EFFECTIVENESS OF SOCIAL MARKETING PROGRAMMES TARGETED AT THE LOWERINCOME SECTOR
Date
2012-01-20
Authors
Potter, Douglas Luke Charles
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Abstract
Whilst there is an emerging business case for Private Sector involvement in poverty reduction
programmes targeted at the lower income sector, there is limited understanding of the impact that the
Private Sector has had in such initiatives. An aggravating factor is the lack of reliable evaluation
mechanisms with which to assess Private Sector performance in alleviating poverty.
The research problem guiding this study was to determine the effectiveness of Social Marketing
projects as a potential poverty alleviation approach for the Private Sector. The research sub-problems
aimed to establish a set of criteria that could be used as a basis for developing appropriate Social
Marketing evaluation frameworks and indicators.
Exploratory in nature, the method of data collection employed a qualitative approach, in which 9 In-
Depth Interviews were conducted with experts possessing relevant knowledge of, or experience in,
Social Marketing as a potential development tool for the Private Sector. Limitations in sample size
were addressed by triangulating respondent profiles across a variety of different sectors (Corporate;
Academic; Non-Governmental; Donor Organisation) in order to elicit as wide a set of opinions as
possible. Results were then analysed according to an Interpretivist approach.
A broad set of criteria were identified that can be used to develop, or make a reasoned judgement
about the suitability of, potential Social Marketing frameworks for the Private Sector. These criteria
were tested through application to one particular Social Marketing evaluation framework identified
in the literature review (the PSI PERForM framework). The latter was found to have limitations in
its current form that would preclude a recommendation being made for wider use by the Private
Sector. The PSI PERForM framework was then used as a platform with which to identify suitable
indicators. The finding was that there are limitations in seeking universal indicators for such a
framework, as indicators need to be customised around specific behaviours and target audience
characteristics.
The key message of this research is that it is not feasible to attempt to identify a generic Social
Marketing evaluation framework and accompanying indicators, owing to a need to customise
frameworks around underlying behaviours and target audience profiles.
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The implications are that, in order for the Private Sector to be able to compare the effectiveness of
Social Marketing as a development mechanism relative to other approaches, future attention should
focus on impact evaluation frameworks. These offer potential in enabling not only individual project
evaluations but also cross-project comparisons. The scale, cost and expertise required to conduct
impact evaluation in this area would likely require new forms of collaboration with Academic, Non-
Governmental and Donor Organisations
Description
MBA thesis - WBS
Keywords
Social marketing programmes, Low income sectors