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2012 18: 77Social Marketing QuarterlyFrançois Lagarde

Insightful Social Marketing Leadership  

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Notes from the Field

Insightful Social MarketingLeadership

Francois Lagarde1

Francois Lagarde, a Social Marketing Quarterly Associate Editor, was invited to share his lessons

learned through 30 years of practice at the U.K. Social Marketing Conference in Brighton, England, on

November 8, 2011. The following are excerpts from his keynote speech.

Two statements summarize the main lessons from 30 years of my teaching and practicing social

marketing:

– Social marketing has tremendous transformational potential and

– Leadership is a vital success factor.

The Transformational Potential of Social Marketing Principles

Similar to Jeff French and Clive Blair-Stevens’s work in 2006, Nancy Lee, Michael Rothschild, and

William Smith (2011) recently made yet another great contribution to the field of social marketing by

publishing a declaration on the Social Marketing Quarterly website under the ‘‘Learn’’ tab. It contains a

definition and list of social marketing principles. They are behavior focus, audience orientation, seg-

mentation, consideration of upstream audiences (policy makers and corporations) as well as the mid-

stream audiences (e.g., friends, family, and influential others), value exchange, recognition of

competition, the 4Ps of marketing (Product, Place, Price, and Promotion—also known as the marketing

mix—to reduce barriers and to increase benefits), evaluation, and sustainability.

I summarize these principles as follows: ‘‘You will have a much better chance of influencing people

and encouraging them to adopt a behavior (behavior focus) if you know more about them (audience

orientation); understand that not all people are likely to be at the same starting point (segmentation);

consider your competition; actually make it attractive and easy for people (value exchange, marketing

mix, and upstream strategies); partner with influential people (midstream); communicate effectively

(promotion); and are in it for the long run (sustainability).’’

Social marketing principles do work and their effectiveness is increasingly documented. Being

exposed to them can lead to significant changes in practitioners’ methods, but some principles meet

resistance at first.

In my experience as a university lecturer giving a 45-hr social marketing course, students love me at the

end of the first week, feel lost by Week 6, but appreciate what they have learned by the end of the

1 Social Marketing Consultant and Adjunct Professor, Department of Health Administration, Faculty of Medicine, University of

Montreal, Canada

Corresponding Author:

Francois Lagarde, 5 Oriole St., Kirkland, Quebec, Canada H9H 4S2

E-mail: flagarde@videotron.ca

Social Marketing Quarterly18(1) 77-81

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semester. Why? Because at the end of the first week, they think that social marketing is fun and easy.

Social marketing principles seem pretty obvious and sound like pop psychology. By Week 6, the picture is

nowhere near as clear, because they have to submit well-defined behavior change objectives based on a

complete audience analysis and segmentation. They realize that social marketing is more demanding than

it looks. Although the questions seem simple (e.g., Who do you want to reach? What do you want them to

do? Why would they do it? Why are not they doing it? Who has an influence on them? Which segment is

more receptive than others?), answers are not obvious. Students realize that they speculate more than

really listen and understand audiences, that segmentation needs to go beyond demographics, and that it

takes more time than they thought. At the end of the semester, they understand that good audience

analysis, segmentation, and context analysis lead to a sound and comprehensive strategy. They also learn

that a good strategy is not only about what you plan to do, it is also about what you decide to discard.

I find that it takes a couple of weeks to ‘‘deprogram’’ students from the typical logic model

that they have in mind: ‘‘We’ll tell them, they’ll learn it, and they’ll change’’ (Doner, 2003, p.

19). I often start this ‘‘deprogramming’’ process with the following line: ‘‘If you want people to

be interested in you, you need to be interested in them first.’’ I emphasize the fact that this can

only come by listening first (formative research). I also describe my typical workday as follows:

‘‘I get calls from passionate and knowledgeable advocates who want to change the world and feel

that people don’t get it. My role is often to get these advocates to realize that the problem may be

that they don’t get people.’’

Students reach a key turning point when they realize that the real social marketing opportunity lies

with population segments that need benefits, relevance or ‘‘help,’’ and not just more information—and

that benefits and help are more likely to come from the ‘‘product, price, and place,’’ or exchange

strategies. They also realize that such strategies may be better at addressing the root causes. One of the

best examples that I can think of is a student working on a vaccination project targeting seniors in a rural

setting. After mapping the audiences and vaccination centers, he quickly realized that he just needed a

‘‘place’’ strategy, which meant opening a vaccination center in an area that was closer to a segment that

did not get vaccinated in the past because of distance. Vaccination rates went up significantly.

With respect to segmentation, many students are initially reluctant about it, because they equate

segmentation with exclusion, which is inconsistent with population health goals, for example. They

change their minds when they learn that segmentation is the mere recognition that not everyone is

going to react the same way to a given strategy, and that if you are serious about reaching disadvan-

taged groups or hard-to-reach segments, you need to understand their specific characteristics and

conditions, which may lead to upstream strategies and unique initiatives. That idea actually resonates

with even the most committed advocates of social determinants of health.

Many people are allergic to the word competition. Professionals in the public and community

sectors do not like to think of themselves as competitors. It becomes clearer and unavoidable when

they consider competition for attention (Who else is trying to reach the same audience at the same

time?), competition within the field (Who else is delivering a similar message or program to the same

audience?), and competition from other sectors including the private sector (Who else is delivering

messages and products that are contrary to your objectives?). Professionals are more comfortable when

you mention that the response to competition may be collaboration and partnerships (if you can’t

beat’em, join’em) or advocacy (if you can’t beat’em, advocate against them instead).

Dealing with money is also a contentious issue. Most organizations consistently complain about not

having enough resources. Sustained social and behavioral change cannot occur with short-term bud-

gets or year-end money. Organizations can rarely deliver change on their own. If an organization sees

social marketing as an isolated budget item or initiative, it will always face budgetary challenges. If an

organization sees its budget as an opportunity to influence other organizations’ budgets, then it can

contemplate real and lasting social change. Other people’s money does not have to go through your

books to contribute to your goals.

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Along those same lines, most professionals need to accept that they or their organizations are not

necessarily the best positioned to reach and influence some segments. They need to recognize that

partnering with influential individuals and organizations is likely to lead to better and faster results, as

well as reflected glory.

A word on ethics. Ethical dilemmas in social marketing are now addressed in all major social

marketing textbooks (Donovan & Henley, 2010; Hastings, 2007; Kotler & Lee, 2008). I found that

practitioners are singularly enlightened by what Michael Basil (2001) had to say in Alan Andreasen’s

(2001) landmark book Ethics in Social Marketing. Social marketing tends to be on the right-hand side

of the ends being pursued (at least on paper). Yet, Basil suggests that practitioners face a deontological

dilemma when they consider using inappropriate means to achieve good ends and find themselves

justifying their choice (the ends justify the means). Andreasen’s book deals with this and other issues

very astutely. Other questions that I raised in a series of worksheets that I developed for a workshop on

ethics at the University of Toronto’s Health Communication Unit (Lagarde, 2002) to guide discussion

on possible ethical dilemmas around ends, means, and consequences include:

– Is the underlying explanation of the issue primarily biased toward and in the interest of the actors?

– Does support for the project deter resources or attention from more important issues?

– Are you manipulating or exaggerating some information in order to get the audiences’ attention?

– Have you decided not to communicate some information?

– Are you making optimal use of human and financial resources?

– Are you planning to evaluate your strategy, including monitoring the potential impact on unin-

tended audiences?

– What would you do should you find undesirable effects?

Leadership is a Vital Success Factor

In our field, success is clear: observable social and behavioral change. But it is obvious that social

marketing is not an exact science and that having a good strategy on paper is not a guarantee for

success. A vital ingredient is leadership.

In social marketing, leadership is not a list of personal attributes of individual social marketing

practitioners. It is a set of competencies assembled by teams, held together by strong managers.

William Smith (2011) recently suggested that there should be three kinds of talent on a social

marketing team: detail, big picture, and creativity. Fortunately, our discipline tends to attract people

who are visionary, pragmatic, systematic, and creative.

My best clients are not specific organizations. They are very strong managers of very talented

teams. Noticeably, successful social marketing initiatives are designed and implemented by insightful,

committed, and capable teams.

Insightful social marketing teams and managers are empathic and curious. They blend systematic

and intuitive methods of figuring out what is likely to work best. They think big because they think

outside the box, outside their box, upstream, midstream, and downstream. They are keen on discern-

ment because they aspire to stay relevant. They are ingenuous. They establish and communicate a clear

vision with both short-term and long-term goals. They set priorities and are focused. They do not

reinvent the wheel; still they are alert and open to innovative solutions. ‘‘They institutionalize reflec-

tion as part of debriefing on projects’’ (Gaufin, Kennedy, & Struthers, 2010, p. 160).

Committed social marketing teams know that change takes time—decades and generations, not

months and years. They are in it for the long haul, hence very persevering. Yet, they know how to

optimize their current resources and act now. They are motivated to get the ball rolling and create

momentum. They understand deadlines and meet them. They are merchants of solutions, not of

problems and in that they are entrepreneurial. They are concerned with optimization and efficiency.

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They are serious about having an impact and this is the reason they conduct thorough and regular

evaluations. They understand that casual failures are part of learning and improving. They know how

to have fun and celebrate progress. They are achievers, but they do not have a huge ego—in other words,

they know how to share responsibilities and the fame. They are driven by influence more than power.

Ultimately, they know when someone else should take the lead.

Capable teams include excellent communicators. They are good at engaging people and partners, as

well as mobilizing resources or influencing how other organizations use their resources. They attract

and motivate the best people and provide them with career development, as well as regular training and

mentoring opportunities. They have knowledge, creativity, and know-how. They adopt new technol-

ogies. They are conscientious and ethical. They are effective. They have resilience and establish

positive relationships. They have supporters who believe in them and provide them the right level

of emotional and financial backing to be relatively stable along with a healthy dose of tension that

keeps them agile.

Furthermore, skilled project managers respond to three legitimate staff needs: (1) clear expecta-

tions, (2) tools to perform, and (3) regular feedback.

Headhunting Social Marketers

I just painted an ideal profile of project teams and managers. No one individual or team can have all

those attributes, nor are they needed in all situations. Particular types of projects call for particular

types of leadership (Muller & Turner, 2010). Nevertheless, it is hard to think of a successful social

marketing team that does not blend some elements of insight, commitment, and capacity. Think about

it next time that you headhunt social marketing leaders and teams.

Agility in Times of Moving Targets and Moving Grounds

The beauty with social marketing is that it is a confluence of both marketing and many social

sciences each bringing complementary theories, techniques, expertise, and skills (French & Blair-

Stevens, 2007, p. 17; Truss, Marshall, & Blair-Stevens, 2010, p. 23). It is also a field of practice that

attracts people with diverse backgrounds and talents. In this period of ongoing ecological, demo-

graphic, technological, economic, political, and social turbulence and opportunities, I cannot think

of a better field of practice. But we are obviously not in a restful period. As practitioners know, these

days project assumptions and expectations are rarely cast in stone. More than ever, our clients are

eager to work with people who have tolerance for ambiguity, who can process and comprehend the

multiple dynamics of an issue, and who are innovative and agile in this time of moving targets and

moving grounds. Our clients are also eager to work with people who are anchored as far as funda-

mentals are concerned; in other words, people who have a sense of purpose and who will not

compromise on values.

In closing, I look forward to the coming years to see how the field of social marketing will evolve

and unleash its full potential to take up some of the planet’s and humanity’s greatest challenges.

References

Andreasen, A. R. (2001). Ethics in social marketing. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.

Basil, M. D. (2001). Teaching and modeling ethics in social marketing. In A. R. Andreasen (Ed.), Ethics in social

marketing (pp. 184–200). Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.

Doner, L. (2003). Approaches to evaluating social marketing programs. Social Marketing Quarterly, 9, 18–26.

Donovan, R., & Henley, N. (2010). Principles and practice of social marketing: An international perspective.

Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

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French, J., & Blair-Stevens, C. (2006). Social marketing national benchmark criteria. London, England: National

Social Marketing Centre. Retrieved October 24, 2011, from http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/sgp/A328466.pdf

French, J., & Blair-Stevens, C. (2007). Big pocket guide: Social marketing. London, England: National Social

Marketing Centre.

Gaufin, J. R., Kennedy, K. I., & Struthers, E. D. (2010). Practical and affordable ways to cultivate leadership in

your organization. Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, 16, 156–161.

Hastings, G. (2007). Social marketing: Why should the devil have all the best tunes? Oxford, England:

Butterworth-Heinemann.

Kotler, P., & Lee, N. R. (2008). Social marketing—Influencing behaviors for good (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks,

CA: Sage.

Lagarde, F. (2002). Ethics in social marketing and health communications. Toronto, ON: The Health Commu-

nication Unit, University of Toronto. Retrieved October 24, 2011, from http://www.thcu.ca/infoandresources/

presentations/EthicsLagardeWorksheetsJan2002.pdf

Lee, N. R., Rothschild, M. L., & Smith, W. (2011). Social marketing defined. Retrieved October 24, 2011, from

http://socialmarketingquarterly.com/learn

Muller, R., & Turner, R. (2010). Leadership competency profiles of successful project managers. International

Journal of Project Management, 28, 437–448.

Smith, W. (2011). Managing a social marketing team. Social Marketing Quarterly, 17, 106–111.

Truss, A., Marshall, R., & Blair-Stevens, C. (2010). A history of social marketing. In J. French, C. Blair-Stevens,

D. McVey, & R. Merritt (Eds.), Social marketing and public health: Theory and practice (pp. 19–28). Oxford

University Press.

About the Author

Francois Lagarde is a leading Canadian social marketing consultant, adjunct professor at the Faculty

of Medicine of the University of Montreal, and an associate editor of Social Marketing Quarterly.

Lagarde 81