12 January 2024

The Role Of Social Marketing In Combating Poverty

One of the faculty members of the Department of Advertising Asst. Prof. Seyra Kestel talked about the concept of social marketing in the Sosyocom issue prepared by the Advertising Department. Kestel explained social marketing as follows: “The Concept of Social Marketing as a discipline in the literature has a history of over thirty years. Today, social marketing practices can be found in various sectors. Brands operating in many sectors such as health, education, information technology, commerce, and services have widely adopted social marketing practices. The areas in which organizations tend to focus on within the realm of social marketing also vary. In the face of global issues such as climate crisis, poverty, substance addiction, women's rights, children's rights, and animal rights, organizations turn to social marketing to create social awareness, implant a social idea in the community, and induce behavioral change.

The ultimate goal of social marketing can be stated as building a better society by considering socio-economic interests in the long term instead of short-term profit. However, it is a well-known fact that the positive image gained by brands that successfully establish themselves in the consumer's mind through their social marketing activities also contributes to their corporate reputation as a whole. In this context, the social marketing activities carried out by brands can provide long-term contributions to corporate reputation. One of the most prominent problems faced by many countries in the world today is the concept of "poverty." Factors such as wars, problems of scarcity parallel to the depletion of natural resources, countries' geopolitical positions, and bad governance are among the leading causes of poverty. Additionally, in the fight against poverty, many organizations such as global economic institutions, social assistance organizations, and foundations operate with social and economic aid. Today, it is known that the gross domestic products of some private global companies are even greater than those of some countries. Philip Kotler and Nancy R. Lee, who suggest that the private sector can also play a role in reducing poverty, have expressed seven areas representing the strategies used by the private sector to contribute to local and global communities as follows (Kotler and Lee, 2009: 393): Corporate philanthropy; Community volunteering; Socially responsible business practices; Purpose incentives; Cause-related marketing; Corporate social marketing; Developing and providing financially affordable products and services.

Companies can contribute to reducing poverty through various methods. Social marketing can not only help provide solutions to other problem areas in the world but can also be one of the solutions to preventing poverty or improving the material/physical well-being of those experiencing poverty. Additionally, it is known that many global brands conducting various social marketing activities have achieved success in areas that can be considered important from the perspective of reputation management, such as employee satisfaction, building brand loyalty, and increasing prestige.

References: Kotler, P. and Lee, N. R. (2009). Yoksulluğa karşı sosyal pazarlama (Çev. Z. K. Chalar). İstanbul: MediaCat