Page 21 - The Handbook of Persuasion and Social Marketing

14 The Handbook of Persuasion and Social Marketing

and imply needed skill sets for those involved. Definitions also help institu-
tions such as universities, government agencies, and think tanks decide
whether they wish to make use of a field’s concepts and tools, and help de-
fine their expertise.
For practitioners, definitions have parallel functions. Definitions indi-
cate what body of knowledge and practice one needs to master to become
an effective—even superlative—practitioner. They point to subjects and
fields of study that one ought to master and define the benchmarks by
which others—and the individuals themselves—can judge performance.
They also define—or at least imply—boundaries beyond which individu-
als ought not to venture and where they might reasonably expect push-
back—even antagonism—from those in other fields and with other skill
sets who feel threatened by someone who advances beyond disciplinary
boundaries. Furthermore, if not well articulated and defended, definitions
can confuse outsiders and potentially diminish the acceptance and sup-
port of activities that advance a discipline.
As indicated below, these definitional issues have affected both how
social marketing is viewed (or, unfortunately, ignored) by those not prac-
ticing the discipline, and how well applications of its concepts and tools
are carried out. And, of course, success in the practice of a discipline can
solidify both its place in society and its value—for example, the extent to
which others will ask for assistance and provide funding. Definitions can
help in such individual and institutional processes.

Early Definitions

Social marketing has both practical and conceptual roots in the late 1960s
and early 1970s. Although Gerhart Wiebe published an article in the Public
Opinion Quarterly in 1952 in which he asked, “Why can’t we sell brother-
hood like we sell soap?” (Wiebe, 1952, p. 679; cf. Rothschild, 1979), so-
cial marketing did not emerge until two decades later. There were two
stimuli to its development. On the practical side, the seminal initiative was
the imaginative application of commercial marketing concepts and tools to
family planning initiatives in India and Bangladesh (Harvey, 1999). The
Nirodh campaign in India was the first time in which a small fee was
charged for condoms and birth control pills, which were available free in
public health facilities. Six major international commercial marketers en-
sured distribution to the remotest parts of the country, while the program
developed effective advertisements that touted the brand and promoted
the positive benefits of smaller—and spaced—families. The campaign
raised hopes and provoked criticism from many in the nonprofit and