INFORMATION RESOURCES ON SOCIAL MARKETING, INSIGHT AND SEGMENTATION
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National policy context
Choosing health: making healthy choices easier, 2004
Social marketing came to prominence in England with the publication of the public health White Paper "Choosing Health: making healthy choices easier" in 2004. Under the heading "Marketing Health", the Government described how they took evidence from, "people who help make the less healthy choices the sexy ones - marketers and advertisers". These professionals told the Government that
“the power of 'social marketing', marketing tools applied to social good, could be used to build public awareness and change behaviour, making behaviour that harms health less attractive and encouraging behaviour that builds health. To be effective in influencing demand for health, marketing messages need to be given, received, believed, understood and acted on.”
It’s our health, 2006
Following “Choosing Health” in 26 June 2006, the first National Review of Social Marketing for Health in England, 'It's our Health' was launched. This review was commissioned by the Department of Health as part of its delivery of the Choosing Health White Paper commitments.
“The core idea, of starting from where people are and focusing on what support they need to make changes in behaviour, explains the shift that we recommend from an awareness approach to a social marketing strategy.”
This report has three key recommendations, that social marketing should be used in the development and implementation of all government led attempts to promote positive health-related behaviour. The approach builds on three themes:
- put people at the centre of policy thinking and build services around their needs
- apply what works and stop what does not
- build partnerships and joint commitment for improving the health of the nation between the government and individuals, and with the private and the NGO sectors.
These three themes clearly imply a more focused approach to the use of consumer insight within health services and also a strong emphasis on evaluation, a cornerstone of social marketing good practice
Service transformation: A better service for citizens & businesses, a better deal for the tax payer, 2006
These recommendations were then more explicitly laid out for public sector managers within Sir David Varney’s 2006 report ‘Service Transformation: A better service for citizens & businesses, a better deal for the tax payer’ which sought to look at opportunities for transforming the delivery of public services by looking at new channels through which services are delivered and how they can be made more responsive to the needs of citizens and businesses. The report went on to state that the government should engage with the citizen more fully in the design and delivery of public sector services through increased consumer insight and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) “deep insight into customer needs, behaviours and motivations are all important for the design of public services”
World Class Commissioning, 2007
The practice of social marketing, and in particular insight, is also encouraged within the NHS through World Class Commissioning (WCC), several of the WCC competencies are explicitly linked to social marketing and consumer insight. The table below shows numerous WCC competencies and how these can be met through social marketing practices;
WCC Competency |
Social Marketing applications |
Locally lead the NHS |
Using social marketing techniques such as focus groups the PCT can show that they are listening to the views of local people, their wants and needs |
Engage with public and patients |
Social marketing actively engages with patients and the wider public and other stakeholders to inform policy and initiatives. |
Manage knowledge and assess needs |
Social marketing projects are evidence based, and prioritises those in greatest need |
Prioritise investment |
Social marketing projects have clear outcome focused strategic objectives |
High Quality Care for All, 2008
The ‘High Quality Care for All’ report was produced by Lord Darzi in 2008, in which Darzi recognises the need for the NHS to promote good health as well as treating ill health. He also advocates the use of consumer insight as a way of achieving this.
“People and communities across England have different characteristics and different needs. Yet too often, the services they receive are not sufficiently shaped around those characteristics and needs...the NHS should be universal, but that does not mean that it should be uniform” (Darzi, p.17).
Darzi recognises the need for the NHS to incorporate methods of consumer insight such as segmentation and customer orientation as a way of commissioning services. The report went on to highlight the need for the NHS to locally help their population to take responsibility for their own health “through reaching out to disadvantaged groups” (Darzi, p.18) and gives social marketing as an example how to do this.
Change 4 Life, 2009
The Change4Life campaign which launched in 2009 is a nationally lead, through the Department of Health, social marketing campaign which is aimed at tackling childhood obesity. The strategy involves segmentation, the use of insight and a marketing mix which includes service development, promotion and a multi media campaign.
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PAGE CREATED: 17 November 2009