Background: Overweight and obesity affects almost 30% of Canadian children and adolescents aged 2-17 years old which can lead to chronic disease later on in life. Research shows that healthy weight programs are effective at reducing BMI but have issues regarding recruitment and retention. One way to address these problems is by using a Social Marketing framework to determine what adolescents need in a community-based healthy weight program. Methods: Open-ended and closed-ended question surveys were conducted with multiple perspectives including youth aged 13-17 years, parents, and youth workers in Fall 2018. Open-ended question answers were a priori categorized by the ‘4Ps’ of the SM framework (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) while frequency count data was generated for closed-ended question answers. Open-ended answer data were managed using NVivo 12 and were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s six-step approach to thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Results: A ‘marketing mix’ was thematically generated to identify elements of a healthy weight program that adolescents need in order to participate from all three perspectives. Based on the findings, programs should include physical activity, nutrition, and emotional/social health components that are relevant and fun (Product). They should also emphasize benefits to participating such as improvement to physical and mental health, having fun, receiving incentives, and building relationships (Product) while minimizing barriers including emotional health concerns, lack of time, financial cost, transportation, boring programs (Price). Differences were found amongst perspectives in terms of types of incentives, transportation, and cost of program. Programs should take place in convenient, appealing, and safe locations that may already exist including schools or recreation centres (Place) and should also be promoted using social media and peer word-of-mouth or create partnerships with youth-relevant organizations and use body positive language (Promotion). Conclusion: Using this foundational work of a ‘marketing mix’ can help program developers design programs that will help recruit and retain youth in community-based healthy weight programs. Elements of social marketing were not considered in this study including competition, segmentation, and branding which further highlights the need for exploring competing behaviours in youths’ lives, different priority audience segments of BC, and brands that can be used to recruit and retain youth. / Graduate

Abstract The role of marketing in social issues has grown over the last thirty years since Kotler himself introduced the concept (Kotler & Zaltman, 1971). In the evolution of social marketing it has moved from being entirely marketing process orientated towards expanding its vision to other useful theories from the subject’s parent disciplines. Social dilemma theory, one such theory, evolved in the laboratories, computer programmes and field experiments of psychologists and economists. In 1991 marketers proposed the theory as an aid to understanding individual action in collective problems. The current study assesses the relevance of social dilemma theory for the marketing of water conservation behaviours in an emerging market. As such, it seeks to establish if the key variables were present and what, if any, impact large cultural forces, such as individualism and collectivism have on individual conserving behaviour. Individualism and collectivism were studied at the personal level of idiocentrism and allocentrism and along the sub-dimensions of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism. The interactions of these values on individual behaviour were studied, together with two key variables in social dilemma theory namely, perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE) and faith in others (FIO). Individual perceptions of resource abundance and attitudes towards non-marketing solutions, such as a sanctioning system, were investigated. The study was conducted among 444 teenage learners at secondary schools in Gauteng. A descriptive research design was used. The study found that there was an interaction between social dilemma variables and individualism/collectivism which did have an impact on individual conserving behaviour. Most, but not all relationships were verified. Collectivists required higher levels of perceived consumer effectiveness in order to engage in conservation actions, while individualists needed a greater sense of the co-operation of others. Faith in others and individualism/collectivism emerged as having a direct impact on consumer behaviour, while perceived consumer effectiveness was a moderator of the other variables and had no main, direct, effect on behaviour. Water was thought of as an abundant resource and in little need of conservation. Low income consumers favoured a sanctioning system to enforce compliance. The implications of the study for marketing theory and practice are discussed. -

Among Filipinos of lower SES 1/500 babies are born yearly with an orofacial cleft. This is one of the highest birth prevalence of orofacial clefting in the world. The main purpose of this study was to obtain contextual information prior to planning for community based health interventions in the Philippines regarding orofacial clefting. A descriptive ethnography was used to describe working class Filipinos' (including healthcare workers') current beliefs about the causes, prevention, and treatment of orofacial clefting, and vitamin taking practices during pregnancy. Modifications of Kleinman's explanatory models were made to include questions about people's general and personal beliefs about cause and prevention of cleft. Innovative methods were developed and used in field research and included an oral back translation method and double translation process. Filipinos reported the following explanations for cause of cleft inheritance, falls, cravings, environmental exposures, and God's will. Beliefs about prevention of cleft included limiting their number of children, being careful not to fall, and avoiding environmental exposures. Filipinos seek surgical repair as treatment for their cleft. Iron was the supplement women reported taking most often during pregnancy. Female participants reported that feeling better, cost of multivitamin, side effects, and bad smell and taste were reasons why they quit taking micronutrients before they had completed the recommended course. This study is the first to construct a Filipino explanatory model specifically for clefting. In constructing Filipino's explanatory model for clefting we found that people's general causal explanations for cleft were not always congruent with personal causal explanations, and people's causal explanations for cleft were not always congruent with their prevention explanations. Modifying Kleinman's explanatory models to include questions about general and personal explanations for cause of illness and questions about prevention should be used to educe a more complete explanatory model. Results from this research can be used to inform the design of health campaigns and/or possible vitamin trials. These campaigns could include but are not limited to developing information brochures and programs about the cause and prevention of clefting, or developing public health campaigns to promote the use of prenatal vitamins in women of childbearing age.

This thesis presents a case study of the drink drive initiatives, including marketing communications, legislation and enforcement practices implemented in the state of Victoria (Australia) between 1989-2000. It has been argued that the 51% reduction in road toll was related to these initiatives. In order to explore the veracity of these claims, a holistic case study approach was adopted. In addition to an examination of the communications tactics and extant practices of enforcement agencies, the study involved interviews with two distinct groups: professionals in various fields pertaining to road safety, and members of the general Victorian driving community. The focus of this work was on the advertising and communications campaigns that were run by the Transport Accident Commission from 1989-2000; however the policy and enforcement initiatives were also examined in terms of their potential impact on the lowering of the road toll. Suggestions for the improvement of policy and communication strategies within a social marketing context are made.

Report (M.A.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Ghost-money burning is an important ritual custom in Taiwanese folk religion. But with the growth in population and residential density, such burning becomes more and more threatening to air quality and public health. To make compromise between folk customs and air quality, the government urged the public to change the custom. To understand how successful the government¡¦s strategies are, this study used 4 social marketing variables and people¡¦s concern for ritual custom to predict people¡¦s attitude toward ghost-money burning. A convenience sample of college students, workers in local court, and people from the general public were invited to answer the questionnaire in this study. A total of 255 participated and gave valid answers. Results found that: 1. The more people believed that ghost-money burning was required by ritual customs, the more positive their attitude would be. That is, they would regard the burning as less harmful, and would be less willing to reduce it. 2. Social marketing strategies that changed cost and convenience had negative effect on attitude. That is, when people believed burning less ghost money was good for them, they would regard the burning as harmful and be more willing to reduce it. The same happened when people believed it was convenient to take alternatives for burning ghost money. 3. The effect of ritual customs on attitude toward ghost-money burning was greater than the effect of social marketing variables. In light of these findings, when urging the policy of Ghost-Money Burning reduction by means of social marketing, the government should both focus on changed cost reduction and convenience enhancement, which will be more effective on changing people¡¦s attitude toward Ghost-Money Burning.

On May 2011, the Environmental Protection Administration launched a policy to cut the use of disposable cups. This policy obliges non-alcoholic beverage stores to give customers incentives for bringing their own cups or recycling disposable cups. Because college students often buy take-out non-alcoholic beverage, this study aimed to explore how psychological variables might affect their intent to bringing their own cups. Results from this study may provide some suggestions for the policy above. This study started with a focus group interview with 31 college students. This interview gave me a preliminary understanding of students¡¦ intent to bring their own cups and the related psychological factors. I then combined the findings from this interview and literature review to design the framework and questionnaire for this study. Following Kotler and Lee¡¦s (2008) concept of social marketing, the questionnaire was mainly designed to assess five variables: policy incentive, benefit of bringing own cups, cost of bringing own cups, convenience in buying cups, and convenience in washing cups. A convenience sample of 197 students in National Sun Yat-sen University participated. The results suggest the higher the profit or the lower the cost for bringing own cups, the stronger will be students¡¦ intent to do so. However, the other three variables had no significant effect. In addition, the analysis showed female students were more intended to bring their own cups than male students did. Students from different departments also differed in their intent, but the differences were small. Based on these findings, several policy recommendations were proposed.

In recent years, the already idealized practice of families sitting down together to eat a homemade meal and enjoy each other's company has been bolstered by academic research that suggests family meals are good for children. In response to these findings, several organizations have launched campaigns promoting family meals. In this dissertation, I compare the ways family meals are framed by the organizations that promote them to how parents frame them by conducting a qualitative content analysis of ten campaign websites and interviews with 46 parents. The sample of campaigns represents commercial and nonprofit organizations, and the sample of parents varies by income and marital status, allowing me to determine whether frames used by a certain type of organization are likely to resonate with certain demographics. My findings suggest that while organizational framing of family meals is sometimes similar to way parents frame them, there are some important disjunctions that are likely to decrease the potential effectiveness of the campaigns. In general, campaigns frame family meals more in terms of conversation and what happens around the table, while parents frame them more in terms of food and labor. When campaign frames do match parents' frames, they align more closely with higher-income and married parents, particularly in the case of commercial organizations, while nonprofit campaigns align more closely with lower-income and single parents. This project contributes to the literatures on framing, social marketing, and consumption by using frame analysis to gauge the potential effectiveness of the promotion of a set of everyday consumption practices. It provides insight into how parents think about and perform the tasks involved in creating family meals within an organizational context and the creation of cultural discourse about them. A practical application is using this information to improve the promotion of family meals, particularly for lower-income and single parents.

As pressures of a growing population take their toll on our environment, efforts must be made to facilitate sustainable behaviours at the neighbourhood scale. Science is demonstrating that the abundance and diversity of native bees is declining in many locales around the world. One of the major drivers of this decline is the loss and fragmentation of habitat, caused in part by suburban expansion. This emerging landscape is dominated by a garden typology not beneficial to bee populations. Using the principles and theories of Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM) and a survey of Guelph gardeners and homeowners, effective program strategies are outlined for implementation by Pollination Guelph, and target the behaviours and barriers associated with activities that negatively impact native bees. A CBSM based program will encourage bee-friendly gardening, promote the aggregate changes needed to alter the individuals gardening behaviours, and potentially increase native bee populations in the suburban neighbourhoods of Guelph.

This research examines the interrelationships between tourism, poverty alleviation, and social marketing. It argues that tourism growth is necessary but insufficient by itself to alleviate poverty. Although tourism has often been connected with poverty under the rubric of pro-poor tourism (PPT), limited research has investigated this from the poor’s perspective. Little is also known of various poverty causes, including poor people’s behaviours in affecting poverty. Although tourism may contribute to alleviating poverty, negative poverty-related behaviours (e.g. depletion of natural resources) are still found in some host destinations. Where behaviour change is considered significant for tourism to help alleviate poverty, social marketing may be important given its potential in motivating voluntary behaviour change. This is particularly necessary for a developing country such as Vietnam, where tourism is encouraged for poverty alleviation. The district of Sapa, Vietnam is chosen as a case study area, which has substantial levels of poverty although tourism has developed for years. This research seeks to answer four main questions: What are the barriers to poverty alleviation identified by PPT projects in Vietnam? What are the roles of social marketing in PPT projects in Vietnam? What are the barriers to poverty alleviation identified by PPT projects as perceived by local people and key informants in Sapa? What are the roles of tourism as a means of poverty alleviation as perceived by the locals in Sapa? This research was designed in two stages. The first involved a content analysis of tourism-related projects in Vietnam, where a systematic search for project documents was conducted. Forty-five projects were found and then analysed against a set of six social marketing benchmark criteria. Twenty-one projects were judged to meet all the criteria, most of which were implemented in national parks (NPs) and nature reserves (NRs) that are home to important resources for tourism. Typical project objectives included preventing or mitigating local people’s dependence on natural resources and promoting tourism as an alternative livelihood. The most popular competing factors identified were local people’s poor perception of conservation needs and traditional dependence on natural resources, stakeholder conflicts, and weak policy implementation. This stage suggested that social marketing might help tourism contribute to natural resource conservation and poverty alleviation. The second stage utilised both qualitative and quantitative methods. Interviews were conducted with 47 poor people and key informants in Sapa. A survey was then administered with 187 local people. It identified that local people perceive poverty as a lack of rice and/or income and attribute it to internal and/or external causes. Tourism holds important potential for poverty alleviation in Sapa. However, this potential is substantially reduced by barriers to business development, employment, and thus benefit distribution within the sector. It is also worsened by the exclusion of poor people from development plans, decision-making processes, and project design and implementation. The non-poor and tour operators are perceived as the main beneficiaries of tourism. Local women often follow tourists to sell handicrafts, resulting in discomfort for tourists and conflicts among community members. More local people consider tourism a contributor to poverty alleviation and wish to participate in tourism. The most critical barriers preventing participation include insufficient knowledge, skills, work experience, funds, and poor foreign language proficiency. Limited capital and farming land is the most important obstacle to poverty alleviation overall. This research suggests that to maintain the long-term viability of tourism in Sapa, social marketing can be used to promote behaviour change in handicraft sellers and forest resource dependents. To this end, alternative livelihoods other than tourism are required. There is a need to put in place a policy framework that entitles poor people to more land in the forest so that they can grow more rice and medicinal fruit and protect their own forestland. Social marketing can also promote changes in the self-interested practices of tourism businesses and relevant forest policies. In addition, an appropriate intervention framework should be established to reduce household sizes and thus mitigate land use pressures. From a local perspective, this research helps planners, managers, and policy-makers in Sapa as well as other similar destinations in Vietnam and elsewhere understand more clearly the barriers to poverty alleviation and the obstacles to poor people’s participation in tourism. It also generates greater awareness among academics and the public in Vietnam regarding the potential of social marketing for alleviating poverty through tourism. On a broader scale, this research enriches and deepens tourism scholars and practitioners’ understanding of the various ways social marketing can help alleviate poverty and protect natural resources. Furthermore, given the centrality of poverty alleviation to the sustainable development agenda, the findings of this research contribute to wider social scientific debate, practical development discourse and, as such, to Vietnam’s society as a whole. This research concludes that only by valuing the perspectives of poor people can meaningful approaches to alleviating poverty through tourism become clearer and more likely to succeed.