Page 264 - Social Marketing for Public Health Global Trends and Success Stories

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Campaign Strategies (4Ps), Implementation, and Evaluation 237

and the CDC provided technical assistance to the local manufacturer to ensure
the correct concentration was produced and that quality controls were in place
for its manufacture. The new bottle also meant that new packaging, promo-
tional materials, and a relaunch media campaign were needed. Significantly, the
new product format greatly reduced the price of the product, with the new con-
sumer price of Sûr’Eau (now approximately US$0.17 per bottle) dropping by al-
most 60%. In August 2004, the new Sûr’Eau 150-milliliter product was
launched. To further enhance the reach of Sûr’Eau, CARE piloted and scaled up
new community-based promotional and distribution strategies.
The results of the changes were rapid and dramatic. Sales jumped immedi-
ately, and more than 600,000 units per year were sold in each of the following
two years and more than 1 million units the subsequent two years.

Place Strategies

A key to program success was to ensure wide availability of Sûr’Eau across the
country. Because Sûr’Eau was designed to be used in the home, it needed to be
readily available in tens of thousands of rural villages as well as in densely popu-
lated urban centers. It was hoped that a community-based distribution model,
in addition to a private sector distribution mechanism, would help in reaching
rural populations not well served by local commercial networks. The team
planned to leverage its existing national network of private sector retailers that
were already distributing its other lifesaving social marketing products. In addi-
tion, the government of Madagascar and other NGO partners would assist with
rural community–based distribution to both seed the launch of the new prod-
uct and sustain availability of Sûr’Eau over the long term.
The marketing team contracted wholesalers, which made Sûr’Eau available
in more than 20,000 retail outlets across the country. It managed the system
similar to the methods used by fast-moving consumer goods companies. About
60% of national sales were achieved through this distribution mechanism.
Equally important was the task of designing and managing a community-
based rural distribution network. Three innovative community-based distribu-
tion channels were developed:
1. Rural distribution. A network of community-based rural sales agents known as
AVBCs (“Agent de Vente à Base Communautaire”) was set up to reach remote
villages. These agents, typically women, lived in the communities where they
worked. The AVBCs were trusted community members available for follow-up
questions. By using Sûr’Eau themselves, they began to change societal norms in
their communities. The team also launched a network of women’s associations,
branded Ranoray (“Together for Water”), in five of the highest diarrheal disease