Social Marketing and Public Health: Lessons from the Field

Published by Turning Point, this 69-page publication provides 12 case studies and lessons-learned about marketing public health campaigns in the United States from California to Vermont.

From the Introduction
"Because marketing has often been confused with advertising or promotion-only efforts, health professionals will benefit from understanding the key principles and marketing tools (the 5 Ps, see pages 8-10) involved in a social marketing approach. The examples listed [in this publication] have been selected to illustrate the key concepts of marketing and to document to what extent these principles have been applied in the cases presented.

It should be noted that these cases are not intended to be perceived as 'best practices', and not all of them were originally evaluated for outcome effectiveness. The cases have been evaluated to determine to what degree each case applied the key principles of marketing. Some of the cases suggest how a marketing orientation can improve program outcomes. All of the cases offer good reasons why we should more often use the principles, techniques, and tools of marketing when addressing issues of public health.

Currently, the execution of social marketing programs in public health is dominated by message-based, promotion-only strategies. To most effectively integrate social marketing into the disciplines encompassed by public health, it is critical to have a strong understanding of each field. This guide is designed to give readers a good head start on learning about the social marketing field and its application to health issues."

Turning Point, started in 1997, was an initiative of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Its mission was to transform and strengthen the public health system in the United States by making it more community-based and collaborative.