3 readings main points and details, 3 pages within 8 hours

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

This article was downloaded by: On: 16 November 2010 Access details: Access Details: Free Access Publisher Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37- 41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Social Marketing Quarterly Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713846174

Place: Where the Action Is Lynne Doner Lotenberg

Online publication date: 22 February 2010

To cite this Article Lotenberg, Lynne Doner(2010) 'Place: Where the Action Is', Social Marketing Quarterly, 16: 1, 130 — 135 To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/15245000903550781 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15245000903550781

Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf

This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.

The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

Notes from the Field

Place: Where the Action Is

BY LYNNE DONER LOTENBERG

A few issues ago, Bill Smith (2009) and Mike Rothschild (2009) expressed

concerns about how the marketing mix variable product is conceptualized in social

marketing. They both noted that the increasingly common practice of defining

product as the behavior we wish to change is conceptually flawed and narrows

how we think about solutions. If behavior is our product, we tend to narrowly

focus on how to convince individuals to engage in that behavior, which often

leads to an overreliance on communication and educational approaches. We

may not consider how new or improved products or services, pricing, or distri-

bution may enable or facilitate our desired behavior change. Bill and Mike offered

alternative conceptualizations of product: a tool for behavior change (Smith,

2009) or a bundle of benefits an individual receives in exchange for engaging

in a behavior or series of behaviors (Rothschild, 2009).

I would like to encourage us to take an equally thoughtful look at place, which

has long been the most overlooked and misunderstood P in social marketing.

Although I continually hope we have moved beyond the days when people either

dismissed place as irrelevant to social marketing or thought it referred to media

channels, I still see many social marketing efforts that clearly overlooked the

possibilities and constraints presented by place.

Definitions

Let’s start by considering some definitions of place. The first is from a commercial

marketing text; the latter two from social marketing texts.

Place includes company activities that make the product available to target

consumers.

(Kotler & Armstrong, 2004, p. 56)

D o w n l o a d e d A t : 1 1 : 4 6 1 6 N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 0

Place is where and when the target market will perform the desired behavior,

acquire any related tangible objects, and receive any associated services.

(Kotler & Lee, 2008, p. 247)

Place is ‘‘the channel(s) through which products are distributed – or situations in

which behavior can or does occur.’’

(Siegel & Lotenberg, 2007, p. 223)

So, place refers to where people are (or could be) engaging in your desired

behavior. It also refers to channels of distribution, the network of organizations

between your institution and the people you want to reach. This column focuses

mostly on the former. Place is a powerful force in behavior change: It can provide

an opportunity to take action, increase (or decrease) the convenience of taking

that action, and differentiate competitors’ offerings by delivering different

bundles of benefits (e.g., consider the different benefits obtained by going to

McDonald’s versus Starbucks for coffee). In fact, place is so influential that I

recommend you consider it first. Why?

& It widens your focus beyond the individual.

& It forces you outside the all-too-common ‘‘our target market will make a rational

decision to do what’s best for them’’ mindset.

& It can take some of the burden off motivation.

By looking at behavior and the environment in which it occurs, you’re more

likely to identify critical problems – and possible solutions.

Widening Your Focus

Sometimes when we consider behavior change, we focus too closely on the

individual and neglect to consider the physical, social, and cultural environ-

ments in which that behavior occurs. This may happen if we conceptualize

product as the behavior we want to change (Smith, 2009) or it may happen

because we start where we are comfortable or where we believe our mandate

is. For example, a communications office might decide to tackle a problem

with a communication campaign directed toward the group that needs to

make the behavior change or a group that influences them. This is an

imminently reasonable idea, except: what if the problem can’t be solved

by communications? Or if communication is part of the solution, but not

all of it?

NOTES FROM THE FIELD

SMQ | Volume XVI | No. 1 | Spring 2010 131

D o w n l o a d e d A t : 1 1 : 4 6 1 6 N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 0

Starting with place can help you systematically look at the factors that

influence whether an individual takes a particular action – including the factors

external to the individual that can facilitate or prohibit a behavior. As a prac-

titioner, I find it easiest to understand what’s going on and then develop the full

range of appropriate strategies if I consider three questions in turn:

1. Does the target group have the opportunity to engage in the desired behavior?

2. Does the target group have the motivation to engage in the desired behavior?

3. Does the target group have the ability to engage in the desired behavior?

These questions reflect the three variables that, across many commonly used

theories and models, have been shown to be necessary and sufficient to produce

any behavior: ‘‘A person must have a strong positive intention to perform the

behavior in question; the individual must have the skills necessary to carry out

the behavior; and the environment must provide a context of opportunity, or be free

from constraints, such that the behavior can occur’’ (Fishbein et al., 2001, p. 5;

italics added).

Thinking of these three factors as opportunity, motivation, and ability comes

from Mike Rothschild (1999) who uses the framework and then delineates

whether marketing, education, and=or legal and regulatory approaches will be

useful for each possible combination of motivation, opportunity, and ability.

It’s critically important to consider how place can influence each factor. I look

at opportunity first for because it must be present for the behavior to occur; with-

out it, addressing motivation or ability is pointless. For example, if you want a

target group to make healthier food choices, even if you manage to motivate

members and give them the skills to choose appropriately, they can’t do it if

the choices aren’t available where they purchase food. Sometimes a marketing

approach can create or improve opportunity (through, for example, food pur-

veyors offering new products). At other times, it can be created or improved

through regulatory approaches (e.g., a school district or federal government might

mandate the availability of certain foods in school cafeterias). Yet there are plenty

of programs calling themselves social marketing that attempt to increase motiv-

ation or ability rather than address lack of opportunity.

Place can also impact motivation and ability. Target groups may be more

motivated to take a particular action in some situations and less motivated in

others, as different situations can alter the costs and benefits associated with a

behavior in many ways. Perceived normative pressure, emotional reactions

(whether taking the action would feel good or bad), time pressures, availability

NOTES FROM THE FIELD

132 SMQ | Volume XVI | No. 1 | Spring 2010

D o w n l o a d e d A t : 1 1 : 4 6 1 6 N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 0

of competitive offerings, and habit are just a few of the many factors that can

differ. Consider how a person might choose food and drink for lunch when

making it at home, when ordering at a fast-food drive-thru while on the way

to a meeting, and when going to a nice restaurant for a special celebration.

Similarly, a target group may have the ability to perform a behavior in one situ-

ation but not in others. For example, a new mother may have the skills to breast-

feed at home, but she may need to develop self-advocacy or some other skillset to

successfully transfer this behavior to the workplace.

Limits of Viewing Behavior as Rational and Consistent

Social and commercial marketing – and many theories and models of behavior

and behavior change – are based on the traditional economic theory of exchange:

Individuals will engage in a behavior or series of behaviors to receive something

they value. For a long time, the underlying premise was that individuals con-

sidered costs and the benefits and then made a rational decision to act in their

best interest. But – and this is a big but – humans often act in seemingly irrational

ways and their decisions can vary greatly depending on context. If we look only at

the exchange, we develop tunnel vision and fail to explicitly consider the myriad

variables that impact decisions or that may cause that decision to change over

time. In particular, we may not adequately address factors that affect individuals’

behavior without their conscious awareness. Behavioral economists are teaching

us that in many instances it is more effective to change some aspect of place rather

than rely on individuals to make rational choices.

For example, let us consider a local school system trying to prevent or reduce

obesity. One option is to motivate students to exercise more or make healthier

choices at lunch (and give them the opportunities and abilities to do both). How-

ever, many factors impact what and how much we eat without our conscious aware-

ness: default meal combinations, portion sizes, container sizes, glass shape, salience

(how visible or easy to reach something is), and the number of tempting, less

healthful menu options, to name a few. Using this information, the local school

system could design a place strategy that does not involve directly motivating stu-

dents or increasing their abilities and expect it to have some success: They could

arrange cafeteria lines so healthier, lower calorie foods were most visible and easiest

to access; serve lower calorie beverages in short, wide glasses and higher calorie ones

in tall, thin glasses; use larger bowls or plates for servings of fruits and vegetables

and small plates for desserts and other less nutritious foods; and offer fewer tempt-

ing but less healthful foods. These ideas and many others are explored in more

detail by Just, Mancino, and Wansink (2007) and Thaler and Sunstein (2008).

NOTES FROM THE FIELD

SMQ | Volume XVI | No. 1 | Spring 2010 133

D o w n l o a d e d A t : 1 1 : 4 6 1 6 N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 0

To develop successful social marketing efforts, we can and should start by

considering costs and benefits associated with the behavior. But we need to look

beyond the individual and the moment of decision to identify the forces acting on

the person when he or she engages in or forgoes the behavior.

Increasing Convenience and Appeal

Many times people are not sufficiently motivated to make the behavior change we

want them to make. We can use place strategies to increase motivation by making

the experience deliver benefits they value – for example, a mammography center

might offer a pleasant, comfortable waiting room, snacks and beverages, and

adequate privacy. We can also use place strategies to reduce costs by making

the desirable behavior easier – ideally easier than any of the alternatives – so target

groups won’t need as much motivation. Some of the ‘‘nudges’’ described in the

previous section work this way, particularly making the desired behavior the

default choice or organizing the physical environment in a particular way.

At other times, it may be necessary to develop a new product or service to

sufficiently improve place. Sometimes people technically have the opportunity

to engage in the behavior, but they do not because associated costs are too high.

For example, recycling didn’t really catch on in the United States until communi-

ties started offering curbside pickup. Few people were motivated enough to load

their recyclables into a car and drive them to a recycling center; far more were

willing to recycle when it fit into their existing take-out-the-trash routine. There

are many other instances where the costs – in travel time, making arrangements

for child care, or forgoing a pleasurable activity, etc. – are simply too high and

target groups won’t engage in the behavior unless we reduce the costs by devel-

oping a new product or service that brings place to them (mammography vans,

workplace flu shots, etc.) or otherwise increase convenience, typically by fitting

more easily into their existing routines.

Summary

If you begin your planning process by considering place, you are more likely to

identify the best intervention points. Plus, you will automatically use all those

marketing principles we all talk about. Start with place and you’ll first step into

your target group members’ shoes and look through their eyes (customer

focus=audience orientation). You’ll identify what they are doing now and what

their other choices are (competition), and how each choice fulfills their wants

or needs (benefits and self-interest). You’ll see where they are when they can

or do engage in the behavior and what could make it easier or harder to do so.

NOTES FROM THE FIELD

134 SMQ | Volume XVI | No. 1 | Spring 2010

D o w n l o a d e d A t : 1 1 : 4 6 1 6 N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 0

Along the way, you will likely discover that these factors vary for different

groups of people and so what you need to change to facilitate the desired behavior

also varies (segmentation). When it is time to develop strategies, considering

place will give you ideas about how to best create, communicate about, and deliver

a product that the target market will value. Place is, indeed, where the action is.

References Fishbein, M., Triandis, H. C., Kanfer, F. H., Becker, M., Middlestadt, S. E., & Eichler, A. (2001).

Factors influencing behavior and behavior change. In A. Baum, T. A. Revenson, & J. E. Singer

(Eds.), Handbook of health psychology (pp. 3–17). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Just, D. R., Mancino, L., & Wansink, B. (2007). Could behavioral economics help improve diet

quality for nutrition assistance program participants? Economic research report #43. Washington,

DC: United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. Available from

http://www.ers.usda.gov

Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2004). Principles of marketing (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Pearson Prentice-Hall.

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

Oaks, CA: Sage.

Rothschild, M. L. (1999). Carrots, sticks and promises: A conceptual framework for the manage-

ment of public health and social issue behaviors. Journal of Marketing, 63, 24–37.

Rothschild, M. L. (2009). Separating products and behaviors. Social Marketing Quarterly, 15(1),

107–110.

Siegel, M., & Lotenberg, L. (2007). Marketing public health: Strategies to promote social change

(2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett.

Smith, B. (2009). The power of the product P, or why toothpaste is so important to behavior

change. Social Marketing Quarterly, 15(1), 98–106.

Thaler, R. H., & Sunstein, C. R. (2008). Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth and

happiness. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

NOTES FROM THE FIELD

SMQ | Volume XVI | No. 1 | Spring 2010 135

D o w n l o a d e d A t : 1 1 : 4 6 1 6 N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 0