BUSINESS MANAGEMENT A+ WORK, ON TIME, NO PLAGARIZING; ON TIME

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Failure is a stepping stone for success

Susana Costa e Silva & Miguel Filipe Silva

Received: 28 December 2011 /Accepted: 15 May 2012 /Published online: 9 June 2012 # Springer-Verlag 2012

Abstract On the basis of a number of case studies of social marketing that did not fully succeed in Guinea-Bissau, extensive research was carried out to determine the causes of failure. These cases revealed several difficulties encountered when imple- menting the projects, despite all good intentions. Refinements and fine-tuning of existing social marketing tools have been brought to light, looking for indications of the causes of unsuccessful outcomes in the cases studied. A risk analysis was used in an attempt to pragmatically produce a framework able to fully address the final social behavioral change envisaged. As a result of this analysis, some contributions for a breakthrough in social marketing frameworks have been provided, namely the im- portance of the diagnosis of the problem, in which cultural differences between beneficiaries and promoters play a central role.

Keywords Social marketing . Change behavior models . Risk analysis . Development aid . Poverty . Guinea-Bissau

1 Introduction

The social marketing concept came about when Kotler and Zaltman (1971) wrote “Social Marketing: an approach to planned Social Change” with the objective of helping social programs to be more successful by using a traditional marketing

Int Rev Public Nonprofit Mark (2012) 9:153–179 DOI 10.1007/s12208-012-0084-2

S. C. e Silva (*) School of Economics and Management, Catholic University of Portugal, Rua Diogo Botelho, 1327, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal e-mail: [email protected]

M. F. Silva European Commission Project Manager/Cooperation for Guinea-Bissau Development & CEAUP – Center of African Studies, University of Porto, Via Panorâmica, S/N, 4100-010 Porto, Portugal e-mail: [email protected]

approach and technologies. The consideration of social marketing as an autonomous area and the concerns about its limits has given rise to intense discussion throughout the last decades of the 20th century. Nowadays, the focus is more on questions about the best practices and frameworks to be used by this discipline.

Academic research in this domain has been flourishing but it should also be driven by an analysis of the unsuccessful cases observed in the field. However, there has not been significant reporting of such cases in this area. In order to fill this gap and use these failures to learn, it is fundamental to analyze and discuss what went wrong, why it went wrong and what could be done differently in the future. Therefore, to ensure a breakthrough and facilitate the improvement of social marketing performance, it is essential to examine real cases and communicate their results, whether they are outstanding or poor results. In order to move forward, we need to expose and learn from our failures.

Six real cases of social marketing that were planned and implemented by interna- tional NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and experienced (directly and indi- rectly) by the authors based in Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony, located on the West African coast, are examined in this study. This analysis was carried out in order to understand what went wrong, and how marketing concepts and frameworks could be improved in order to achieve more success in the future. In contrast to these cases, a seventh one is provided to display anecdotal experience on how good planning can produce good results. This was mainly due to the fact that other variables, other than those normally considered were taken into account. Frequently, social marketing relies heavily on an individual’s ability to perform the requested changes, overlooking the idea that individual behaviors are highly influenced by other factors. We will demonstrate what some of these other factors are in the following sections.

2 Social marketing issues

2.1 The social marketing setting

When in 1952 G. D. Wiebe raised the question ‘Why can’t you sell brotherhood like you sell soap?’ (cited by Kotler and Zaltman 1971) at the time he was far from understanding the tremendous impact of this question and the consequences of it throughout history. However, selling commodities is very different from selling social causes. This idea drove much of the research that followed in this field, where marketing was extended to planning and implementing social change. More than 50 years after this question was posed, it is beyond doubt that social marketing has gained territory as a social change tool. However, the existence of a consensual model with which to address social problems is arguable. In fact, social marketing has been using commercial marketing tools to address such problems. The question of whether or not this is appropriate then arises and if so, under what conditions and parameters would it be acceptable?

In order to respond to the previous question it is necessary to examine some of the most consensual social marketing definitions. According to Smith (1998), social marketing is a process for creating, communicating and delivering benefits that a

154 S.C. e Silva, M.F. Silva

target audience wants in exchange for audience behavior that benefits society without financial profit to the marketers. Andreasen (1995) considers social marketing as the application of commercial marketing technologies to the analysis, planning, execu- tion, and evaluation of programs designed to influence the voluntary behavior of target audiences in order to improve their personal welfare and of society. For Kotler et al. (2006) (cited by Kotler and Lee 2008), social marketing is a process that applies marketing principals and techniques to create, communicate, and deliver value in order to influence target audience behaviors that benefit society (public health, safety, the environment, and communities) as well as the target audience.

We understand that Smith (1998) places great emphasis on intangible exchange, without financial benefits for the parties involved. On the other hand, Andreasen (1995) has no doubt that in social marketing commercial marketing tools should be used. Analysis, planning, execution and evaluation are actions that should be applied to a voluntary behavior change, with the objective of increasing individual and social well being. In turn, Kotler et al. (2006) reinforce Andreasen’s (1995) claim that social marketing should use technology provided by commercial marketing. This is in their opinion crucial to value creation that results from behavior changes, good for the individual and for society as a whole. Remarkably enough, it should be noted that this last definition is coherent with the one of the American Marketing Association, to which “Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large”. This updated definition of Marketing proposed by that leading organization regards Marketing as an ‘activity’ instead of a ‘function’ and positions marketing as a broader activity in a company/organization, and not just a department. The new definition also positions marketing as providing long-term value rather than narrowly as an exchange of money (short-term) for the benefit of the shareholder/organization.1

On the basis of the three social marketing definitions analyzed, social marketing is regarded as an independent area of knowledge, not because of its ‘hardware’ – traditional marketing – but due to: its objectives; the geography of the subjects analyzed (several unique topics covered); the fact that society as a whole benefits; the fact that exchange is guided by ‘social profit’, and not financial profit. So, when considering social marketing we should bear in mind that: the emphasis should be placed on behaviors; the change in behavior should be voluntary (social marketing’s main challenge is to find out ways to reward the good behavior and not punish bad behavior); the reward might not be immediate but postponed; principals and techni- ques proposed by commercial marketing are to be used; society as a whole is the big winner (Kotler and Lee 2008).

2.2 Tools to be used for the study of social behavioral changes

There has been interesting attempts to create useful tools to be used in behavioral change: the Health Belief Model (Lefebvre 2000; Rosenstock 1974; Janz and Becker 1984; Strecher and Rosenstock 1997; Lefebvre and Flora 1988), the Extended

1 http://www.marketingpower.com/Community/ARC/Pages/Additional/Definition/default.aspx, accessed on 13 May 2011.

Failure is a stepping stone for success 155

Parallel Process Model (Witte and Roberto 2009; Witte 1992), the Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein and Ajzen 1975; Ajzen and Fishbein 1980; Ajzen 1991), the Stages of Change Model (DiClemente and Prochaska 1985), the Ecolog- ical Model (Grizzell 2007). In addition to these four theoretical models, we can also add more practical approaches often used to implement social changes. One of the most well-known is the Social Marketing approach. We would like to emphasize the main contributions of each of the outlined theories to better understand their appli- cation and limits in social marketing projects.

The HBM (Health Belief Model) was first developed in the fifties by social psychologists in the U.S. Public Health Service. Rosenstock (1974), Janz and Becker (1984) and Strecher and Rosenstock (1997) refer to the pillars of that model and use it in their studies. According to Lefebvre (2000), the Health Belief Model is one of the most widely used theories by NGO public health practitioners, and also in numerous social marketing projects, which Strecher and Rosenstock developed further in 1997. The core components of this more developed version of the HBM model are in the next table (see Table 1). This table is an adaptation of Kotler and Lee (2009) framework, based on a proposal of Glanz et al. (2002).

In summary, the Health Belief Model deems that people are more likely to change a health related behavior if they feel that a threat to their health can be avoided by changing their behavior; if they feel that the benefit of their action is superior to the perceived barriers; and if they feel that the change can be carried out successfully.

The Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) (Witte 1992; Witte and Roberto 2009) is a derivation from the Health Based Model based on threat evaluation and the degree to which it is perceived that the requested behaviour will be effective/will produce effective results. These may result in proactive and defensive motivation, which leads to danger and fear control processes. The core components of this model are: Efficacy – refers to the effectiveness, feasibility and ease with which a recom- mended response impedes or averts a threat; Threat – a danger or harmful event that exists in the environment that people may or may not be aware of; Fear – a high level of emotional arousal caused by perceiving a significant and personally relevant threat. The EPPM tries to highlight the threat involved in behaviour, demonstrating that individuals, through fear, are more inclined to perform the requested behaviour. Nevertheless, we know that in some circumstances and in relation to some people, fear does not work as a trigger. For example, smokers know that smoking carries severe risks and can seriously damage their health. However, many smokers still do not change their behaviour. Therefore, it is not the threat that prevents them from doing this (fear control response) (Witte 1992).

The State of Changes Model (DiClemente and Prochaska 1985) is an approach that departs from the need to consider the stage which the beneficiaries have reached, in a continuum that ranges from no action to consistent action. According to this model there are four stages in the process of changing a behavior: pre-contemplation – people do not think that their current behavior is a problem, resulting in little or no change intention; contemplation – people think that they could have a problem to solve, but they still have doubts - barriers to action seem stronger than benefits; preparation/in action – people are aware of their need to change and feel that the benefits are now stronger than the barriers, meaning that they are ready to act; maintenance – people repeat the desired behavior, at this stage it is necessary to avoid relapses. Some criticism

156 S.C. e Silva, M.F. Silva

has been directed at this model considering it is only efficient when a significant market segment is in the contemplation or preparation stages, or at least, when that market segment is ready to take the first step out of the pre-contemplation stage (Kotler and Lee 2009). However, we believe that knowing at which stage an individual is, is very useful, particularly in the selection of the target audience to serve and for campaign designers, considering that they have to adapt their messages to the target audience. It is a fact that for a social marketer, it is better to work with groups that are already prone to act, than with people who do not understand that their current behavior is problematic. Nevertheless, social marketing programs are also plausible in situations in which the target audience is at the pre-contemplation stage. Thus, this theory is

Table 1 Health belief model

Concept Definition Application

Perceived susceptibility

The subjective perception of the risk of developing a particular health condition.

– describe population(s) at risk;

– identify risk levels;

– identify/threatening behaviors;

– reinforce perceived susceptibility if too low

Question: Am I at risk?

Question: What are my odds of getting diabetes?

Perceived severity

Feelings about the seriousness of the consequences of developing a specific health problem

– recognize risk cost

Question: How serious is my risk really? Question: How concerned am I really with the possibility of getting diabetes?

Perceived benefits

Beliefs about the effectiveness of various actions that might reduce susceptibility and severity

– define actions (how, where, when);

– shed light on the positive effects to be expected.

Question: Do I believe that the desired behavior will reduce the threat?

Question: How strongly do I believe in the recommended diet?

Perceived barriers

Potential negative aspects of taking specific actions

– recognize barriers to reduce them with assistance and incentives

Question: Do I think that negative outcomes will occur due to adopting the desired behavior?

Question: Will the diet make me feel weak?

Cues to action Physical or environmental events that trigger action

– provide information on how to change

– promote awareness and reminders.

Question: Do I feel any physical symptoms? Do I see a favorable environment?

Question: Is there an available nutritionist nearby able to provide me with some advice on my particular situation?

Self-efficacy Self-belief in one’s capacity to perform the change

– provide training and guidance in performing the action.

Question: Am I certain of my capacity to carry out the desired behavior?

Question: Will I be capable of following the prescribed diet?

Adapted from Kotler and Lee (2009)

Failure is a stepping stone for success 157

more useful for creating awareness and to bring people from the pre-contemplation stage to other levels.

Theory of Reasoned Action/Planned Behavior (TRA) is also frequently used to provide explanations for social behavioral change. Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) try to estimate the discrepancy between attitude and behavior of consumers. The authors claim that the willingness to carry out a certain type of behavior is established by three aspects: a personal attitude toward the behavior (positive or negative attitude toward the proposed behavior), subjective norms (influences of significant others); and perceived behavioral control (perceived ease or difficulty of performing the behavior). This theory was initially normative (1975) in the sense that it was possible to predict and plan behavior after knowing the voluntary intention. However, it was subsequently developed by the same authors (1980) adding normative and control beliefs. In fact, the more we are motivated to comply with a certain significant other or referent, the stronger the subjective norm. In the same way, the stronger the control, the more compliance there is. These factors should also be studied for a better understanding of social behavioral changes. Under this revised version of the model, it is important to know attitudes (an evaluation of an object, recommended response or belief); intentions (plans to carry out a recommended response or take a certain action); behaviors (the actual action carried out); and relationships (one’s motivation to comply with what one believes his or her important referents believe). Other than the control perspective, this model adds a useful angle to our study when one takes into account that previous models considered the individual as the only ‘catalyst’ of the intended change. Indeed, not only are individual aspects considered important for changing behaviors, as it was foreseen in the HBM and State of Changes Model, but the positive or negative impacts of relationships in the decision of adopting the proposed behavior change are also significant. This is a new dimen- sion when studying the factors that may interfere with the change of behaviors.

Even though, this model sheds light onto a new factor: normative beliefs, some authors like Grizzell (2007) consider that this is not a sufficiently comprehensive explanation of the variables that have to be taken into account when modeling such problems. In fact, he indicates that the theories referred to above are too narrowly focused, since only individual performance is considered and modest or no attention is given to the environment (either socio-cultural or physical), the influence of which is decisive in behavior change. Thus, he proposed a more comprehensive model: the Ecological Model. This model considers two aspects which have the same level of importance: personal and environmental level. According to the premises of this model, four key aspects must be considered at the same time to achieve long lasting behavioral transformation: also a strategy must be defined for each one of these four levels of analysis: individual factors (demographical issues like age or gender, personality, genetics, skill level, religious self-belief); relationship factors (“important people” – family, friends, colleagues); community factors (school, media, work, organizations); societal factors (cultural norms, laws, State public policies, religious beliefs). In our opinion, this model brings more value in particular to the poverty- reducing programs where environmental issues are more difficult to appraise, and particularly when social marketing promoters are from a different culture. In such instances, environmental aspects can make the difference between success and total and dramatic failure, as we are going to see in the empirical study.

158 S.C. e Silva, M.F. Silva

Although not considered as a model there is, however, an approach that involves the design, implementation and control of campaigns aimed at altering the level of acceptability of the social ideas or behaviors of a specific target group or groups. This is called the Social Marketing Approach (Kotler and Roberto 1989). In essence, this approach departs from the idea that marketing tools used in commercial marketing can also be used in a social arena. Kotler and Lee (2008) proposed a framework they labeled as ‘social arena of social marketing’ (see Table 2).

This framework works well at an operational level. From the outset, it identifies four major areas of social marketing intervention: health, safety, environment and community. However, there are other important considerations regarding this ap- proach. First, it highlights the need to choose a defined target, which is achieved through the use of segmentation as a main strategy. Second, it identifies several actions that need to be changed - accept, reject, modify or abandon – and concerning the behavior that needs to be changed – new behavior, old behavior, current behavior and potential behavior. Later, we will demonstrate how behavioral classification based on these two dimensions - requested action and time - is very pertinent and will allow the required position to be obtained more efficiently in order to see a behavioral change. It is also important to mention that this framework highlights the importance of the marketing-mix program when applied to a social context. This means that not just the traditional 4 P’s are given a special role, but, also according to the authors, another set of P’s gain relevance through this perspective. It should also be noted that under this analysis the terminology of marketing is extended to other dimensions, different to the traditional commercial situations. Hence, for instance, benefits can also be identified here. The benefit is the payback or reward from the behavioral change. Furthermore, competitors are important in a social setting. Com- petitors are the related behaviors (or organizations promoting them) that the target audience is currently engaged in, or prefers to carry out, instead of the ones promoters have in mind (Kotler and Lee 2009).

Bearing in mind the theories above we would like to offer another approach to behavior classification, based on Igor Ansoff’s growth matrix (1967), according to which we may consider two dimensions: time – current or new behaviors – and action required – develop a behavior or reject a behavior (see Fig. 1). Considering the risk elements present in the matrix, we are indeed reframing Kotler and Lee’s (2009) approach by naming the type of change agents target audiences want to implement differently.

This framework is useful because it demonstrates that the riskier situations are the ones that present the largest benefit for society as a whole. However, situations that fall within these parameters also require the most compromise in terms of resources/in terms of the effort required to bring about behavioral change. In such cases, more research and analysis is needed as well as more investment in good planning. Clearly, more resources are also needed in cases like this.

2.3 The practice of social marketing

As a result of the goodwill that drives most of the people involved in social projects, many situations reported in academic papers and books on the subject are not fully anchored in the existent literature. Furthermore, these people are, most of the time,

Failure is a stepping stone for success 159

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160 S.C. e Silva, M.F. Silva

motivated by personal interest and do not often understand that it would be useful to refer to documented literature on the topic. So, they tend to underestimate good practice manuals and move on with actions immediately. However, social marketers are considered to be sometimes both pragmatic as well as speculative (Lefebvre 2000). This means that many projects are not reported and therefore, useful informa- tion on this subject becomes lost and is not given the attention necessary to build up existent theories and models. Hence, on the one hand we have people that do not read or refer to the existent literature on the topic, and, on the other hand, we have people that do not write about it either. Therefore, it is important not just that existent knowledge is referred to before beginning the actual work, but also to ground future works. Lessons have to be learned and used as a basis for future initiatives, of the same or of a different nature. In order to alter this situation it is crucial to understand the main tools and frameworks that social marketing researchers suggest.

On the premise that commercial marketing tools can be applied to changing behaviors, we can consider the marketing plan as an instrument to be used in changing behaviors for a common good. In Kotler and Lee (2008) the authors propose the Social Marketing Plan Primer. In this approach, several elements should be considered (see Table 3).

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Fig. 1 Behavioral development framework: correspondence of required behaviors

Failure is a stepping stone for success 161

in. Further we propose the following social marketing plan procedure (see Table 4). We have determined that a market needs assessment is fundamental and this is the reason why a checklist is proposed, as a way of increasing the odds of success. In this proposal, we raise several questions that need to be answered before moving forward.

Table 4 Social marketing plan application—a checklist

162 S.C. e Silva, M.F. Silva

This social marketing plan checklist aims to address the challenges that, in our opinion, have not been simultaneously addressed before. However, there are several ideas inspired by previous models, as is the case of HBM in the analysis phase, from which we took questions regarding the perceived barriers, the target audience’s ability to perform the change; and the State of Changes Model, from which we took the readiness to adopt the behavior change. From the Extended Parallel Process Model we took the question regarding the perceived chances of being affected by the problem if they do not change their behavior. The question regarding the perceived environmental issues was inspired by the Ecological Model, which we consider fundamental. In fact, in the proposed framework, there are some environmental issues that need to be correctly scrutinized so that social marketing initiatives can be further developed and produce efficient results. In the same way as before, there are revised theories that have become more effective when considering the environment as a fundamental element when drawing up strategies that lead to behavioral changes. It is not just the goodwill of an individual that is necessary to produce changes, elements present in the environment where the individual operates are also crucial in the desire to change. The models which incorporate this additional element are: the Theory of Reasoned Action with the inclusion of referents as important elements that condition an individual’s actions; and the Ecological Model that adds the need for observing and considering external factors such as community and societal factors. Individual and relationship factors remain important in both latter models. They add extra dimensions that are considered crucial in the understanding of all of these problems.

The approach suggested here is an eclectic one, in which we used themes from all models re-arranged in a processual, linear model. In the proposed checklist, the typical marketing stages - analysis, planning, implementation and control - are followed. The value added is derived by the questions that we believe to be important guides for social marketers, especially for people who are not as familiar with social marketing issues.

As a matter of fact, Wymer (2011) had already claimed that to increase a program’s effectiveness, social marketers cannot only use their own mental models and they cannot restrict their choices to target individuals, excluding environmental factors. Indeed, individuals may not be fully responsible for their own acts, as normally occurs in situations dealt with by traditional commercial marketers, which may lead to misunderstandings (Donovan 2011; Wymer 2011).

It is important to bear in mind that social marketing theory has already developed substantially from its origins, namely in what regards the use of an imminently commercial framework. Donovan (2011) claims that it is important to distinguish social marketing approach from social marketing campaigns. These are means to achieve an end and not the end in itself. A campaign is the result of a previous analysis, which is also part of the work involved in social marketing programs. Hastings and Angus (2011) state/believe that social marketing campaigns, for in- stance, should not just be addressed to the “final client” but also to other relevant stakeholders, such as younger generations, media, academics, and so on. Our aim with the proposed approach was to include the most useful models provided by commercial marketing, whilst always keeping in mind that the application context is different. Under these circumstances, it is not a matter of merely finding and producing the products that the consumer is willing to have, price, distribute and communicate them, but rather to influence permanent behavior change.

Failure is a stepping stone for success 163

3 Methodology and case studies

Guinea-Bissau is a former Portuguese colony, which was created in 1687 and remained under Portuguese administrative control up to 1973. Currently it is one of the poorest countries in the world. In the Human Development Index, with 169 countries, Guinea-Bissau occupies the 164th position. This country, with a population of 1.6 million people, depends mainly on farming (largely cashew nuts, but also peanuts, rice, palm kernels and timber) and fishing (fish and seafood). This African country is believed to have natural resources such as offshore oil, gas and phosphates, but until now there has not been enough money to explore these prospects. Guinea lacks several types of infrastructure, this is not only due to lack of capital, but also to the civil war in 1998 which destroyed it. The civil war was responsible for almost one third of a drop in the country’s GDP that year. Since then the country has been trying to recover. With the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) support, Guinea has been benefiting from several recovery plans, one of which attempts to develop trade. However, the country still needs to be supported by price liberalization and private sector improvement policies. NGOs are currently endeavoring to succeed in the achievement of economic development. But, results are discouraging. In fact, external help is still responsible for around 80 % of the total government budget.

NGOs are responsible for an important slice of the help provided to Guinean citizens. Work carried out either in Bissau - the capital city which hosts around 25 % of the total population – as well as throughout the country, is organized into administrative units. Bissau has the largest port of the country and it is the adminis- trative and military centre of the region. Despite being located nearby the other cities in the country, there are many inhabitants in Guinea that hardly know its capital city. Current access routes do not allow the easy mobility of people and goods, which makes localities very isolated and separated from any modernity that may exist in towns. Even though weak access routes to Bissau discourage village people (villages are called ‘tabancas2’, which is the smallest administrative unit of organization in the country), mobility and life in general in Bissau is not easy either. In fact, existent infrastructure was mainly built under Portuguese jurisdiction, which means that most of it has not been fully refurbished for almost 40 years. This is the scenario and circumstances under which our research took place. Living and working in Guinea, we were able to observe and experience several initiatives developed by the different actors involved, such as the European Union, the United Nations, IPAD (Instituto Português de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento) and IMVF (Instituto Marquês de Valle Flôr).

As we aimed to uncover the reasons behind the unsuccessful NGO social inter- ventions in different locations and in different fields in Guinea, we deemed that a case study approach would be most appropriate. To analyze this, several variables at play simultaneously are considered to be important. This encapsulates a phenomenon in which political, economical, social and cultural contextualization are necessary, and for situations like this Yin (1994) suggests that such a study is supported by a

2 Since XVI in Portuguese texts the word ‘tabanca’, which is probably an African word, was used to refer to the fortifications built by Portuguese sailors in Guinea’s seaside areas. However, currently in Guinea’s crioulo, ‘tabanca’ means village.

164 S.C. e Silva, M.F. Silva

qualitative approach. This is mainly due to the diversity of variables at play and the importance they establish in the results achieved by the organization under analysis. We also followed Eisenhardt (1989) in the idea that overlapping data fosters the analysis of the case and may lead to the need for possible adjustments in the collection of data.

In our case, we collected data through observation and interviews so that for each case it was possible to uncover the reasons why good intended measures did not have the expected result. We also relied upon triangulation, a data confirmation method proposed by Yin (1994), that assumes that a result may have different provenances, due to the fact that there is information convergence. Thus, several sources of information were used - observation and interviews - in order to enrich the study and guarantee the quality of the conclusions drawn. Hence, we proceeded accordingly and conducted interviews with some actors involved in the implementation of the social interventions proposed, as well as with the potential beneficiaries of the actions. For every case, we interviewed at least three people involved in the behav- ioral change. Some of these people were beneficiaries of the programs implemented and in all these cases, at least 6 months had passed since the conclusion of the project. In most of these situations, people were interviewed in Creole (Guinea-Bissau Kriol), which was not an obstacle for us considering our expertise in the language. Among those people interviewed there were also technicians responsible for the implemen- tation of social marketing programs. As requested, we have not provided interview- ees’ names, which is understandable considering that their experiences are being used as examples of situations that were not successful. Interviews were conducted in Portuguese, English and Creole. All of these cases studies took place throughout the entire country between 2000 and 2010.

Next we will describe, six situations (see Table 5 for a summary of all of the case studies) perpetrated by different NGOs active in Guinea during the first decade of this century, and which took place in different country locations. Five of these situations refer to the adoption of a new behavior, while one refers to the rejection of a current behavior. According to the Behavioral Development Framework proposed (see Fig. 1), we understand these two change behaviors to be the most difficult in terms of goal achievement because they involve the effort of carrying out a new action (instead of reinforcing behavior that was already in place, or rejecting some other behavior that might occur in the future). Regarding actions that involve more effort, a comprehensive social marketing plan is considered to be essential. According to the belief that much of the work carried out is based more on intuition than on a real knowledge of social marketing concepts (Lefebvre 2000), it is urgent to promote the use and dissemination of frameworks, concepts and research in juxtaposition with experience.

3.1 Case study 1—the warehouse

This case refers to a warehouse that was built at the intersection of several ‘tabancas’ so that people from different ‘tabancas’ could share a clean, dry and large space to store their seeds and crops. According to the development agents, this would allow people to store their crops and build up a production surplus that could later be traded at the market, thus allowing the accumulation of savings. However, after the

Failure is a stepping stone for success 165

T ab

le 5

S um

m ar y of

ca se

st ud

ie s pr es en te d

W ar eh ou se

R oa d

R ic e po

un di ng

m ac hi ne

W el l

F em

al e ge ni ta l

m ut ila tio

n V ac ci na tio

n (P ar t I—

th e

un su cc es sf ul

ca se

st ud

y)

B eh av io ra l ch an ge

D ev el op

a ne w

be ha vi or

D ev el op

a ne w

be ha vi or

D ev el op

a ne w

be ha vi or

D ev el op

a ne w

be ha vi or

R ej ec t a cu rr en t

be ha vi or

D ev el op

a ne w

be ha vi or

L ev el

of th e

in te rv en tio

n 2 ‘t ab an ca s’

1 ad m in is tr at iv e

te rr ito

ry S ev er al

‘t ab an ca ’,

on e of

th em

a ce nt ra l ‘t ab an ca ’

1 ‘t ab an ca ’

1 et hn ic

gr ou

p C ou nt ry

le ve l

E xc ha ng

e: P ro vi si on s

R eq ue st

T he

po ss ib ili ty

of cr ea tin

g a

pr od uc tio

n su rp lu s

T he

po ss ib ili ty

of ha vi ng

be tte r

ac ce ss

to di ff er en t

lo ca tio

ns

T he

po ss ib ili ty

of in cr ea si ng

ri ce

pr od uc tio

n le ve ls

T he

po ss ib ili ty

of di m in is hi ng

th e

am ou nt

of tim

e sp en t w he n

co lle ct in g w at er

In fo rm

at io n on

th e

da ng er s of

fe m al e

ge ni ta l m ut ila tio

n

A ne t to

pr ot ec t ag ai ns t

m os qu ito

es

P eo pl e fr om

th e 2

‘t ab an ca s’ to

st ar t

us in g th e w ar eh ou se

P eo pl e fr om

th e

‘t ab an ca ’ se rv ed

by th e ro ad

to st ar t us in g it

P eo pl e fr om

th e

‘t ab an ca ’ to

st ar t

us in g th e m ac hi ne

P eo pl e fr om

th e

‘t ab an ca ’ to

st ar t

us in g th e ne w

w el l

P eo pl e fr om

th e

et hn ic

gr ou p w ho

pr ac tic e th is ri tu al ,

to st op

do in g so

P ar en ts to

ta ke

th ei r

ch ild

re n to

be va cc in at ed

M es sa ge

U se

th is w ar eh ou

se to

st or e yo

ur se ed s an d

ot he r cr op

s pr od

uc ed

U se

th e ro ad

to re ac h

ci tie s m or e qu

ic kl y

U se

th es e m ac hi ne s

an d ob

ta in

pe el ed

ri ce

m or e ea si ly

an d qu

ic kl y

U se

th e ne w

w el l

be ca us e its

cl os e

lo ca tio

n sa ve s

yo u tim

e w he n

co lle ct in g w at er

To st op

pr ac tic in g

th is ri tu al

as it is

ha s da ng

er ou

s re pe rc us si on s fo r

w om

en ’s he al th

an d w el l- be in g

Ta ke

yo ur

ch ild

re n to

be va cc in at ed

be ca us e it

pr ev en ts di se as e

Ta rg et

‘t ab an ca ’ m en

‘t ab an ca ’ pe op

le W om

en th at

po un d

ri ce

at th e

‘t ab an ca s’

W om

en at

th e

‘t ab an ca ’

M ot he rs

fr om

th e

et hn ic

gr ou p an d

‘f an at ec as ’ (t he

w om

en w ho

ca rr y

ou t th e ri tu al )

M ot he rs

O bs ta cl es

C ul tu ra l tr ad iti on s

C ul tu ra l tr ad iti on s

M ai nt en an ce

of th e

m ac hi ne s;

O rg an iz at io na l

C ul tu ra l tr ad iti on

s C ul tu ra l tr ad iti on

s T im

e ta ke n fo r th e

ch ild

re n to

re ac h th e

va cc in at io n si te

166 S.C. e Silva, M.F. Silva

T ab

le 5

(c on

tin ue d)

W ar eh ou se

R oa d

R ic e po

un di ng

m ac hi ne

W el l

F em

al e ge ni ta l

m ut ila tio

n V ac ci na tio

n (P ar t I—

th e

un su cc es sf ul

ca se

st ud

y)

sy st em

in pl ac e in

or de r fo r di ff er en t

pe op le

to be

ab le

to us e th e sa m e

m ac hi ne

an d

C ul tu ra l

ba ck gr ou

nd

R es ul ts

W ar eh ou se

w as

no t

us ed

by so m e of

th e

et hn ic

gr ou

ps be ca us e th ey

w er e

af ra id

of be in g

ro bb ed

E ld er s fr om

so m e of

th e ‘t ab an ca s’

di d

no t al lo w

th e ro ad

to be

bu ilt

ne ar

th ei r ‘t ab an ca ’

M ac hi ne s ha ve

be en

in st al le d,

bu t th ey

ar e us ed

ju st up

to th e po

in t in

w hi ch

th ey

ne ed

so m e

ki nd

of m ai nt en an ce

re pa ir ,w

hi ch

is no

t av ai la bl e. A s th e

m ac hi ne s ar e no

t fi xe d,

pe op le

go ba ck

to th e ol d

m et ho d of

po un di ng

ri ce .

T he

ne w

w el l w as

no t us ed

T he

tr ad iti on

ha s

co nt in ue d to

be pr ac tic ed

S om

e m ot he rs

to ok

th e

sa m e ch ild

re n se ve ra l

tim es

to be

va cc in at ed

in or de r to

re ce iv e

m or e m os qu ito

ne ts

an d se ll th em

at lo ca l

m ar ke ts

D es cr ip tio

n of

pr ob

le m

de sc ri pt io n

O ne

of th e et hn ic

gr ou ps

th at

w as

su pp os ed

to sh ar e

th e w ar eh ou se

w ith

th e ot he r m em

be rs

of th e co m m un

ity w as

th e ‘B al an ta ’

pe op le . T he

S om

e el de rs

ca nn

ot en vi si on

th e

ad va nt ag es

of m od

er n

in fr as tr uc tu re

su ch

as ro ad s. T he y be lie ve

th at

ro ad s le ad

to de ve lo pe d pl ac es ,

w hi ch

ar e no

t

P ou

nd in g ri ce

is a

tr ad iti on

al fe m al e

ac tiv

ity ,

ch ar ac te ri ze d

by so ci al

as pe ct s.

A m ac hi ne

re du ce s

th e st re ng

th an d

ef fo rt ne ed ed

to

G oi ng

ev er yd

ay to

co lle ct

w at er

fr om

a w el l lo ca te d a lo ng

di st an ce

fr om

th e

‘t ab an ca ’ ce nt re

is an

ac tiv

ity th at

al so

al lo w s w om

en to

so ci al iz e. If th e

‘F an at ec as ’ ar e

w om

en w ho

al l

th ei r liv

es ha ve

ca rr ie d ou

t th is

ri tu al . T he y ha ve

a hi gh

so ci al

ra nk in g be ca us e

of th is an d if th ey

S om

e m ot he rs

to ok

th e sa m e

ch ild

re n se ve ra l

tim es

to be

va cc in at ed

in or de r to

re ce iv e

m or e m os qu ito

ne ts to

tr ad e fo r fo od

at lo ca l m ar ke ts . T he y

Failure is a stepping stone for success 167

T ab

le 5

(c on

tin ue d)

W ar eh ou se

R oa d

R ic e po

un di ng

m ac hi ne

W el l

F em

al e ge ni ta l

m ut ila tio

n V ac ci na tio

n (P ar t I—

th e

un su cc es sf ul

ca se

st ud

y)

‘B al an ta ’ et hn ic

gr ou p ha s a ri tu al

w he re by

al l th e

te en ag er s m us t

pe rf or m

ce rt ai n

ta sk s to

sh ow

th ey

ar e re ad y to

be co m e ad ul ts . T hi s

ri tu al in vo

lv es

ro bb er y. O th er

et hn ic

gr ou

ps w ou

ld ne ve r st or e

th ei r go

od s in

th e

sa m e pl ac e as

th e

‘B al an ta ’ pe op le .

go od

fo r th ei r pe op

le .

R oa ds

m ay

al so

be re ga rd ed

as a m od

er n

ph en om

en on

th at

w ill

ta ke

so ci al

po w er

aw ay

fr om

th e el de rs .

pe el

ri ce .H ow

ev er ,

on ce

th ey

ne ed

to be

re pa ir ed

m ac hi ne s ar e pu

t as id e. N ot

m uc h

ef fo rt is m ad e to

ha ve

th em

fi xe d

be ca us e th is is no

t se en

as a pr io ri ty .

T hi s m ay

ha ve

to do

w ith

th e

cu ltu

ra l

ph en om

en on

of on

ly do

in g w ha t is

ne ed ed

to su rv iv e

on a sh or t- te rm

ba si s.

w el l is cl os e- by ,

th ey

ca n no

lo ng

er to

do th is .

w er e to

st op

pr ac tic in g th is

ri tu al th ey

w ill

ha ve

to be

gi ve n

th e ch an ce

to fu lf ill

a ro le

of eq ua l

so ci al

im po rt an ce .

w er e no

t fu lly

aw ar e of

th e co ns eq ue nc es

of ha vi ng

th e sa m e ch ild

va cc in at ed

tw ic e an d

sa dl y in

so m e ca se s th is

le d to

de at h.

L es so ns

fo r

th e fu tu re

Ta ke

in to

co ns id er at io n

th e ex is te nc e of

et hn ic

gr ou

ps an d

th at

th ey

ha ve

di ff er en t cu ltu

ra l

ba ck gr ou

nd s th at

m ay , in

so m e

ci rc um

st an ce s,

cl as h.

B ef or e

he lp in g th e pe op le

of a ‘t ab an ca ’ it

C on si de r th at

as pe ct s

w hi ch

ar e no

rm al ly

an d

br oa dl y ac ce pt ed

as de ve lo pe d an d

po si tiv

e, ar e no

t ne ce ss ar ily

re ga rd ed

in th e sa m e w ay

by pe op le

w ith

a di ff er en t

cu ltu

ra l ba ck gr ou nd .

B ef or e he lp in g th e

pe op

le of

a ‘t ab an ca ’

it w ou

ld be

be tte r to

C on si de r th at as pe ct s

w hi ch

ar e

no rm

al ly

an d br oa dl y

ac ce pt ed

as de ve lo pe d an d

po si tiv

e ar e no

t ne ce ss ar ily

re ga rd ed

in th e

sa m e w ay

by pe op le

w ith

a di ff er en t cu ltu

ra l

C on si de r th at

as pe ct s

w hi ch

ar e no rm

al ly

an d br oa dl y

ac ce pt ed

as de ve lo pe d an d

po si tiv

e ar e no

t ne ce ss ar ily

re ga rd ed

in th e

sa m e w ay

by pe op le

w ith

a di ff er en t cu ltu

ra l

ba ck gr ou

nd . B ef or e

P ro vi de

m or e th an

ju st si m pl e

in fo rm

at io n.

If a

ce rt ai n be ha vi or

is su pp os ed

to be

el im

in at ed , pe op le

w ho

pr ac tic e th is

be ha vi or

ha ve

to be

gi ve n al te rn at iv es

th at

co m pe ns at e

fo r th ei r lo st

ac tiv

ity an d fo r th e

P ro vi de

m or e th an

ju st

co m pe ns at io n.

C on tr ol

m ec ha ni sm

s sh ou ld

be im

pl em

en te d.

In fo rm

at io n ab ou t th e

co ns eq ue nc es

of va cc in at in g th e sa m e

ch ild

se ve ra l tim

es sh ou ld

ha ve

be en

pr ov

id ed . A ls o,

co nt ro l

m ec ha ni sm

s to

pr ev en t th e sa m e ch ild

168 S.C. e Silva, M.F. Silva

T ab

le 5

(c on

tin ue d)

W ar eh ou se

R oa d

R ic e po

un di ng

m ac hi ne

W el l

F em

al e ge ni ta l

m ut ila tio

n V ac ci na tio

n (P ar t I—

th e

un su cc es sf ul

ca se

st ud

y)

w ou

ld be

be tte r to

as k th em

fi rs t w ha t

th ei r pr io ri ty

is in

te rm

s of

pr ov is io ns

ne ed ed , as

it m ay

no t be

a sh ar ed

w ar eh ou se .

as k th em

fi rs t w ha t

th ei r pr io ri ty

is in

te rm

s of

as si st an ce

re qu

ir ed , as

it m ay

no t

be a ro ad

to co nn ec t

th em

to to w ns .

ba ck gr ou

nd .B ef or e

he lp in g th e pe op

le of

a ‘t ab an ca ’ it

w ou

ld be

be tte r to

as k th em

fi rs t

w ha t th ei r pr io ri ty

is in

te rm

s of

as si st an ce

re qu ir ed ,

as it m ay

no t

be a ri ce

po un di ng

m ac hi ne .

he lp in g th e pe op

le of

a ‘t ab an ca ’ it

w ou

ld be

be tte r to

as k th em

fi rs t w ha t

th ei r pr io ri ty

is in

te rm

s of

as si st an ce

re qu

ir ed , as

it m ay

no t be

a w el l.

so ci al

po w er

th at

pe rf or m in g th is

ac tiv

ity us ed

to gi ve

th em

. In

th is ca se , tr ai ni ng

to be co m e a

m id w if e co ul d

ha ve

be en

co ns id er ed

as an

al te rn at iv e.

fr om

be in g va cc in at ed

m or e th an

on ce

sh ou ld

ha ve

be en

pr ov

id ed ,

su ch

as m ar ki ng

a fi ng er

w ith

a pe rm

an en t m ar k.

Failure is a stepping stone for success 169

warehouse had been built, the NGO responsible realized that the warehouse was not being properly used. They then realized that one of the communities that were supposed to use the warehouse belonged to an ethnic group 3called the ‘Balanta’. This ethnic group has a juvenile passage ritual that involves robbery. This means that at a certain point in their youth, these youngsters have to prove their virility by stealing goods such as cows and/or crops. It became evident that no one wanted to store their goods in a place that was also used by people that may steal from them. This situation provoked a number of questions such as: i) what was the real problem here; ii) how was the issue addressed; and iii) what should have been analyzed initially before the project went ahead in order to avoid such a scenario?

3.2 Case study 2—the road from Bissau to Ondame

The aim of this EC funded project was to build a road from Bissau to Ondame. However, it did not reach any further than Quinhamel because elders from that area (the Papel ethnic group) did not really see the need for it. They did not consider the road to be useful but rather as an initiative that should be avoided. ‘Régulos’ are the village elders and they represent the traditional power-hold of the village. Elderly men understand that roads bring modernization and therefore may hamper their traditions. They believe their ceremonies to be hindered by modernization, which may place certain traditions at risk. Thus, instead of being regarded in a positive way, modernization and modern infrastructure such as roads are condemned and seen as negative. Thus, currently the road has been built up to Quinhamel and from that point on, until Ondame, there is still only a dirt road in place. Two questions then arise: i) is modernization always a good and desirable phenomenon; and if so ii) how can this idea be “sold”?

3.3 Case study 3—rice pounding machines

As stated before, Guinea-Bissau produces rice, the production of which is fostered by particularly heavy rainfall and a coastal region, 50 km wide or more, intersected by numerous sea-arms and salt-water creeks, in between which are higher lying areas of mainland tongues (Oosterbaan and Vos 1980). The rice produced in rice polders in soils rich in acid sulfate is called ‘arroz pilão’. The name ‘pilão’ is due to the tool used to pound the rice. It is a heavy instrument that women use to pound rice and thus separate the grain from its pill. It is heavy work that puts pressure on women’s backs. It seems evident that if this heavy manual work could be replaced by some type of machinery, everyone would benefit.

Rice pounding machinery, under most circumstances, is usually welcomed by people who traditionally carry out this hard manual labor. The problem is that when such machinery is installed the people using it are often not given sufficient infor- mation or training on how to use the machine correctly or how to solve some of the problems that may occur to the machine after a certain amount of use. In this case,

3 According to the Minority Rights Group International, the main minority groups in Guinea-Bissau are: Balanta - 30 %, Fula - 20 %, Manjaco - 14 %, Mandinga - 13 %, Papel - 7 %. There are many other small ethnic groups which include the Bijagós, Nalu, Biafada, Ejamat, Jola and Susu.

170 S.C. e Silva, M.F. Silva

machines were allocated to a central ‘tabanca’ that afterwards assigned them to different satellite ‘tabancas’, meaning that the same machine can be used by different people. This procedure increases the chances of machines being damaged. Hence, substitution is needed in many cases and maintenance repairs are frequent and highly necessary. As the means to provide this maintenance support are not provided, machines break-down easily and their life-span is much shorter than it should be. Thus, they are considered of limited use, unless some kind of maintenance assistance or training is provided.

The fact that the people using the machines cannot provide the necessary repair maintenance may also be attributed to the cultural idea that people need to make an effort only up to the point at which they already have the goods they need. This observation is valid for many situations in which producing in order to get a ‘tradable’ surplus is advisable; however it is not an mindset that is always clearly understood by some cultures. This cultural background is strongly marked by a short- term mentality that drives people to work because they need to for the immediate needs of everyday life. However, as soon as that basic line is crossed, they have no incentive to move forward. Thus, they leave aside opportunities for surplus produc- tion and focus their activities on everyday life concerns. This situation begs the question: how can new technologies provide a useful benefit for the communities involved?

3.4 Case study 4—the well

The idea that people spend too much time on carrying out simple daily tasks such as collecting water from a well, drove the decision of an NGO to build a well close to the centre of a ‘tabanca’. This was not a particularly complicated idea to implement considering that building a well is not difficult or expensive and that water is readily available in Guinea.

However, despite the construction of the well close to the centre of the ‘tabanca’, the women kept using the old well, which was much more distant than the new one. The NGO realized afterwards that the task of collecting water was actually a social activity. This daily task is carried out along with other women with whom they talk about a myriad of issues, from children to husbands; this is only possible given the time involved to make such a journey. One woman asked “how can we have time to chat and even to gossip on our journeys, if the well is right there around the corner?”

3.5 Case study 5—female genital mutilation

Female genital mutilation is a tradition of some ethnic groups in Guinea. The Pepel and Biafada ethnic groups perform it as a rite of passage for young girls/women. This practice can cause a number of permanent physical and mental injuries and can even lead to death. Infection and blood hemorrhages, as well as the emotional suffering caused are just some of the consequences of this traditional practice. In order to overcome this, several NGOs attempted to intervene by approaching the women, known as ‘fanatecas’ in the Pepel and Biafada society who normally perform this rite of passage in ‘tabancas’. Their symbolic power is very important in the social organization of ‘tabancas’. Besides the symbolic power they hold, there is also a

Failure is a stepping stone for success 171

financial component involved, as the money they earn from performing this ritual helps to support their families. Thus, merely providing information about the dangers of female genital mutilation is not enough. Providing information is important in order to raise awareness of the problem. However, it is not enough for a behavior change, as these women would lack their previous occupation, with the inherent social and economic downsides this involves. Therefore, the question that arises is: how is it possible to prevent this practice from taking place without harming the role of the ‘fanatecas’ in society?

3.6 Case study 6—vaccination

Vaccination is an important health issue that has been part of world agendas for a long time. In order to prevent infections caused by viruses it is necessary to develop the means to allow everyone to have access to vaccines. This is not yet a reality everywhere in the world. In fact, in some regions there is still a significant amount of work to be done in order for everybody to have free access to the most important vaccinations. Hence, some NGOs attempt to provide them in remote places. Once situated in these remote places, there is another obstacle, which is how to persuade and educate people that vaccinations are important and that everyone should receive them. Thus, it is not only a matter of ensuring that these vaccines reach these remote places but also of convincing people to come and bring their children to be vaccinated.

In some countries such as Guinea-Bissau, there have been attempts to encourage mothers to bring their children to be vaccinated. One international NGO believed that by providing mosquito nets to those mothers that brought their children to be vaccinated, they would be providing a two-fold solution. On the one hand, they would be preventing certain diseases by providing a vaccine, and on the other hand they would be helping to prevent malaria, a disease for which no vaccine has been developed yet.

The problem arose that the nets provided were being exchanged at the local market for food or being sold to get money for essential goods. Some mothers even thought that by taking the same child to be vaccinated for a second time, they would receive more nets, which could then be sold at the market, reaffirming the economic benefits of their act. Sadly, such serious actions led to the death of some children. Unfortu- nately, although this project was well intended, it was not successful. The question remains: i) what was wrong with this initiative and why did it fail?

Although the 6 case studies presented (see Table 5 for a summary) did not succeed, below is a description of a situation whereby the correct procedures were followed and the results were as expected. The case study took place on Formosa Island, also in Guinea-Bissau.

3.7 Case study 7—access to a doctor

Formosa is a small island in the Bijago’s archipelago that although it has a very rich ecosystem, due to its isolated location the island inhabitants suffer somewhat from an insular life-style, which adds to the endemic poverty of Guinea-Bissau. Access to education and health services is almost “denied” to Formosa inhabitants. People’s

172 S.C. e Silva, M.F. Silva

health lies in the hands of the traditional “witch doctor”, an important cultural actor in the community, who tries to solve endemic diseases such as malaria, diarrhea or even cholera, using natural medicine and a lot of “magic”. Therefore, to some extent this contributes towards such factors as the low life-expectancy age, which is below 42 years old and the high mortality rate of children under 5, mostly due to the general absence of vaccinations and the dangers surrounding giving birth without proper medical assistance.

In order to improve this situation, UNICEF partnered with the local NGO Tini- guena to develop a project aiming to provide medical assistance and to increase infant vaccination. The main objective was that everyone, especially children, could have access to a doctor, in order to correctly diagnose their general physical condition and resolve any existing problems. Vaccinations for children were also provided. In order to encourage parents to take their children to the doctor several steps were imple- mented. A mosquito net was offered to all the parents who brought their children to be vaccinated. Then, a mark was made on the child’s hand, in order to reduce the possibility of bringing him/her more than once to be vaccinated in an attempt to be given a new mosquito net. Indeed, in this case, failure worked as a stepping stone to success, considering that some previously made mistakes were intentionally avoided here (see section 3.6). In addition to this transportation was provided to the parents who brought their children to the doctor by means of “moto-carros”, a kind of bus on a motorbike. This is a type of vehicle that is very useful to transport people in the narrow and unpaved roads between villages. It is very important to note that provid- ing transportation is highly valued in Guinea-Bissau considering that roads are in a poor condition and in the majority of cases people do not have their own means of transport. They normally have to walk long distances or take a lift in dangerously overloaded vehicles. Thus, journeys can be a tiring activity and due to the number of difficulties encountered, they are reduced to an absolute minimum. However, the project did not only provide mosquito nets and transportation but the idea was promoted via radio as well, which is one of the most important means of communi- cation in Africa. Radios can function on batteries rather than electricity, which can be problematic in some areas. Additionally, local radios broadcast in the native language of people living in the surrounding areas, which is very useful in a country like Guinea-Bissau where there are so many languages. Furthermore, “botabanos”, who are youngsters that go from one tabanca to the other to spread the news, were involved in the project. Some “botabanos” were recruited to go from one place to the other informing parents about the advantages of having their children seen by the doctor, and that nets and transport would be provided if they were able to go. The local NGO helpfully intervened in this part of the project, by providing the “cultural lens” necessary to take the right steps and involve the right people thus reducing any potential cultural misunderstanding. In fact, all the agents involved in this, except for the doctor, were local people, hence they were sensitive to and aware of the cultural traditions in place. Consequently, all of the families who were made aware of the assistance available through the project went to see the doctors and in most cases their children were vaccinated.

To explain this success we can look towards Kotler and Lee (2009) when they claim that it is very useful to understand the various levels of a social-marketing campaign. The international organization, in this case UNICEF, could have acted

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differently and only sent a messenger to announce the day of the doctor’s visit. However, they expanded this partnership to a local NGO and involved the “bota- banos”, who are highly accepted and influential members of the local community. They also hired local radio stations to spread their message effectively. They provided a means of transportation to reach the doctor and provided a mosquito net to those who had their children vaccinated. Other incentives to encourage parents to have their children vaccinated could have been to provide a meal, which is highly valued or hold a traditional party at the end of the event. This case study confirms that the involve- ment with the community and the consideration of societal norms were crucial for the success of this initiative. To a large extent, this seems to have been the major problem that led to the failure of the previous initiatives where all the programmed actions went ahead without first consulting the actual local people who were going to be directly involved and benefit from the projects.

4 Discussion and findings

It is clear from the case studies that in the majority of instances the desired results were not achieved, often due to lack of incentive on the beneficiary’s part. According to the Health Belief Model perceived susceptibility and perceived severity were both low. The potential threat was not considered to provoke serious harm (this was not the case in some situations, whereby there were grave consequences) or to affect indi- vidual beneficiary interests. Thus, the threat was considered low, which along with insufficient impact cues of action, made it highly unlikely that the recommended behavior would be followed. Although, the intentions of the project promoters are honorable, the beneficiaries may not view the results in the same light or follow expectations in order to foster results. Different perspectives often may not only mitigate the problem but the solution as well, which leads us to conclude that it is a matter of a high psychic distance (Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul 1975) between those responsible for the failure.

On the other hand, the successful case adopted a different approach. The approach was different here because instead of increasing the perceived threats, the approach used was more positive and a close-contact strategy was put into action. Abandoning traditional customs and beliefs is a complicated issue, especially in some cultural settings where people have fewer links connecting them with each other and with the place where they live, than in occidental societies. Also, in such situations, some resistance to accept “foreign ideas” may be encountered. In this scenario, trust which takes time to establish, common experience and a good understanding of the local picture are very important. The successful case study demonstrated the importance of the role of the first people to visit the doctor, because they then went on to act as positive referents to those who only decided to go afterwards. Hence, based on their experience the initiators provided positive information to others by word-of-mouth and helped to establish a positive environment for those who then went on to benefit from the service provided and to change their behavior. Indeed, acting regardless of the cultural background of beneficiaries is not advisable due to cultural shocks. Thus, it is highly recommendable that environmental factors are considered. According to Grizzell (2007) cultural norms are part of societal factors, which also contribute to the

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success of the measures implemented to promote social change behaviors. Therefore, we can conclude that culture was here transformed from a barrier into a catalyst, meaning that it not only stopped being an obstacle, but went even further to be regarded as a source of motivation to change behavior.

Nevertheless, the most important achievement, which is long lasting behavior change, still needs to be closely monitored to verify if the strategy used and the results obtained are long-term and sustainable. However, we believe that the future prospects of the project and its results are positive.

4.1 The cultural issue

Table 4 is a summary of all of the situations analyzed and is an attempt to assemble the lessons learnt from the failed case studies. It is evident that lack of a needs assessment was a major problem here and led to actions being implemented that were not able to cope with the potential threat. This led to the development of some very difficult situations, which then had to be managed. In all of the situations analyzed, results were not fully achieved. Intentions were good, but results were poor. If we consider that the outcomes obtained with a certain project result from the difference between the expectations concerning that project and the satisfaction retrieved from it, it is evident that problems may arise if each one of these variables is not weighted correctly. This may depend on the different promoter and beneficiary perspectives encountered, which in many instances are different. This idea/theory is in line with Wymer (2011) who claims that different point of views may bias the final results. Finally, the outcomes also depend on the time passed between the conclusion of the project and its assessment.

In fact, this is an important part of the problem. In 5 out of 6 situations, cultural traditions were the cause of failure, which interferes in the way Success or Failure is analyzed. This interference was not taken into account before implementation. Not only was the planning flawed, as cultural variables - as we understand them - were not given as much importance as they should have been given in contexts like this. Expected results, as defined by social change promoters, were not achieved and in addition there was misalignment between the promoters’ understanding of the benefit and the vision of the beneficiaries. This means that what is good for some, might not be good for others. Part of this lack of alignment in terms of benefits, is mainly due to differences in cultural settings. The cultural background of promoters, as we all know, is based on social models that are found in books and developed in universities and schools. However, these models sometimes lack adherence to the reality on the ground, which is different to the ideas created theoretically. This explains why the idea of what a “good thing” is may not be fully appreciated by beneficiaries. Even when the benefit is likely to be achieved, beneficiaries may not be satisfied as they have a different perspective. In the rice pounding machine case study, the benefit was achieved while the machine was still operating. However, the perceived benefit was not sufficient to compensate the effort required to fix it when it was damaged and this situation was exacerbated further as neither maintenance assistance or training were provided. When an immediate benefit is achieved, the aim is to make it last in order to lead to a true and long lasting intention to change behavior. Promoters may under- stand that the benefit was achieved when the machine was provided. However,

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subsequent follow-up of the project may be necessary in order to succeed. In most of the case studies, this additional step was not planned.

In many situations, a change of behavior is required by someone that has been acting in an undesirable way for a long time. This means that tradition plays a very important role here. When this role is extended to social power as well, the matter is even more sensitive. In situations like this, replacing the social power that society places on people whose behavior is required to change, becomes fundamental. This is in line with the advice given by Kotler and Lee (2008) when they put forward the need for problem re-framing: if you want to save a bay, instead of promoting the need for it to be cleaned up, place the emphasis on the delicious crabs that will no longer exist if behavior that pollutes the water continues. In reference to the ‘fanatecas’ case study we used, instead of focusing on the dangers of female genital mutilation, the ‘fanatecas’ could be given an alternative role in society one that is of equal social and economical importance, such as training them to become midwives. By reframing the problem, an effective change in behavior is more likely to be achieved and not a mere change in the status of these women. In this particular example, we are indeed placing more emphasis on price (the cost of changing a behavior) than on communication. In fact, it is more a matter of diminishing the cost associated with a behavioral change rather than a matter of communicating the benefit implicit in that change. This is also recognized by Lefebvre (2011) who states that in developed countries communication is more important in social marketing programs while in developing countries the most important variables are price and distribution. We have also confirmed this in our cases.

4.2 The needs assessment issue

Although in many instances, the problem is the way in which the situation on the ground is interpreted (before and after the project implementation) what is even more important is the time and money spent on analyzing the problem. The correct diagnosis in the first place may save a lot of work later on. The correct analysis is crucial for the subsequent work of planning, implementing and monitoring of the project. Social marketing not only involves implementing a behavior change but it also entails the correct analysis of the problem, which includes the correct under- standing of the behavior that needs to be changed; the priorities when it comes to behavior change, is the degree of urgency, a contextualization of the problem, and the correct understanding of the target population. These tasks in many cases are not given enough time and effort. On many occasions, promoters do not even visit the local area and on other occasions, they may go there but do not stay for long enough to access the real situation on the ground. Experiencing the daily life of a place, even if for a short period of time, is essential in order to carry out an accurate needs assessment. This is specifically needed when the promoters and beneficiaries do not share the same perspective. Many of the people who are involved in social change are overly attached to their own ideas rather than to the correct framing of the problem.

Hence, all the dimensions of social marketing have to be applied. If social marketing wants to extend its use to countries with different cultural settings, its scope has to be widened so that all elements are effectively taken into account. The marketing plan diagram provided should be thoroughly applied in all of its

176 S.C. e Silva, M.F. Silva

dimensions, with specific attention being given to cultural context. All steps involved in the analysis should be allocated enough time and money, which in many cases does not happen as the main focus is on the implementation and budgeting.

For this reason, the approach of the ecological model is strongly recommended, in particular when we are aware that the individuals, relationships, communities and social and cultural aspects are so very different from those of the West – the main promoters and financial supporters of social marketing projects in fragile economies. In addition, public policies (the macro-environmental level) are usually also strongly influenced by leading Western donors such as the IMF and the Word Bank.

Adaptations and improvements in the frameworks should also be considered. It is only by doing this that social marketing will be assured an autonomous status. This is the keystone for future advances in social marketing.

4.3 The need for the use of a renewed approach

The proposed Behavioral Development Framework (see Fig. 2) is a sound approach to adopt in order to estimate the amount of time and money needed at the initial stages of the process. Concerning more complex situations, the risk involved is higher, which means that the support that social marketing may provide should be more heavily weighted. Risk is always higher when changes of a current status quo are involved. This is even more so the case in the presence of cultural dissimilarities, because those that understand why it is necessary to change the current behavior are from a different cultural setting, which may limit their recognition as social change agents. This is completely in line with the TRA model that is based on the subjective norm construct. Subjective norms are to do with our beliefs on how people we care

B eh

av io

r Develop

Improve a current behavior Develop a new behavior

Reject

Reject a current behavior Discard a potential behavior

Current New

Behavior

- How important is the new behaviour for beneficiaries and for promoters?

- What are their expectations and the obstacles they envisage?

- Are there differences in the understanding of the benefit?- How harmful is the

behaviour to the beneficiaries and the promoters?

- How urgent is the change?

- What are their expectations and the obstacles they envisage?

- Do they understand the results of the benefit differently?

Fig. 2 Behavioral development framework

Failure is a stepping stone for success 177

for will view the behavior in question. In all cases, however, people coming from a different cultural background are less likely to be seen as “people we care about”. Furthermore, the people that really care may not be convinced that the suggested behavioral change should be implemented. They may not even consider the requested behavior as good. Furthermore, no effort seems to have been made to collaborate more closely with the more influential members of a community who are pivotal in the long run to convince others to follow suit. This was particularly visible in the road case, whereby the elders acted as an obstacle rather than as referents. The situation could have ended differently if the promoters had considered the “environmental” issues more carefully, as the ecological model recommends. So, we confirm that our findings are even more relevant in developing countries that, as mentioned by Lefebvre (2011) deserve particular consideration.

Bearing this in mind, we believe that future initiatives in a contextual setting characterized by a behavior change and where the problem is identified and dealt with by an outside actor, should use the checklist we proposed as it is a very useful and realistic tool for any case of social change undertaken. This is particularly true when different cultural settings are at play and hence we understand this to be the main contribution of this article to the social marketing body. We also understand that it is important to consider the country in which we are trying to change behaviors. In less developed countries, the experience tends to show that the cultural distance is larger and therefore, variables such as culture, within the contextual setting gain importance. In these situations, price reduction and distribution improvements tend to be more effective as tools for change in situations like the riskier ones proposed in Fig. 2. Price in social marketing should go beyond the financial cost and should also include psychological, social, geographic and other rewards and punishments for everyday behaviors (Lefebvre and Flora 1988). In one of our cases, the seventh one, the perceived cost of going to the doctor decreased substantially when transportation was provided. These considerations are crucial in the development of a more effective model for social marketing.

Although some guidance for future social behavioral change may be retrieved from this study, especially for some NGOs that place more emphasis on the imple- mentation and budgeting stages of their projects, we recognize that its scope of action is limited. As this research was carried out in Guinea, further studies are needed to monitor and confirm the results. It is also necessary to allow for a sufficient amount of time (6 months) passing after the project has come to an end in order to confirm that people have repeated the desired behavior and relapses have not taken place. It would also be valuable to see if the same types of problems occur in different cultures and if the measures taken to improve the behavior change suggested here could also bring benefits to a different setting.

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