Research Proposal on "Smoking Social Marketing"

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Research Proposal 9 pages (3333 words) Sources: 25

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Social Marketing: Anti-Smoking

Smoking - Social Marketing

Social marketing: 'Unfriending' smoking through a Facebook campaign

Conduct a situational analysis 'If your friend jumped off of a bridge, would you do it?' Perhaps the sobering answer to that question is not simply 'yes,' but that 'if my friend, or my friend's friend did so, I just might take the leap.' In the article "Are your friends making you fat," the authors of the book Connected: The surprising power of our social networks and how they shape our lives reported to the New York Times that social networks have a profound effect on the personal decisions human beings make, spanning everything from when they get married to how much they eat at a buffet-style restaurant (Thompson, 2009, p.1). One clear, measurable impact of social networks is the normalization of certain habits and social behaviors that affect human health, including smoking.

While smoking is a physical addiction, the delights of smoking have many salient features that transcend the biologically compelling nature of nicotine. The allure of striking the match, the satisfying smack of the pack on the smoker's wrist, the seductive blue rings of smoke that escape from a person's lips -- all of these demonstrate that smoking is compelling as a habit in ways that cannot always be easily quelled with a pill and which, to some degree, require a certain level of social normalization (Kessler, 2009, p.199). Smoking must be tolerated by the person's family and friends to be truly pleasurable. If the smoker can no longer share a puff with others, and the answer to the question 'can I smoke' relegates him or her outsi

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de in the cold, the delights of smoking began to be outweighed by the difficulties incurred by smoking, and the level of explicit or implicit social disapproval felt by the smoker.

A person must want to quit, and often the reasons for a person quitting smoking are very personal in origin. But smoking, like all addictive behaviors, is at least partially a social phenomenon. And it could be argued that the decision to begin smoking is an entirely social phenomenon, as without the support of friends as well as the encouragement of advertising, few would think to put tobacco in a piece of paper, light a match and inhale. However, up until now, anti-smoking campaigns have treated smoking as an individual physical compulsion and a disease. They have targeted the individual, rather than social communities. The negative health benefits of smoking are stressed, and smoker's cravings are treated with nicotine patches. "4,000 toxic chemicals leave a stench no perfume can mask... just ask the people around you. Please stop smoking, You'll smell better instantly. Call [HIDDEN] " read the text of one recent campaign (Gilford 2008)

The media has had an undeniable contributing factor to smoking. In the 1940s, a popular film "Now, voyager" depicted the hero seducing the heroine by lighting two cigarettes against his lips, and giving her one of the lit cigarettes. Sexy women and bad-boy males smoked in the 1950s. Smoking was seen as a sign of female liberation as early as the era of the flapper in the 20s, as 'nice' girls were not supposed to smoke. During the 1960s and 1970s, Virginia Slims capitalized upon the women's liberation movement by proclaiming 'you've come a long way baby' -- a long way, an anti-smoking advocate might say, to getting cancer at the same rates as males. (Toll & Ling 2009). In fact, evidence suggests that women may be more susceptible to the negative effects of nicotine than males despite the fact that fewer women smoke than men, although the disparity between the genders is shrinking (Smoking and women fact sheet, 2009, ALA). Yet the Virginia Slims cigarette brand was seen as so iconic and integral to feminism, it even sponsored the popular women's tennis tour, lead by pioneering tennis star Billie Jean King (Favorito 2009). This further normalized smoking, associating it with health as well as modern attitudes.

Awareness about the risks of smoking has also come a long way. Social shaping can often have a more powerful and immediate impact than traditional media-driven campaigns. In the Framingham Heart Study, chronicled in Connected, people slowly, even unwillingly quit smoking as their friends did, partially due to logistical difficulties. "I would take myself to Friendly's with a book, and I would sit there and have two cups of coffee and two cigarettes," said one woman. "At the time, her cigarette habit didn't seem like a problem; most of her friends also smoked socially. But in the late 1980s, a few of them began to quit, and pretty soon Eileen felt awkward holding a cigarette off to one side when out at a restaurant. She quit, too, and within a few years nobody she knew smoked anymore" (Thomas 2009, p.1).

This suggests that social forces have a tremendous impact on behavior as much as generic slogans -- although awareness campaigns may impact some individuals, those individuals must sow the seeds of healthy behaviors in their friends for campaigns truly have a widespread positive impact. "By analyzing the Framingham data, Christakis and Fowler say, they have for the first time found some solid basis for a potentially powerful theory in epidemiology: that good behaviors -- like quitting smoking or staying slender or being happy -- pass from friend to friend almost as if they were contagious viruses. The Framingham participants, the data suggested, influenced one another's health just by socializing. And the same was true of bad behaviors -- clusters of friends appeared to 'infect' each other with obesity, unhappiness and smoking" (Thomas 2009, p.2). Normalization of everything from child-bearing to eating too much -- to smoking, was passed along through social modeling.

Step 2: Select target audiences

The Framingham study began long before the Internet was accessible to consumers, and residents of the small, rural Massachusetts community are not 'hyper-connected,' by and large, because of their age. But the influence of social networks in real life suggests the potential to use social networks for good in the virtual world. This is, in a way, even more exciting, as more people can be reached with a point and click, rather than slowly and steadily through the more limited connections of the real world.

Teens are still smoking in record numbers -- but they are also using Internet social media in equally record numbers. It is time for anti-smoking to be 'invited' onto Facebook, in other words. Creating a Facebook-driven campaign to eliminate smoking upon teens is one way to use technology in a positive way, to truly make smoking 'uncool.' 'Unfriending smoking' can have a dual focus -- on teens who use Facebook, and upon parents as well, since older adults are the fastest-growing population of Facebook users. A Twitter campaign focused on adults, as adults are the most dedicated consumers of this 'micro-blogging' technology, would be another cost-effective way to foster non-smoking behavior in a positive fashion (Miller 2009). Every day, a 'tweet' could be issued that would contain a tip to keep teens away from smoking, a positive or negative statistic related to teen smoking, or positive messages about parents' need to quit themselves. The growing numbers of community members would create a state of social reinforcement on Facebook, amongst teens, to quit smoking and amongst adults on Twitter to quit or to more closely monitor their teens' behavior.

This social media strategy would deploy the current location of many Internet users on the relatively concentrated sources of social media. The time is now to create the campaign, before Facebook and Twitter have more competition. More competition means that communities online are likely to grow more diffuse, although currently Facebook and Twitter are dominant. This current domination would enable organizations committed to anti-smoking campaigns, like the American Lung Association and the federal government, to reach the maximum amount of people. It would also take advantage of the recession, given that many people want to quit smoking -- and are feeling forced to quit smoking -- due to the cost of cigarettes.

There is also added incentive to quit smoking now, because of the popularity of laws mandating restaurants and bars to ban smoking from indoor accommodations, These can leave smokers alone, miserable, cold and/or wet on long winter nights, while their friends have fun inside. The Facebook/Twitter campaign must make 'friends' want to come inside from the cold by 'unfriending' smoking. Targeting teens is ideal, because it focuses on the upcoming wave of addicted smokers before the habit has become a hardened part of these young persons' daily lives. It also tries to mitigate the health effects of smoking by encouraging teens not to start, or to quit as soon as possible, minimize potentially catastrophic damage to their developing bodies.

This campaign is important because quite often the dangers of smoking amongst teens are forgotten, because of concerns about other public health issues, such as teen pregnancy and violence. But "every day… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "Smoking Social Marketing" Assignment:

“

Chosen topic: SMOKING

*****¢ Select a social issue of interest to you (eg., speeding, binge drinking, littering, recycling, water conservation, physical fitness etc).

*****¢ May be an issue that is currently recognised, or a new issue that you*****ve identified needs addressing.

*****¢ You may approach the project by undertaking some informal primary and secondary research for a social marketing issue. (You could also critique an existing social marketing campaign as a basis for taking for a new approach to address a social issue).

*****¢ The Kotler et al. (2002) Social Marketing Planning Worksheet provides clear guidelines for the project. Please remember, Step 7 does not have to be taken into account because you do not develop a budget for the project.

Keep in mind that the primary goal of social marketing is behaviour change!

*****¢ This assignment requires you to select a social issue/problem of interest to you, and undertake an applied social marketing plan. The aim is to develop the ability to research, critically an*****, strategise and implement such strategies within the social marketing field. The applied social marketing project will provide the opportunity to bring these various elements together by planning and developing a social marketing plan, thereby further developing practical information skills, critical analysis and strategic thinking.

*****¢ Your report should be supported by research of secondary sources relating to population and social trends, incidence statistics, previous campaigns as well as relevant journal articles, books and newspapers/magazines (approx 25 references). You should give attention to the use of appropriate report style and format using APA referencing style. The word limit (plus or minus 10%) should be followed. Any appendices should be clearly numbered and referred to in the body of the report. Please use 1.5 of double line spacing and make sure you consult your marking criteria when preparing your report.

Your final report should include:

ï¬ Executive summary *****“ 5 marks

ï¬ Situational analysis *****“ 15 marks

ï¬ Identification of objectives of the project *****“ 10 marks

ï¬ Identification and analysis of target audience/s *****“ 10 marks

ï¬ Competitor analysis *****“ 10 marks

ï¬ Development of marketing strategies (e.g., message, and media decisions) *****“ 20 marks

ï¬ Evaluation of initiatives and recommendations *****“ 5 marks

ï¬ Use of relevant theory *****“ 10 marks

ï¬ Overall quality of the report (e.g., structure, grammar, readability etc) *****“ 15 marks

TOTAL MARKS = 100

Referencing

*****Referencing is the familiar scholarly practice of referring to the works of other *****s, where they have supplied you with source material or particular arguments or ideas. This may not be necessary when the same ideas are written about by many authors in the field, but when you are expressing an idea or argument in the words of a particular author you must acknowledge him/her as your source. Failure to do so is a form of plagiarism (passing off someone else*****s work as your own) and it incurs heavy penalties.*****

Peters, P. (1985). Strategies for Student *****s.: A Guide to Writing Essays, Tutorial Papers, Exam Papers and Reports. Brisbane: John Wiley & Sons, Australia, p. 123.

Source material is documented for three main reasons:

To give credit to the original author;

To indicate the *****s own research credibility; and

To enable others to locate the original work, or actual words.

References

Andreasen, A. R. (1995). Marketing social change: Changing behavior to promote health, social development, and the environment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Andreasen, A. R. (2002). Marketing social marketing in the social change marketplace. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 21(1), 3-13.

Donovan, R., & Henley, N. (2003). Social marketing: principles and practices. Melbourne: IP Communications.

Hastings, G. (2007) Social Marketing: why should the devil have all the best tunes? Oxford: Elsevier Ltd.

Kotler, P., & Levy, S. J. (1969). Broadening the concept of marketing. Journal of Marketing, 33(January), 10-15.

Kotler, P., & Zaltman, G. (1971). Social marketing: An approach to planned social change. Journal of Marketing, 35(July), 3-12.

Loseke, D. R. (2003). Thinking about social problems: an introduction to constructionist perspectives (2nd ed.). New York: Walter de Gruyter, Inc.

Mills, C.W. (1959). The sociological imagination (Fortieth anniversery eddition). New York: Oxford University Press.

Rothschild, M. L. (1999). Carrots, sticks, and promises: A conceptual framework for management of public health and social issues behaviors. Journal of Marketing, 63 (4), 24-37.

Rubington, E., & Weinberg, M. S. (Eds.). (1995). The Study of social problems: Seven perspectives (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.

Social Marketing Plan Outline

(Source: from Kotler, Roberto and Lee, 2002)

WHERE ARE WE?

The Social Marketing Environment

Step 1: Determining campaign focus

Analysing the environment

Conduct a SWOT

Review past and similar efforts

WHERE DO WE WANT TO GO?

Target Audiences, Objectives, and Goals

Step 2: Selecting target audiences

Step 3: Setting objectives

(behavioural, knowledge, and attitude) and goals

Step 4: An*****/understand target audiences and the competition

HOW WILL WE GET THERE?

Develop Social Marketing strategies

Step 5: Product: Design the market offering

Price: Manage costs of behaviour change

Place: Make the product available

Promotion: Create messages

Choose media

(communication channels)

HOW WILL WE STAY ON COURSE?

Social Marketing Program Management

Step 6: Develop a plan for evaluation and monitoring

Step 7: Establish budget and finding funding sources

Step 8: Complete an implementation plan

Step 1: Conduct and Situational Analysis

- What is the actual/central social issue?

- What is the campaign focus?

- What is the campaign purpose? (intended impact (benefit)

- What internal strengths will your plan maximise (e.g., resources, expertise etc)

- What internal weaknesses will your plan minimise (e.g., resources, expertise etc)

- What external opportunities will you plan take advantage of (e.g., technological, demographic, economic, political/legal forces)?

- What findings from prior and similar efforts are noteworthy?

Step 2: Select Target Audiences

Describe target audiences

- Size, problem incidence and severity, relevant variables including demographics, psychographics, behaviours, and or stages of change.

Who of these are your primary targets?

-Teenagers aged 14 - 17

Which are your secondary target audience?

- parents of teenagers 14- 17

Step 3: Set Objectives and Goals

Objectives

Behaviour Objective

- What very specifically, do you want to influence your target audience to do as a result of the campaign or project?

Knowledge Objective

- is there anything you need them to know, in order to act

Belief Objective

- Is there anything you need them to believe, in order to act

Goals

- What quantifiable, measureable goals are you setting? (e.g., campaign awareness, recall and/or response, and changes in knowledge, belief, or behavioural intent levels)

Step 4: An***** Target Audiences and the Competition

Relative to your objective (desired behaviour) and your target audience

- What is their current behaviour?

- What do they currently know?

- What do they currently believe?

- What benefits do they perceive?

- What barriers do they perceive?

Competition

- What are the major competing alternative behaviours?

- What benefits do your audience associate with the these behaviours?

- What costs does your audience associate with these behaviours?

Step 5: Develop Marketing Strategies

Product: Design the marketing offering

- What is the core product, benefit of the desired behaviour?

- What is the actual product, the desired behaviour?

- What other factors (any tangible objects and services) are associated with the desired behaviour?

Price: Manage the costs of behaviour change

Identify exit costs

- What monetary costs associated with abandoning current behaviour?

- What nonmonetary costs associated with abandoning current behaviour?

Identify entry costs

- What monetary costs associated with adopting new (desired) behaviour?

- What nonmonetary costs associated with adopting new (desired) behaviour?

Establish pricing strategies

- Will there be any monetary/nonmonetary incentives to take on new (desired) behaviour?

Tangible Intangible

Low Cost Personal benefits

e.g., wearing seatbelts Societal benefits

e.g., recycling programs

High Cost Personal benefits

e.g., smoking cessation Societal benefits

e.g., avoiding the use of cars

Which combination will be the toughest for the social marketer to address? Which the easiest?

(Source: Hastings, 2007, p.75)

Place: Make access convenient

- Where will you encourage and support your target audience to perform the desired behaviour and when?

- Where and when will the target market acquire any related tangible objects or services?

Promotion: Create messages

- What key messages do you want your campaign to communicate to the target audiences?

- What are your specific communication objectives?

- What benefits will you promise?

- What communication style and tone will be used?

- What are important copy, graphics and format issues to address

Promotion: Choose communication channels

- What media types, media vehicles will be used?

Two funny anti-smoking ads *****“ Ad7; Ad8

Step 6: Develop and Plan for Evaluating and Monitoring

- What goals from Step 3 will be measured?

- What techniques and methodologies will be used to conduct these measures?

- When will the measurements be taken?

- How will measurements be reported and to whom?

Step 8: Complete an Implementation Plan

- Will there be phases to the campaign? How will they be organised (i.e., by market, objectives, activities)?

- For each phase, what will be done, who will be responsible, when will it be done, and for how much? *****

How to Reference "Smoking Social Marketing" Research Proposal in a Bibliography

“Smoking Social Marketing.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2009, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/social-marketing-anti-smoking/494607. Accessed 3 Jul 2024.

Smoking Social Marketing (2009). Retrieved from https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/social-marketing-anti-smoking/494607

A1-TermPaper.com. (2009). Smoking Social Marketing. [online] Available at: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/social-marketing-anti-smoking/494607 [Accessed 3 Jul, 2024].

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[1] ”Smoking Social Marketing”, A1-TermPaper.com, 2009. [Online]. Available: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/social-marketing-anti-smoking/494607. [Accessed: 3-Jul-2024].

1. Smoking Social Marketing [Internet]. A1-TermPaper.com. 2009 [cited 3 July 2024]. Available from: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/social-marketing-anti-smoking/494607

1. Smoking Social Marketing. A1-TermPaper.com. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/social-marketing-anti-smoking/494607. Published 2009. Accessed July 3, 2024.

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