Social Marketing
Hopefully this will be the first of many blogs describing the developments of a practical example of the social marketing approach with First Step, a community based early years project in Musselburgh
What is Social Marketing? In a nutshell “social marketing is an approach used to achieve and sustain behaviour goals on a range of social issues”. It is based on marketing concepts and techniques but applies these for a “social good or purpose” rather than the sales and profit goals of commercial marketing.
Social marketing is not a theory itself but draws on familiar disciplines such as health promotion, community development, sociology etc and offers a logical planning process to help achieve behaviour change
There are a number of core concepts and principles underpinning social marketing and for more detail there are two very helpful websites to explore: the National Social Marketing Centre http://www.nsmcentre.org.uk/ and the Scottish version which is currently hosted at the following address http://www.socialmarketing-taysidetoolkit.com
What’s Happening Locally?
- Social Marketing presentation to First Step staff in March
- Steering group set up to oversee developments. This group will be reporting into the Support from the Start Planning Board. The steering group is chaired by myself and has membership from Health Visiting, Community Learning and Development, First Step, CHP Health Improvement Team and ELC Early Years and Childcare.
- Initial scoping started with parents and carers that attend First Step
- 3-day Social Marketing training attended by two steering group members
- Representatives from West Dunbartonshire Equally Well test site invited to the Steering Group to discuss their social marketing approach with tobacco use
Next Step
- To support First Step users identify their priority health behaviour issues
For any further information on this development, please get in touch with Morag.nicholson@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk or tel 0131 536-3535