Social norms approach + social marketing = social norms marketing
The social norms approach uses positive messages to promote the belief that the majority of a group of people practice a desirable behavior.
Social marketing uses principles of marketing and advertising to “sell” behavior changes, with the goal of benefiting the individual or society in general, rather than generating profits for a business.
Social norms marketing campaigns communicate social norms messages using media that is appealing to the target audience. Recent research identified four elements of effective social norms marketing campaigns (Burchell, Rettie, & Patel, 2013):
1. Use of marketing practices through all phases of the campaign.
2. Selection of appropriate reference groups (the groups that the target audience associates or identifies with).
3. Whether the target audience believes the social norms message (credibility).
4. Avoiding the unintended effect of increasing undesirable behaviors.
