NEW: Social Marketing Planning for Public Health Professionals

Social marketing is the application of commercial marketing tools and principles to the design, implementation, and evaluation of health and social behaviour-change programmes. It focuses on target groups within the population, tailoring campaigns and awareness with the aim of achieving specific behavioural goals. It is increasingly recognised as a valuable tool within public health, where it can improve health and reduce health inequalities. It is particularly important for influencing voluntary lifestyle behaviours such as smoking, drug use, drinking, and diet.

Social marketing has grown in popularity and usage within the health community for many years in Canada and internationally. Part of the reason, is health organizations are not happy with programs that focus on awareness and education only and want to see their clients engaged and more importantly shift their health  attitudes and behaviours.  Using social marketing to conduct health improvement campaigns can help public health professionals be more productive with limited health resources.

Health practioners have been using social marketing strategies for campaigns focused on: injury prevention, child and senior’s health, work place health and safety, addictions: anti-smoking, drug abuse, drinking and driving, healthy eating, physical activity, diabetes prevention, healthy pregnancy, immunization, mental health, family planning, food and product safety, prevention of STD’s, HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases, cancer prevention and many other health issues.

In the past few years, CEPSM has been conducting social marketing workshops across Canada. We have had excellent participation from health professionals who are interested in developing and implementing results-oriented social marketing strategies. As a result, CEPSM has decided to offer a one-day social marketing workshop specifically for public health professionals and other health practitioners.

The aim of this workshop is to enhance public health professionals' knowledge of the key elements of social marketing and how social marketing may be used to plan public health interventions. Specifically:

• How to use a step-by-step structured approach to prepare a social marketing plan: that is actionable; has maximum impact and leads to successful implementation;
• How to present and “sell” your social marketing strategy to management;
• How to implement a social marketing program on a very tight budget and still have maximum impact on changing attitudes and behaviours;
• How to monitor and evaluate your outputs, outcomes and impacts;
• How social marketing gives you a single approach: for mobilizing communities; influencing the media; advocating key stakeholders and building strategic alliances with business.

About our workshop leader:

Jim Mintz is the Managing Partner of the Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing where he presently works with a number of public sector and non-profit clients. He is also Program Director of the Professional Certificate in Public Sector and Non-Profit Marketing at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University. He also has lectured at the University of South Florida, College of Public Health (Tampa). He presently serves on the External Advisory Council for the School of Public Health, at the University of Alberta.

Jim was formerly the Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications at Health Canada for many years and has an intimate knowledge of public health and how social marketing can be used to plan public health interventions. Since leaving Health Canada Jim has been involved in training and consulting with numerous government and non-profit health organizations in the area of his speciality: social marketing.

What some attendees have said about this workshop:
“Good, common sense material structured in a logical series of steps. Anyone can follow through the workbook anytime… great tool.” - Pamela Dunn, Chinook Health Region

“First, I'd like to thank you very much for the April 7 workshop.  It was a great session, I learned a lot including a much more structured approach to social marketing.  It has really helped me to think and plan more strategically, whether for large or small initiatives. Most importantly, thank you for the session.  I enjoyed the process and learned a lot.” - Patricia Paton, Palliser Health

“Jim is extremely knowledgeable. This was a great workshop and I would definitely take the time out of my busy schedule to attend a two-day elaborate version of it. The tools will be great to have!” – Jen Jersey, Windsor Essex Health Unit

“Strategy development and results tracking was great! I really enjoyed it!” – Leann Burton, WWF-Canada

The Workbook (included) guides you through the process for creating your own Customized Social Marketing Action Plan.