What is social marketing concept?

A great example of an effective social marketing concept is the early 2000s "Truth" campaign, which aimed to reduce tobacco use among teenagers and young adults. The campaign was developed by the American Legacy Foundation, a non-profit organization funded by the settlement agreement between several tobacco companies and the US government.

To get its point across, the "Truth" campaign used edgy and provocative ads that raised awareness about the health risks of smoking. Not only that, it attacked from multiple fronts, using TV spots, billboards, print ads, and social media campaigns.

The "Truth" campaign was extremely effective. According to one study, the campaign was responsible for preventing 450,000 young people from starting to smoke between 2000 and 2004. This is just one example of how social marketing campaigns can actually have a positive impact.

Social marketing concepts have been used to promote all sorts of prosocial behaviors such as recycling, reducing energy consumption, quitting smoking, using public transportation, poverty, hunger, and disease by promoting charitable donations and volunteerism. By adopting a social campaign cause, a company is attempting to make a positive impact on society while also achieving business objectives.

While it would be nice to think that companies are truly altruistic in adopting a social media campaign, the company, in doing so, is associating and branding itself as being the "good" guy. It is hoping that you will begin to associate the company with the cause, which in turn will motivate you to use its products or services more.