SOCIAL MARKETING CAMPAIGNS IN THE PHILIPPINES  AND ITS EFFECTS ON SELECTED VARIABLES: AN ASSESSMENT

Maria Victoria U. Rosas, Colegio de San Juan de Letran,Manila

Abstract

Social marketing was "born" as a discipline in the 1970s, when Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman realized that the same marketing principles that were being used to sell products to consumers could be used to "sell" ideas, attitudes and behaviors. Likewise, Kotler and Andreasen define social marketing as "differing from other areas of marketing only with respect to the objectives of the marketer and his or her organization. Social marketing seeks to influence social behaviors not to benefit the marketer, but to benefit the target audience and the general society." This technique has been used extensively in international health programs, especially for contraceptives and  oral rehydration therapy (ORT), as well as  diverse topics  such as drug abuse, heart disease and organ donation. Like commercial marketing, the primary focus is on the consumer--on learning what people want and need rather than trying to persuade them to buy what we happen to be producing. Marketing talks to the consumer, not about the product. The planning process takes this consumer focus into account by addressing the elements of the marketing mix." This refers to decisions about 1) the conception of a Product, 2) Price, 3) distribution (Place), and 4) Promotion. These are often called the "Four Ps" of marketing. Social marketing also adds a few more "P's.These are  publics, partnership, policy, and purse settings. Each element of the marketing mix should be taken into consideration as the program is developed, for they are the core of the marketing effort. A social marketing program has its core the wants and needs of its consumers. These are determined through market research methods that aim to learn as much about the target audience and how it thinks, feels and behaves in relation to the issue the program is addressing. The social marketing approach differs greatly from how public health agencies have typically gone about developing programs or materials. In the past, health educators often focused on providing information to the general public about a particular topic, with the hope that the people who needed it would realize they are at risk and change their behavior as a result. In contrast, social marketers know that there is no such thing as "targeting" the general public. To be most effective, a program must precisely specify its target audience and use customized methods to reach those people. This research aims to determine the effects of social marketing campaigns on the awareness, social responsibility and attitude of students along Intramuros Manila.

Social Marketing Campaigns

Social marketing makes you look at whom you want to influence and how to sway these people most effectively. Moreover, social marketing uses the benefits of doing social good to secure and maintain customer engagement. In other words, social marketing focuses on social good particularly on the effects of social marketing on social awareness, social responsibility and attitude of students .As seen in Table 1, the respondents are very much aware of the existence of social marketing campaigns such as on No smoking Campaign, Reuse /Recycle Campaign, Clean Environment, and Use of Contraceptives . However , only few of the respondents are aware of social marketing campaign on organ donation.This could be brought about by lack of promotional campaigns on this item. Moreover, among the social marketing  campaigns, clean environment ranked  as the most popular social marketing campaign followed by use of contraceptives. The respondents perceived  the relevance of clean environment because of  its effects on economic growth and development as well as safety of the society.The third question asks the respondents on the  degree of their awareness  on social marketing campaigns enumerated in the study. It can be seen that majority of the respondents perceived high degree of awareness on no smoking campaign, reuse/recycle and clean environment particularly on the social good these campaigns provide for the society. The fourth question tries to determine  which of the enumerated social marketing campaigns has greatly  affected student’s awareness, social responsibility and attitude As seen in the table, respondents assessed that all the social marketing campaigns are of importance and relevance as regards to respondents’ social awareness ,attitude and social responsibility. In this connection, it can be said that social marketing is  now  in its growth phase; hence, various strategies and programs should be designed by different  sectors particularly those in the academic institutions in order to strengthen awareness on  social good and relevance of the campaign. Another concern is to integrate social marketing in the application of   commercial marketing technologies to the analysis, planning, execution and evaluation of programs designed to influence the voluntary behaviour of target audiences in order to improve their personal welfare and that of society.  Social marketing can likewise be a part of  the curriculum in the academe in order to further develop social awareness of students, who are the hope of the nation, to save the earth for its continuous deterioration. Its inclusion can intensify the existing social marketing campaigns of various sectors  to further enhance  social awareness, increase social responsibility and improve attitude. Consequently,  this can provide a corporate image boost  for institutions with good and relevant social marketing campaigns which are focused to address serious world problems

Table 1

MEAN RATING OF THE RESPONDENTS

ITEMS

MEAN

REMARKS

Degree of Awareness on Social Marketing Campaigns

1 .No Smoking Campaign

3.50

STRONGLY AGREE

2.Reuse and Recycle Campaign

3.88

STRONGLY AGREE

3. Use of Contraceptives

2.63

AGREE

4. Clean Environment

3.63

STRONGLY AGREE

5. Organ Donation

1.50

DISAGREE

Relevance of social marketing campaigns

MEAN

REMARKS

1. No Smoking Campaign

3.25

STRONGLY AGREE

2. Reuse and Recycle Campaign

3.88

STRONGLY AGREE

3. Use of Contraceptives

2.88

AGREE

4. Clean Environment

4.00

STRONGLY AGREE

5. Organ Donation

2.63

AGREE

LEVEL OF EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MARKETING CAMPAIGNS ON THE social indicators

MEAN

REMARKS

4.1 Social Awareness

3.38

STRONGLY AGREE

4.2 Social Responsibility

3.75

STRONGLY AGREE

4.3 Attitude

3.38

STRONGLY AGREE

References Available upon Request