Social and Cultural Marketing - Coursework Example

?Social and Cultural Marketing Marketing Marketing is described as an activity carried out by businesses to increase product sales and make huge profits. Marketing has however evolved over the years and it now plays new roles in the modern society by adding to the existing fund of the available knowledge about marketing (Kotler and Zaltman, 1991 p 480). Marketing has effects on the society therefore business managers have to become more conscious of the society around them when carrying out their operations. This is regarded as the beginning of a new concept known as Societal Marketing that shows marketing is a pervasive societal activity that goes beyond increasing sales and making profits (Bagozzi, 1984 p 4). Non- profit organization make good use of societal marketing as they ensure they incorporate public activities as well as public relations in their marketing strategies. Marketing for non-profit organizations The type of marketing employed by non-profit organizations should put into consideration the needs of consumers as well as those of donors. Marketing for non-profit organizations does not only entail making sales or obtaining donations from sponsors but also satisfying the needs of both the donors and consumers (Da Cunha, 1990 p 218). Social marketing is a practice which involves influencing of human behaviors to change their attitudes regarding a certain social issue. This can be achieved through application of marketing principles that will ensure the society benefits rather than ensuring commercial profit for the organization (Ethics Based Marketing, 2011 p 2). Social marketing can therefore be defined as application of principles of commercial marketing to social programs that are related to health and human services. The main aim of social marketing is therefore to encourage changes in behavior in individuals so as to bring about change in society and not for the purpose of generating profits within non-profit organizations. Marketing for non-profit organizations entails development of comprehensive programs through intensive research and planning in all the affected areas to ensure needed change and goals are achieved. Adequate research is carried out to generate a clear understanding of the affected individuals and this also assists in development of appropriate marketing mix techniques that will bring about change in the society. It will also contribute to development of interventions that integrate the needs of the target audience with those of sponsors. Marketing for non-profit organizations should be used for social change. Social marketing can be applied so as to provide an approach that can be used to curb a social issue by creating societal awareness and change in attitudes among individuals (Pride and Ferrell, 1985 p 327). These changes will in turn translate into various mechanisms that act as guidelines regarding behavior that is acceptable or not acceptable within a society therefore reducing the level of acceptance of certain social marketing issues. Background Alcoholism is a problem that is faced in most countries and it has negative effects on various sectors such as health, society as well as economy. Alcohol is widely consumed in the UK and the consumption rates are seen to fluctuate with situations of economic downfalls and prosperity (Ashley, 1982 p 870). Over the recent years, focus has increased on the patterns of drinking, levels of alcohol consumption as well as contribution of excessive consumption of alcohol to acute health problems and long- term effects. Patterns of drinking involve various aspects of drinking such as the time and place where drinking occurs, individual characteristics of a person who drinks, the types of drinks that are frequently consumed as well as drinking behaviors and norms that form a drinking culture (Jernigan 2008 p 39). Alcohol is commonly associated with events in UK as it is frequently consumed in cultural and religious functions, business and social functions as well as in most recreational functions. For many individuals in the UK, drinking alcohol is identified as an aspect of relaxing, having good times with friends and socializing. This shows that use of alcohol has been accepted in the life and culture in UK as most adults consume alcohol to some extent. Despite the fact that alcohol use has been accepted by a majority of the population to be a norm in the society, there is also a percentage of the population that recognizes the adverse impacts of alcoholism on the lives of individuals as well as the society at large. However, wide recognition of the harmful effects associated with binge drinking has not been achieved in the country, as the main focus is on effects that are related to alcohol intoxication. Many individuals still believe that the use of illicit drugs remains to be the main issue that affects individuals in the society (Reilly and Griffiths, 1998 p 10). A small percentage of the population recognizes alcoholism as a social problem (AIHW, 1999 p 15). A recent survey indicates that alcohol has been rated as the third greatest problem faced by the youth. Social problems that comprise of alcohol- related violence and crime, destruction of property, vandalism and disruption of property were identified to be on the rise as well as the public features based on misuse of alcohol (Shanahan and Hewitt, 1999 p 420). Adverse health consequences related to alcoholism Excessive consumption of alcohol is associated with a number of diseases which include various types of cancers, liver cirrhosis, fetal growth retardation as well as pancreatitis. High levels of consumption of alcohol within the society are associated with high levels of problems related to alcoholism. Levels of alcohol consumption are related to total mortality as well as causes of death and diseases, for instance, liver cirrhosis, criminal violence, traffic accidents and suicide (Edwards, et al, 1995 p 275). Relationship between alcohol consumption levels within population and ensuing effects should be handled with care as it is complex in nature. Research has been carried out to identify the patterns of drinking as well as occasions that result in heavy drinking within the population therefore leading to a high incidence of occurrence of harmful effects of alcohol, for instance, traffic accidents (Stockwell, et al, 1996 p 460). The main chronic diseases associated with alcoholism are cardiovascular diseases, mental disorders, fetal alcohol syndrome, liver cirrhosis and cancer. An effective measure that can be used to identify the contribution of alcohol to ill health is population attribute risk. It is a complex and sophisticated method but at the same time it is valid and used by many researchers to compare low consumption alcohol levels with harmful levels of alcohol consumption. Social Harms Related to Alcoholism Alcoholism has been identified to be a major cause of injury which occurs through violence among individuals and this is seen in terms of child abuse, domestic violence as well as assaults (Calkins, 2002 p 7). Alcoholism has also been identified to a main contributor to some cases of suicide. Excessive consumption of alcohol contributes greatly to violence, for instance, by fostering an environment in which violence has great chances of occurring or it may also be used to cope with a violent incident (Gruenewald et al, 1997 p 45). Alcoholism is also a great contributor in many homicide cases (Chisholm and Rehm, 2004 p 790). Generally, the risk of social consequences has been identified to be directly proportional to the rate of alcohol consumption. That is, if the rate of alcohol consumption is high then the frequency with which social consequences occur will also increase (Greenfield, 1998 p 118). Research conducted in the UK identified a positive relationship between offensive social behaviors, assault, property damage and alcohol sales. Reducing alcohol sales has therefore been identified as an important strategy that will result in reduction of behaviors associated with excessive alcohol consumption (EuroCare, 2000 p 176). Goals and Objectives The main goal of social marketing plan is to reduce alcoholism among individuals by motivating the alcoholics to take up counseling sessions and seek help from professionals voluntarily. This goal has benefits as it will reduce social as well as health impacts that occur due to excessive alcohol consumption. Success will be measured by determining the rate with which social consequences such as homicide or violent incidences occur. The social marketing plan has other objectives as it tends to explore the perception of alcohol use among individuals in UK. This is done to determine factors that encourage individuals to consume excess alcohol and also identify effective channels and mechanisms that can be adopted to transform alcoholics who volunteer. Marketing Strategies and Tactics The main aim of the social marketing plan is to reduce levels of alcoholism in the nation by creating a level of awareness regarding harmful effects of excessive consumption of alcohol. This marketing plan also aims at reducing physical and mental health incidences among individuals which occur due to alcoholism. The plan is in accordance with the definition of social marketing by Andreasen (1995 p 15), as levels of alcoholism will be reduced by voluntary change in behavior amongst alcoholics and the prevention of harmful acts of alcoholism among individuals. An effective marketing mix was employed where a pull strategy was used (Kotler, et al, 1994 p 220). Mass media advertising, which is also identified as a promotion strategy, will be employed to create and maintain a high level of awareness within the society and amongst the alcoholics. A Helpline will also be developed so as to encourage the alcoholics to seek for professional advice from the helpline. The helpline will be staffed with professionals who are well versed with the issue of alcoholism as they will assess callers and hold meaningful and lengthy counseling sessions over the telephone. The counseling sessions are identified as products provided by the organization and they are targeted for the alcoholics. The main objective of the online councilors is to refer many qualified callers into counseling programs funded by the government and other sponsors therefore no telephone and counseling costs would be incurred. Results may vary depending on approaches used by different organizations but counseling programs have been identified to very useful in reducing alcoholism and alcohol- related effects in the society (Doll, 1998 p 360). In the context of social marketing, an effective marketing mix has to consider price, product, promotion as well as place (Ferrell and Pride, 2012 p 40). Product entails the end benefits of the plan to alcoholics which offers long- term health benefits. Actual products offered include: Counseling services delivered by professionals and the services are subsidized by the government and other sponsors. Various programs that aimed at helping alcoholics exist and they are mostly attended by individuals under court orders especially when they were identified to perform violent acts when under the influence. These counseling services target alcoholics who volunteer to undergo the sessions. Another product provided is the Helpline in which individuals can call when seeking for help and advice. The helpline is staffed by professional counselors who offer advice over the phone and they will try to get alcoholics into rehabilitation programs. This is identified to be a new product as there has not been a helpline that seeks to help alcoholics who are voluntarily seeking for help. Promotion The main avenue for reaching alcoholics is through television advertising especially in programs about sporting activities. This would be supported by more advertisements on the radio and also by use of posters. Extensive research was carried out to ensure messages portrayed in the advertisements were accepted by the target group and did not have negative impacts on alcoholics and relevant stakeholders. Minor publicity on alcoholics who had undergone counseling and rehabilitation processes was also done. Advertising and publication mechanisms focused on arousing feelings of guilt and remorse felt by alcoholics and mainly emphasized on the effects of excessive consumption of alcohol on health as well as other social harms. Various publications were prepared for alcoholics who needed help and were compiled into information packs that contained information about helpful strategies that encourage alcoholics to maintain a sober life. Harmful effects of alcoholism were outlined in the information packs and the benefits of undertaking counseling programs were also contained and this acted as mechanisms that encouraged and attracted more alcoholics to undergo rehabilitation. The main aim of promotion was to distribute posters that advertise the Helpline that will alert individuals about the counseling programs. Price Research that was carried out identified fees for counseling sessions could serve as a barrier that prevented or discouraged most alcoholics from voluntarily seeking for professional help (Onkvisit and Shaw, 2008 p 184). This therefore ensured that materials and most of the counseling services were offered at no costs to alcoholics who had first sought for help through the Helpline. This strategy of pricing also ensured that all individuals had equal opportunities of benefiting from the services by not giving individuals with high or limited incomes huge advantages over low income individuals. Place Service providers were situated in different regions throughout the country. Access of the counseling programs was however limited to individuals in remote and rural areas. These programs were mainly established in areas where there were high rates of alcohol consumption and social consequences such as violence. Distribution strategies will however be developed to allow for greater access to individuals who are willing to reform but are not able to access the program due to geographical limits (Self, 1989 p 58). Telephone counseling was however useful to individuals who could not access the programs. It was staffed by professionals who were able to provide advice to alcoholics and encourage them. Monitoring and Control An efficient monitoring and control system will provide a strategic approach that will be used to reduce alcohol related impacts. The system will monitor alcohol consumption and the related health impacts that arise due to excessive alcohol consumption. It will therefore offer a medium through which alcohol consumption will be monitored at the national level. This will have positive impacts in the nation since social, economic and health impacts associated will alcoholism will be reduced. Monitoring and control systems will be used to determine whether developed strategies have had positive impacts in reducing alcoholism. This system will provide feedback to the organization and other sponsors who were responsible for implementing the programs (Alcohol Learning Center, 2009 p 3). Information obtained will be helpful as it may be used by the organization to restructure or develop new strategies that will help individuals reduce their alcohol consumption rates. Through the identification of the various social and health impacts of excessive alcohol consumption, monitoring and control will be used to measure effectiveness of the interventions and initiatives developed by the organization. Challenges that may be faced when working in a Least Developed Country Least developed countries are defined as countries with low- incomes and they suffer from handicaps to economic growth, high structural weaknesses and low levels of development in human resource (International Telecommunications Union, 2010 p 3). These countries have a great socio- politically diversity and are also identified by their cultural richness. They are also in a tragic destitute state that is evident in their low income per population head, low levels of industrialization as well as low educational levels. Other characteristics of the least developed countries include acute scarcity of skilled personnel, high predominance of agricultural practices and unsuitable and underdeveloped economic infrastructures (Tri, 1990 p 5). Research shows that a proportion of individuals in least developed countries also have drinking problems or experience alcohol dependence. These individuals therefore have high chances of developing health complications such as liver cirrhosis, cancers of the mouth, lips, larynx and throat, brain injury and stroke (World Health Organization, 2009 p 8). The organization saw a great need of informing individuals about the long- term health consequences associated with heavy drinking. The organization is therefore developing intervention programmes in Nepal, which is a least developed country in Asia, for individuals with high alcohol dependence. These efforts will work towards creating an awareness on the social and health impacts associated with heavy drinking. It is believed that the intervention efforts will play a vital role in the rehabilitation process for alcohol dependent individuals. Intervention efforts that will be developed by the organization in the country include simple advice from professionals, self- help booklets as well as brief sessions of counseling. These initiatives had many advantages to individuals in the country as they were easy to implement and cost effective. The organization will however be faced with challenges when carrying out operations in Nepal. Cultural elements of Nepal will affect the operations of the organization. Culture has a great impact on the marketing mix strategies which include product offering, pricing, promotion as well as place. Elements of culture that will have greatest influence on operations are religion beliefs, language as well as ethnical values. It is therefore important for the organization to embrace the marketing concept in its operations to adapt to the environment of Nepal. Cultural elements have various impacts on the strategies developed by the organization and this will require use of specific interventions to generate particular influences that will be appropriate in different situations. The organization should therefore develop strategies that will enable it to overcome cultural influences that have great impacts on its operations (Onkvisit and Shaw, 2008 p 224). This way it will be able to address a huge percentage of the population regarding impacts of alcoholism. It will also achieve its objective of reducing the numbers of alcoholics in the country by providing services that will assist alcoholics to quit excessive drinking. This will in turn reduce occurrence of incidences associated with heavy drinking and also provide individuals with long term health benefits. References Alcohol Learning Center. (2009). The DH Alcohol Social Marketing Strategy. 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