Page 295 - The Handbook of Persuasion and Social Marketing

CHAPTER TEN

Social Marketing and the Law

Ross D. Petty

Social marketing and the law are similar in that they both seek to influence
human behavior for the public good. Social marketing (including educa-
tion—cf. Rothschild, 1999) involves the use of marketing concepts and
techniques to influence behavior in ways deemed beneficial for the tar-
geted individuals and society in general (cf. Andreasen, 2006, p. 91;
Andreasen, 1994, p. 110). Often, changing negative behavior is the goal
(e.g., stop smoking), but sometimes the goal is to prevent people from
starting negative behavior (e.g., don’t start smoking). In some cases, social
marketing is used in part to counter commercial marketing such as ciga-
rette advertising. In other situations, it may be used for policies unrelated
to commercial marketing, such as encouraging birth control in developing
countries. Social marketing efforts may be conducted by various entities,
including commercial companies, nonprofits, and even government
agencies.
Downstream social marketing directs marketing efforts at the group
whose behavior has been targeted for change. Upstream social marketing
is a newer concept that targets lawmakers, the media, and others to per-
suade them that a particular public policy issue is sufficiently important
to take action (Hoek & Jones, 2011). Upstream marketing may target
lawmakers to fund or require social marketing campaigns or to impose
legal behavioral mandates, including taxes or fees and information disclo-
sure. Such legal mandates are enforced by various types of sanctions,
including injunctions, jail, fines, taxes, and other financial incentives.
Laws can be crafted to be enforced by the government, injured private
parties, or both.