Social Marketing

Author: Dawn Southgate

Social marketing is here defined as “effecting change or maintaining people’s behaviour for the welfare of individuals and society”. However, it is difficult to define what is the “social good” and    what is socially beneficial in different contexts. In this paper the authors suggest that marketers could turn to human rights principles and take a human rights-based approach. They examine various human rights principles (transparency and accountability; equality and non-discrimination; and participation and inclusion) that could guide the work of social marketers. A case study of the anti-obesity cause is used to show how these principles can help address some social marketing challenges.

Journal of Business Ethics, Vol 155(3) March 2019, pp871-888 (Szablewska and Kubacki)

[First appeared in Cutting Edge, 27 March 2019]