A strategy for advancing social marketing

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to contend that one way to advance the social marketing discipline is by introducing students to social marketing concepts during the early stages of their marketing education. Thus, it describes an interdisciplinary group Social Marketing Plan (SMP) project that was included as a class project in an introductory marketing course. An analysis of the SMP's impact on student learning is presented. Design/methodology/approach -Foundations of Marketing (Foundations) students at a US university completed an SMP project as a course requirement. Project impact was assessed with post-project measures of students' ability to apply social marketing concepts in a SMP. Project impact was also assessed with post-project measures of attitudes toward working on interdisciplinary teams and pre-and post-project comparisons of declarative marketing knowledge, environmental awareness, environmental attitudes, and environmental intentions. A post hoc comparison of the commercial marketing knowledge of a control group and Foundations students was also conducted. Findings -End of semester surveys showed that Foundations students understood and were able to apply social marketing concepts, enjoyed the SMP project, appreciated the value of working in interdisciplinary teams, and believed that future SMP projects should include students from other disciplines. Foundations students also reported significant increases in environmental awareness, attitudes, and intentions, and commercial marketing knowledge. Contrasts with a control group revealed that adding social marketing concepts to an introductory marketing course did not impede Foundations students' learning of commercial marketing concepts. Originality/value -The paper provides evidence that incorporating a social marketing project into an introductory marketing course is an effective method for introducing students to social marketing concepts, therefore advancing the social marketing discipline. Changes in student environmental attitudes and intentions to act to preserve the environment also suggest that a SMP project can be an effective method of doing social marketing.

Picking Up the Beat: Social Marketing Academic Course Offerings and Trends as the Discipline Marks 50 Years

“…Students can also be provided with engaging and worthwhile opportunities to support real-world social marketing projects in the communities surrounding the university through internships and service-learning opportunities. In fact, research has demonstrated that the completion of an interdisciplinary social marketing project positively influences students' environmental awareness and concern while enhancing their understanding of commercial and social marketing concepts (McKay-Nesbitt et al, 2012). Finally, • Amplify hiring trends such as increased demand for staff with social and behavioral science expertise and the creation of new positions • Encourage organizations to adopt social marketing language and terminology in their organization documents and position descriptions Multi-sector and multidisciplinary audiences…”

Teaching Social Marketing Using E-Service Learning Amidst Health and Humanitarian Crises: A Case Study from Lebanon

“…Social marketing courses are taught face-to-face, using traditional pedagogical approaches, such as frontal lectures and discussions. Social marketing courses generally culminate in the development of a social marketing plan [26,27], which is an activity that aims to apply social marketing principles to solving a "wicked problem", be it fictitious, realistic, or actual [32]. Hence, marketing courses need to be more relevant, helpful and appealing to public health students and faculties [28].…”

“…According to Domegan and Bringle, service learning is particularly fitting for social marketing education because it instills civic engagement and social responsibility among students; at the same time, social marketing benefits service learning activities as it develops plans that can be applied to solve actual public health problems [33]. However, the literature on the application of service learning in social marketing education is limited; to the best of our knowledge, there are only a few examples of published cases that show the positive impact of this pedagogy on student engagement and community-academic partnerships [10,34], and satisfaction with the learning process [32].…”

Food, Sustainability, and Science Literacy in One Package? Opportunities and Challenges in Using Aquaponics Among Young People at School, a Danish Perspective

“…The IFS also uses Problem-Based Learning (PBL), where learning is approached with open-ended problems with no absolute right answer, as well SL approaches. SL is a pedagogical approach that is rooted in PBL as well as in the experiential learning approach (McKay-Nesbitt et al 2012). Using the SL approach, students are expected to become involved in projects based on the needs, wishes, and demands of local communities.…”

“…The recent interest in reforming educational practices and strategies makes the use of aquaponics an important component in the educational context timely and relevant. Additionally, the use of inductive methods such as PBL and discipline-based learning (Wood 2003: Armstrong 2008 as well as experiential learning (Beard 2010;McKay-Nesbitt et al 2012), where everyday life problems and questions are used to inform the learning process, is spreading. These concepts are all favorable for aquaponic teaching.…”