenge England in 2006, all represent steps to achieve both a strategic and operational use of social marketing. In India, especially in Kerala, AIDS controlling programmes are largely using social marketing and social workers are largely working for it. Most of the social workers are professionally trained for this particular task.
History of social marketing
Social marketing began as a formal discipline in 1971, with the publication of “Social Marketing: An Approach to Planned Social Change” in the Journal of Marketing by marketing experts Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman. Craig Lefebvre and June Flora introduced social marketing to the public health community in 1988 where it has been most widely used and explored. They noted that there was a need for ‘large scale, broad-based, behavior change focused programs’ to improve public health (the community wide prevention of cardiovascular diseases in their respective projects), and outlined eight essential components of social marketing that still hold today. They are:
- A consumer orientation to realize organizational (social) goals
- An emphasis on the voluntary exchanges of goods and services between providers and consumers
- Research in audience analysis and segmentation strategies
- The use of formative research in product and message design and the pre testing of these materials
- An analysis of distribution (or communication) channels
- Use of the marketing mix – utilizing and blending product, price, place and promotion characteristics in intervention planning and implementation
- A process tracking system with both integrative and control functions
A management process that involves problem analysis, planning, implementation and feedback functions.
Speaking of what they termed “social change campaigns,” Kotler and Roberto introduced the subject by writing, “A social change campaign is an organized effort conducted by one group (the change agent) which attempts to persuade others (the target adopters) to accept, modify, or abandon certain ideas, attitudes, practices or behavior.” Their 1989 text was updated in 2002 by Philip Kotler, Ned Roberto and Nancy Lee.
In recent years there as has been an important development to distinguish between ‘strategic social marketing’ and ‘operational social marketing’.
Much of the literature and case examples focus on ‘operational social marketing’, using it to achieve specific behavioural goals in relation to different audiences and topics. However there has been increasing efforts to ensure social marketing goes ‘upstream’ and is used much more strategically to inform both ‘policy formulation’ and ‘strategy development’.
Here the focus is less on specific audience and topic work but uses strong customer understanding and insight to inform and guide effective policy and strategy development.
Social marketing should not be confused with the Societal Marketing Concept which was a forerunner of sustainable marketing in integrating issues of social responsibility into commercial marketing strategies. In contrast to that, social marketing uses commercial marketing theories, tools and techniques to social issues.
Social marketing applies a “customer oriented” approach and uses the concepts and tools used by commercial marketers in pursuit of social goals like Anti-Smoking-Campaigns or fund raising for NGOs.
CASE STUDIES:
Case 1- Hindustan Latex Limited:
Hindustan Latex Limited, a public sector company established more than three decades ago, came to occupy a premier position in the country’s family planning and health care programs. The company not only established itself as the leader in the segment of manufacture of contraceptives, but also diversified into manufacturing and marketing of other related health care products. Social marketing became one of the key areas of the company to ensure that quality contraceptives are available to the people at an affordable price at an ‘arms length of desire’.
Though the direct marketing operations of the company were doing very well, over the years, the company realized that its social obligation being paramount, the company could not look at profitability alone, which was however being sustained through its exports and direct marketing. The company realized the need for family planning and healthcare programs aimed at the poor and disadvantaged sections of the society. Hindustan Latex Limited thus ventured into social sector projects aimed at creating a planned social change. It was with this objective that HLL formed the Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust, a non-profit organization promoted by HLL.
Since its establishment in 1992, HLFPPT has been undertaking the conceptualization and implementation of various Social Sector Projects. The Trust’s area of operations extends to the various states of India. Although the Trust was established for promoting the agenda of family planning, the Trust’s activities have now been broad based to focus on reproductive and sexual health. The Trust is expected to develop into a major civil society participant working in the health sector, in partnership with a range of development actors.
The Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust was established in 1992 under the Registration of Societies 12th Act of 1955 Travancore – Cochi Literary Scientific, Charitable Societies Registration Act. The trust develops and implements programs to encourage healthy behavior and to increase the availability of health products and services at prices low-income people can afford.
The objectives of the Trust are the following
- To conduct research studies in demography and other areas affecting the health and welfare of people, especially in rural areas.
- To assist voluntary organizations for mass communication, public relations etc. in the area of health and family planning.
- To establish research centers and other institutions to conduct study classes, research studies in a scientific manner in the area of Family Planning Programme, Contraceptives and all types of prophylactics and other health care products.
- To establish hospitals, family planning clinics, health centers for popularization of family planning.
- To involve people and voluntary organizations in implementation of various family planning schemes and health programmes in rural and backward areas.
To raise funds in furtherance of the objectives of the trust from the public and/or financial institutions or such terms and conditions as may be agreed by the board of trustees. The Trust is working on the following major areas
- Social marketing of health care products and social franchising of reproductive health services.
- Sexual health awareness and HIV/AIDS prevention and control.
Technical assistance and consultancy on reproductive health issues.
Competency of HLFPPT
The social project planning and implementation, brand building programmes, project consultancy, distribution & logistics management, local media implementation and networking programmes & linkage development with NGOs are major activities of HLFPPT. HLFPPT is currently implementing sexual and reproductive health projects, HIV/AIDS targeted interventions, and IEC projects funded by national and international development agencies like DFID, USAID, SIFPSA, European commission and Govt. of India. The interventions are directed at creating planned and sustained behavioral change for having small and healthy families, healthy and safe sexual and reproductive health etc.
New Business:
- Vaccines.
- Life Spring Hospital Network.
- Women’s Health Care Pharma Products.
- In – Vitro Diagnostic Test Kits.
- Hind Labs Diagnostic Centre.
- Medi Park.
Case 2 – Sri Ganapathi Silks:
Sri Ganapathi Silks – A famous dress apparels retail store which is located in Coimbatore have a tremendous growth in short span of four years only through its best service to its shoppers. A five-storey building located in the busiest location of the city. This organization provides every comfort to its customer through marketing and as well social well being. It conducts Free eye checkup camps, blood testing camps and it is also an member of social firm like RAAC and SIRUTHULI which involves its major functions such as anti-tobacco campaigns, anti-HIV and other campaigns.
Case 2- The Chennai Silks:
Humble beginnings saw the birth of The Chennai Silks in the textile town of Tirupur,
South India, in the early 1960s. Initiated as khadi showrooms, the chain of stores rapidly grew to different regions of Tamilnadu. Catering to diverse segments of the society, the stores earned an endearing name for itself among all its customers. Soon, the stores were metamorphosised into grand textile showrooms in the major cities of Chennai, Coimbatore, Trichy, Erode and Tirupur.
Spread over a sprawling area of over 2 lakh sq.ft. The Chennai Silks finds pride of place amongst the largest textile chain of showrooms in South India. The Group also has its own textile export arm – the SCM Groups – which is a prominent exporter of hosiery to the demanding markets of Europe, USA, among other countries and also involved in wholesale orders for domestic and global clients. It has maintained The Goodwill of greatest socially good promoter by the following functions:
- Anti-AIDS campaigns.
- Anti-Tobacco campaigns.
- Anti-Plastics campaigns.
- Cancer Awareness campaigns.
- Other Health Awareness campaigns.
- Traffic Awareness campaigns.
Wrapping Note:
I finally conclude saying that, how firms try to compete with global market through various social marketing tools, which not only benefit the social well being but also increase the efficiency, goodwill and customer relationship of that firm.