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Commercial Marketing Principles Used in Social Marketing
POSITIONING
Positioning is a key concept of commercial marketing which has particular relevance in social marketing. As a marketing term positioning was coined by Jack Trout and Steve Rivkin in 1971 in an article in Industrial Marketing magazine. In that article they defined positioning “not as what you do to the product but what you do to the mind.” It was their argument that the mind is the “ultimate marketing battleground” and the better one understands the mind, the better able s/he will understand how positioning works.
In the commercial realm positioning refers to how potential buyers perceive a product, especially in relation to its competition. Consumers almost always have a choice when it comes to purchasing products and how different brands compare to one another – how they position themselves in relation to each other – has a significant impact on which product a consumer chooses to buy. Highlighting a product’s unique benefits and reducing the costs associated with choosing it will enhance a product's positioning in the mind of the consumer thereby increasing the likelihood s/he will choose it. Similarly, reducing the benefits associated with the competition and stressing/increasing the costs associated with it will hurt the positioning of the competition, making it more likely that the consumer will reject it. Ultimately, in order to become a product the consumer wants, the benefits associated with it must exceed (or at a minimum equal) those of its competition.
The focus on the mind and one’s perception of a product is key to social marketing where often there is no tangible product that is being promoted and instead marketers are attempting to change how people perceive – their attitudes and beliefs – a particular behavior.
BRANDING
According to Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong a brand is "a name, term, sign symbol or a combination of these, that identifies the maker or seller of the product."1
More recently, Kotler has stated that a brand is more than just an image. As he puts its, "The key need is to develop a distinctive offering, not simply a distinctive image. The offering can be distinctive in features, styling, services, service support, guarantees, and a host of other factors that will make one value proposition superior to another in the eyes of the beholders. I am in favor of building a superior value proposition, not just massaging an image."2
Connecting with the Audience
On her social marketing blog, “Spare Change,” Nedra Kline Weinreich describes how branding can create a connection with an audience: “Your brand is how your audience thinks about your product and connects with it emotionally. It is the combination of how you market your product and how the audience experiences it. It's the feeling that by using the product someone becomes part of an elite group, and membership in that group reflects the image of who that person aspires to be.”3 This relates to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which divides the motivators of human behavior into five levels: physiology, safety, love/belonging, esteem and self-actualization.4 Branding fulfills needs on two levels: love/belonging and esteem. In other words, branding can appeal to a person’s need for belonging and respect.
Branding in Social Marketing
Applying the branding concept to social marketing, Weinreich suggests that successful social marketing brands are change-oriented, competitive, compatible, caring and culturally appropriate.5
Change-oriented
The brand should reflect the social marketing program’s goal of behavior change.
Branding In-Action: With the VerbTM campaign, the brand name, which by definition means action, is a direct reflection of the behavior that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wanted to influence.
Competitive
The brand should be as appealing as the competition’s brand.
Branding In-Action: In order to appeal to their target audience, the VerbTM campaign offered children the ability to create a cartoon character version of themselves and generate games on the VerbTM Web site. In this way, their offering was able to compete with sedentary activities that appealed to children like watching cartoons and playing video games.
Compatible
The brand must be compatible with the behavior the social marketing program is trying to introduce or change.
Branding In-Action: To be compatible with the behavior they wanted to change, the VerbTM offering had to be more than just a Web site. Providing children a way to be physically active, the VerbTM campaign gave out 500,000 yellow balls and encouraged children to play with the balls then pass them on.
Caring
The brand should show the target audience, “what is in it for me” (WIFM).
Branding In-Action: Describing the WIFM factor of the VerbTM campaign’s Yellowball offering, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated, “Yellowball ignites desire for physical activity freeing kids to play out their dreams.” 6
Culturally Appropriate
The brand must reflect the target audience’s values to ensure that it will resonant with them.
Branding In-Action: One glance at the Verb’s promotion materials makes it clear that their target audience is children. From the type of language used to the selection of colors and fonts, the materials are a reflection of their target audience’s values.
Tips for Branding
Simplicity matters
Brand value should be clear. An organization or campaign can’t be everything to everybody. An organization should focus on a key set of brand values that directly relate to values of the customer.7
Emphasize what you do, not who you are
This concept relates to Kotler’s statement about the offering. What an organization offers to the consumer is more important than who they are.8
Protect your brand
Protecting an organization’s brand involves maintaining credibility by being honest with the customer and delivering on promises. In her article, "Are you Following the 4 C’s of Branding," Elizabeth Brown explained, "Ensure that everything your organization does reinforces the expectations that the brand creates. It doesn’t do any good to have a ‘friendly’ brand if people don’t answer the phone in a friendly way." 9
Be consistent An organization needs to be dedicated to its brand identity. In his article "The 10 Cs of Branding," branding guru William Arruda states, "In addition to being clear about who they are, strong brands are also consistent. They are always what they say they are. In everything they do, they bolster their brand attributes."
Listen to your target Audience
As Arruda explains, "You must remain relevant to your target audience and become relevant to new target audiences as the world demographics change. The only constant is change. Don't let your brand be stuck in the past; ensure it remains relevant and compelling." 10
References
The Four Ps of commercial marketing refer to Produce, Price, Place (distribution), and Promotion. Together, these four elements make up the traditional “marketing mix” that many of first learned about in a basic college business course. In the commercial world, these four elements are manipulated in order to reach target audiences, sell products or services and generate income. How and to what extent one or all of these elements are manipulated will depend on company resources, target audience profiles, and the external marketing environment.
"Product" are the things that are sold or the services that are provided to people. For example, food, tires, clothes, and phones are all products. Services include a car wash, tax preparation, and housecleaning. As you can imagine, there are virtually an unlimited number of “products.” When manipulating this element, it is important to remember that “product” includes all aspects of the thing or service being sold – such as the brand name, packaging, quality, and guarantee/warranty. The product or service should be developed based on what your target audience(s) need and/or want.
"Place (Distribution)" refers to how the “product” gets to your buyers. It includes variables such as transportation, storage, inventory logistics, and distribution centers. This element is critical to the marketing mix, but it is often times not given adequate time and consideration.
"Promotion" is how commercial marketers inform people about the “product.” It typically includes a combination of various tactics such as advertising, public relations, direct mailing, electronic communications, personal sales calls and sales promotions. The purpose of promotion is to help people to know and understand your product so that they can eventually make the decision to try it or not. The “promotion” element must also let people know where they can get the product and how it differs from competitive products.
"Price" is the monetary value that people are willing to pay for your “product.” When establishing the price of a product, it is important to recognize that sales volume can be directly impacted by price. In general, “price” should take into account the total cost of the “product” including the cost of the other three Ps plus overhead and profit.
An important thing to remember is that the commercial marketer can control the Four Ps, subject to internal and external constraints.
COMPETITION
EXCHANGE THEORY: Exchange is a concept that originated in the study of economics and is now an underpinning of all modern marketing practice, including social marketing. In fact, many consider exchange a fundamental form of human interaction. The basic elements of the exchange model that are common across its various definitions are:
Scholarly Article References:
Positioning is a key concept of commercial marketing which has particular relevance in social marketing. As a marketing term positioning was coined by Jack Trout and Steve Rivkin in 1971 in an article in Industrial Marketing magazine. In that article they defined positioning “not as what you do to the product but what you do to the mind.” It was their argument that the mind is the “ultimate marketing battleground” and the better one understands the mind, the better able s/he will understand how positioning works.
In the commercial realm positioning refers to how potential buyers perceive a product, especially in relation to its competition. Consumers almost always have a choice when it comes to purchasing products and how different brands compare to one another – how they position themselves in relation to each other – has a significant impact on which product a consumer chooses to buy. Highlighting a product’s unique benefits and reducing the costs associated with choosing it will enhance a product's positioning in the mind of the consumer thereby increasing the likelihood s/he will choose it. Similarly, reducing the benefits associated with the competition and stressing/increasing the costs associated with it will hurt the positioning of the competition, making it more likely that the consumer will reject it. Ultimately, in order to become a product the consumer wants, the benefits associated with it must exceed (or at a minimum equal) those of its competition.
The focus on the mind and one’s perception of a product is key to social marketing where often there is no tangible product that is being promoted and instead marketers are attempting to change how people perceive – their attitudes and beliefs – a particular behavior.
BRANDING
According to Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong a brand is "a name, term, sign symbol or a combination of these, that identifies the maker or seller of the product."1
More recently, Kotler has stated that a brand is more than just an image. As he puts its, "The key need is to develop a distinctive offering, not simply a distinctive image. The offering can be distinctive in features, styling, services, service support, guarantees, and a host of other factors that will make one value proposition superior to another in the eyes of the beholders. I am in favor of building a superior value proposition, not just massaging an image."2
Connecting with the Audience
On her social marketing blog, “Spare Change,” Nedra Kline Weinreich describes how branding can create a connection with an audience: “Your brand is how your audience thinks about your product and connects with it emotionally. It is the combination of how you market your product and how the audience experiences it. It's the feeling that by using the product someone becomes part of an elite group, and membership in that group reflects the image of who that person aspires to be.”3 This relates to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which divides the motivators of human behavior into five levels: physiology, safety, love/belonging, esteem and self-actualization.4 Branding fulfills needs on two levels: love/belonging and esteem. In other words, branding can appeal to a person’s need for belonging and respect.
Branding in Social Marketing
Applying the branding concept to social marketing, Weinreich suggests that successful social marketing brands are change-oriented, competitive, compatible, caring and culturally appropriate.5
Change-oriented
The brand should reflect the social marketing program’s goal of behavior change.
Branding In-Action: With the VerbTM campaign, the brand name, which by definition means action, is a direct reflection of the behavior that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wanted to influence.
Competitive
The brand should be as appealing as the competition’s brand.
Branding In-Action: In order to appeal to their target audience, the VerbTM campaign offered children the ability to create a cartoon character version of themselves and generate games on the VerbTM Web site. In this way, their offering was able to compete with sedentary activities that appealed to children like watching cartoons and playing video games.
Compatible
The brand must be compatible with the behavior the social marketing program is trying to introduce or change.
Branding In-Action: To be compatible with the behavior they wanted to change, the VerbTM offering had to be more than just a Web site. Providing children a way to be physically active, the VerbTM campaign gave out 500,000 yellow balls and encouraged children to play with the balls then pass them on.
Caring
The brand should show the target audience, “what is in it for me” (WIFM).
Branding In-Action: Describing the WIFM factor of the VerbTM campaign’s Yellowball offering, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated, “Yellowball ignites desire for physical activity freeing kids to play out their dreams.” 6
Culturally Appropriate
The brand must reflect the target audience’s values to ensure that it will resonant with them.
Branding In-Action: One glance at the Verb’s promotion materials makes it clear that their target audience is children. From the type of language used to the selection of colors and fonts, the materials are a reflection of their target audience’s values.
Tips for Branding
Simplicity matters
Brand value should be clear. An organization or campaign can’t be everything to everybody. An organization should focus on a key set of brand values that directly relate to values of the customer.7
Emphasize what you do, not who you are
This concept relates to Kotler’s statement about the offering. What an organization offers to the consumer is more important than who they are.8
Protect your brand
Protecting an organization’s brand involves maintaining credibility by being honest with the customer and delivering on promises. In her article, "Are you Following the 4 C’s of Branding," Elizabeth Brown explained, "Ensure that everything your organization does reinforces the expectations that the brand creates. It doesn’t do any good to have a ‘friendly’ brand if people don’t answer the phone in a friendly way." 9
Be consistent An organization needs to be dedicated to its brand identity. In his article "The 10 Cs of Branding," branding guru William Arruda states, "In addition to being clear about who they are, strong brands are also consistent. They are always what they say they are. In everything they do, they bolster their brand attributes."
Listen to your target Audience
As Arruda explains, "You must remain relevant to your target audience and become relevant to new target audiences as the world demographics change. The only constant is change. Don't let your brand be stuck in the past; ensure it remains relevant and compelling." 10
References
- Armstrong, Gary and Philip Kotler. Principles of Marketing.
- "The World of Marketing According to Kotler" American Management Association. http://www.amanet.org/books/catalog/0814472958 _Conversation.htm
- Weinreich, Nedra Kline. "Branding for Social Marketers - Part 1." http://www.social-marketing.com/blog/2006/09/branding-for-social-marketers-part-1.html
- "Maslow's hierarchy of needs." Wikipedia. 7 July 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs
- Weinreich, Nedra Kline. "Branding for Social Marketers - Part 2." http://www.social-marketing.com/blog/2006/09/branding-for-social-marketers-part-2.html
- "Youth Media Campaign." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/youthcampaign/
- "Branding: The Basics." Business Link. http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1073790774
- Baker, Bob. "9 Ways to Create a Rock-Solid Brand Identity Online." http://www.bob-baker.com/branding/9ways.html
- Brown, Elizabeth. "Are you Following the 4 C’s of Branding." Nonprofit World. May/Jun 1007.
- Arruda, William. "The 10 Cs of Branding." September 19, 2006. http://www.marketingprofs.com/6/arruda27.asp?part=2
MARKETING MIX (FOUR P'S)
The Four Ps of commercial marketing refer to Produce, Price, Place (distribution), and Promotion. Together, these four elements make up the traditional “marketing mix” that many of first learned about in a basic college business course. In the commercial world, these four elements are manipulated in order to reach target audiences, sell products or services and generate income. How and to what extent one or all of these elements are manipulated will depend on company resources, target audience profiles, and the external marketing environment.
"Product" are the things that are sold or the services that are provided to people. For example, food, tires, clothes, and phones are all products. Services include a car wash, tax preparation, and housecleaning. As you can imagine, there are virtually an unlimited number of “products.” When manipulating this element, it is important to remember that “product” includes all aspects of the thing or service being sold – such as the brand name, packaging, quality, and guarantee/warranty. The product or service should be developed based on what your target audience(s) need and/or want.
"Place (Distribution)" refers to how the “product” gets to your buyers. It includes variables such as transportation, storage, inventory logistics, and distribution centers. This element is critical to the marketing mix, but it is often times not given adequate time and consideration.
"Promotion" is how commercial marketers inform people about the “product.” It typically includes a combination of various tactics such as advertising, public relations, direct mailing, electronic communications, personal sales calls and sales promotions. The purpose of promotion is to help people to know and understand your product so that they can eventually make the decision to try it or not. The “promotion” element must also let people know where they can get the product and how it differs from competitive products.
"Price" is the monetary value that people are willing to pay for your “product.” When establishing the price of a product, it is important to recognize that sales volume can be directly impacted by price. In general, “price” should take into account the total cost of the “product” including the cost of the other three Ps plus overhead and profit.
An important thing to remember is that the commercial marketer can control the Four Ps, subject to internal and external constraints.
COMPETITION
EXCHANGE THEORY: Exchange is a concept that originated in the study of economics and is now an underpinning of all modern marketing practice, including social marketing. In fact, many consider exchange a fundamental form of human interaction. The basic elements of the exchange model that are common across its various definitions are:
- It requires at least two “social actors” (can be individuals, organizations, or other groups); in commercial marketing these are identified at the most basic level as the “seller” (the marketer or organization of change in social marketing) and the “consumer” (target audience from which behavioral change is sought in social marketing)
- It is reciprocal or mutual in nature with each actor giving to and receiving from the other party
- It is voluntary, and not coerced
- There are elements of both cost and benefit for all parties involved in the exchange interaction; cost can be defined broadly to include money, time, effort, loss of existing behavior, embarrassment, uncertainty, conflict with social norms or peer groups, etc.; benefit is some perceived value, tangible or intangible, which could comprise fulfillment of a need or want, solution to a problem, satisfaction of a desired outcome, and/or desired change in behavior
- In order for an exchange to be successful, the perceived benefit or value for all parties must be greater than (or at least equal to) the perceived cost ; this equation precipitates a purchase of a good or service in commercial marketing, and a behavior change in social marketing
Scholarly Article References:
- “Social Marketing: An Evolving Definition,” William A. Smith, EdD, American Journal of Health Behavior, Volume 24, Issue 1, pp. 11-17, 2000
- “The Structure of Commitment in Exchange,” Gregory T. Gundlach, Ravi S. Arhrol, & John T. Mentzer, Journal of Marketing, Volume 59, Issue 1, pp. 78-93, Jan. 1995
- “Marketing and Exchange,” Franklin s. Houston & Jule B. Gassenheimer, Journal of Health Communication, Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 3-18, Oct. 1987
- “Marketing as Exchange,” Richard P. Bagozzi, Journal of Marketing, Volume 39, Issue 4, pp. 32-39, Oct. 1975
- “Marketing as an Organized Behavioral System of Exchange,” Richard P. Bagozzi, Journal of Health Communication, Volume 38, Issue 4, pp. 77-81, Oct. 1974
- Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org)
- The Communication Initiative (http://www.comminit.com)
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Keyword tags:
branding
commercial marketing theory
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exchange
four P's
marketing
Positioning
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| rhearyan | MARKETING MIX (FOUR P'S) | 2 | Apr 21 2009, 10:46 AM EDT by elexus12 | ||
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Thread started: Jul 30 2007, 10:11 PM EDT
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Social marketing is the use of commercial sector marketing concepts and technologies to solve social problems and achieve behavior change. Commercial marketing’s 4ps concept (product, price, place and promotion) is often used by social marketers to help them achieve their social marketing goals. In commercial marketing product includes packaging design, branding, trademarks, product life cycles and new product development, while in social marketing it’s about what is the program trying to change in target audience. In commercial marketing price means setting profitable and justifiable costs or values, while in social marketing, it’s about what a consumer must give up in order to receive the program’s benefits. The costs here may be either tangible such as money, time or travel or intangible, like changes in beliefs or habits. In commercial marketing place covers the physical distribution of goods, while in social marketing it means the channels the program uses to reach the target audience, such as mass media or community. In commercial marketing promotion includes selling, advertising and sales promotion, while in social marketing it is about how the exchange is communicated, and appeals used for doing that. Some social marketers add more Ps to the commercial marketing ones. They add 1) Politics: sometimes politics interfere in government related programs, where they can effect the development or implementation of a campaign. 2) Purse strings: the amount of funding needed or available for the campaign.3) Partnership: refers to other organizations with similar goals that could be partners.4) Publics: include audience that need to be involved.5) Policy: changes in policies that may be needed to create environments that help in adopting and sustaining the proposed behavior. 6) Positioning: stands for considering competing communications when making decisions about the commercial 4 Ps. |
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Branding_Defined.pdf (Adobe Portable Document Format - 48k)
posted by J_Shipley Aug 8 2007, 7:37 AM EDT
Branding: Research Summary
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