Setting Behavior

Objectives and Goals in

Social Marketing
Campaign
Step 4: SET OBJECTIVES AND TARGET
GOALS
1. Describe the plan background, purpose and focus
2. Conduct a situation analysis
3. Select a target audience
4. Set objectives
5. Identify target audience barriers, benefits, and the composition
6. Craft a desired positioning
7. Develop a strategic marketing mix/ 4 Ps
8. Outline a plan for evaluation and monitoring
9. Establish budgets and find funding sources
10. Complete an implementation plan
3 TYPES OF OBJECTIVE
 BEHAVIOR OBJECTIVES – what you
want your audience to do
 KNOWLEDGE OBJECTIVES – what you
want your audience to know
 BELIEF OBJECTIVES – what you want
your audience to believe or feel
Example of a Campaign Purpose, Focus,
Objectives and Goals
Campaign Purpose Reduce traffic injuries and deaths
Focus Cellphone usage while driving
Campaign Objectives
Behavior Objective To pull over to use a cellphone
Knowledge Objective To know the percentage of traffic
accidents involving someone talking on
a cellphone
Belief Objective To believe that talking on a cellphone,
even a hands-free model can be a
distraction
Target Goal Increase the number of people who pull
over to use their cellphones by 25% in
one year
Characteristic of Behavioral Objectives
 Ideally, simple, specific, clear, doable acts,
even though they may not be perceived as
easy
o e.g., Quitting smoking
 Should be able to picture our target audience
performing the behavior
 Although a campaign may promote more than
one behavior, it should be recognized that
different tactics or strategies might be
necessary to promote each one.
o Using a litterbag is different from
covering loads in pickup trucks
Characteristic of Behavioral Objectives
 Campaign objective is not the ultimate slogan or campaign
message, although it is used to develop both.
o “Eat five fruits and vegetables a day ”becomes “5 a day”
 The objective is not quantifiable, but the goal is quantifiable,
measurable component that provides the ability to measure
and track the impact of efforts
o Increase 10% of donors in the next fiscal year
Examples of Potential Behavior
Objectives for Specific Audiences
Improving Health
Tobacco use Don’t start smoking.
Physical inactivity Exercise moderately 30 minutes a day, 5
days a week, at least 10 minutes at a time.
Fruit and vegetable intake Eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a
day.
Preventing Injuries
Drinking and driving Keep your blood alcohol level below 0.08% if
you are drinking and driving
Seatbelts Buckle your seatbelt before you put your
vehicle in gear
Examples of Potential Behavior
Objectives for Specific Audiences
Protecting Environment
Waste reduction
Forest destruction
Litter
Enhancing Financial Well-Being
Savings
Using credit
Buy bulk and unpackaged goods rather than
packaged items.
Use materials made from recycled tires and
glass for garden steps and paths.
Clean out litter that might blow out of the
open back of your pickup truck.
Build a savings account equivalent to six
months of income.
Establish a monthly budget and follow it.
Objectives: 5 Criteria to consider
Objectives: 5 Criteria to consider
1. Impact – If your audience adopts a behavior, will it make a difference
relative to the purpose of your campaign (e.g. decreasing teen
pregnancies)? How does this compare with other behaviors being
considered?
2. Willingness – Has your target audience heard of doing this behavior
before? How willingly or interested are they in doing this behavior?
Do they perceive it will solve some problem or concern they have, or
will it satisfy some unfulfilled need?
3. Measurability – Can the behavior be measured, either through
observation, record keeping, or self-reporting? You should be able to
“picture” your target audience performing the behavior (e.g.,
removing the plastic insert from the cereal box before sorting for
recycling). And your target audience should be able to determine
that they have performed the behavior (e.g., placing infants in cribs
on their backs to reduce the risk of infant death).
Objectives: 5 Criteria to consider
4. Market Opportunity – How many in the target audience are not currently
doing the behavior? What, in other terminology, is the current penetration
of this behavior? A behavior that few have adopted would garner a high
score in terms of market opportunity.
5. Market supply – Does the behavior need more support? If some other
organization is ready “doing all that can be done” to influence this
behavior, perhaps a different behavior would be more beneficial to the
social issue.
 Knowledge Objectives
 Those relating to statistics, facts, and other
information and skills the target audience
would find motivating or important.
Typically, the information has simply been
unavailable to the audience or unnoticed.
o Statistics on risks associated with
current behavior (e.g., percentage of
obese women who have heart attacks
versus those not medically obese)
o Statistics on benefits of the proposed
behavior (e.g., % of men over the age of
50 with prostate cancer and the survival
rates associated with early detection
through annual exams)
Knowledge Objectives
o Facts on attractive alternatives (e.g., lists of flowering native
plants that are drought and disease resistant)
o Facts that correct misconceptions (e.g., cigarette butts are not
biodegradable and can take more than 10 years to disintegrate
completely)
o Facts that might be motivating (e.g., learning that moderate
physical activity has been proven to have some of the same
important medical benefits as vigorous physical activity)
o Information on how to perform the behavior (e.g., prepare a home
for an earthquake)
o Resources available for assistance (e.g., phone numbers where
battered women can call to find temporary shelter)
Knowledge Objectives
o Locations for purchase of goods or services (e.g., locations
where handgun lockboxes can be purchased)
o Current laws and fine that may not be known or understood
(e.g., a fine of $950 can be imposed for tossing a lit
cigarette)
Belief Objectives
 Those relating to attitudes, opinions, feelings or values
held by the target audience
o They will personally experience the benefits from
adopting the desired behavior (e.g., increase physical
activity will help them sleep better)
o They are at risk (i.e., they currently believe they are
capable of driving safely with a blood alcohol level of
over 0.08%)
o They will be able to successfully perform the desired
behavior (e.g., talk to their teenager about thoughts of
suicide)
o Their individual behavior can make a difference (e.g.,
taking mass transit to work)
o The costs of behavior will be worth it (e.g., having an
annual mammogram)
Purpose, Audience, & Objectives
Campaign Purpose Target Audience Behavior Objectives Knowledge Objectives Belief Objectives

Reduced birth defects Women in child-bearing Get 400 micrograms of For it to help, you must Without enough folic
years folic acid everyday. take it before you acid, the baby is at risks
become pregnant and for serious birth defects
during the early weeks
of pregnancy
Reduced senior falls Seniors and older Exercise 5 times a week, One in 3 adults age 65 Risk of falling can be
including strength and and older falls each reduced by
balance. year. strengthening muscles
and improving balance
Improved water quality Small horse farmer w/in Cover and protect Storm water runoff from Even though your
5 miles of streams, manure piles from rain. piles can pollute water manure pile is small, it
lakes, or rivers resources. does contribute to the
problem
Reduced child injuries Parents with children Put the children who are Traffic accidents are the Children ages 4 to 8
from automobile ages 4 to 8 ages 4 to 8 and weigh leading cause of death weighing less than 80
accidents less than 80 pounds in for children ages 4 to 8 pounds are not
booster seats. adequately protected by
adult seatbelts.
Nature of Social Marketing Goals
Target goals
 What we want to achieve in our target audience
 Quantifiable
 Measurable
 Relate to the specific campaign focus, target audience, and time frame
 Specify targeted rates of change in behaviors
 SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable/Attainable, Realistic/Relevant &
Time-bound)
 Samples:
1. Increase by 25% in a 24-month period the percentage of women over the
age of 50 in the country who get annual mammograms
2. Increase the percentage of people in the state wearing seatbelts at
checkpoints from 85% in 2011 to 90% by 2014
3. Decrease the amount of glass, paper, aluminum, and plastic litter on
intestate roadways by 4 million pounds in two years
Hypothetical Objectives and Target
Goals
Purpose Behavior Knowledge Belief
Reduce birth defects What we want them to do What they may need to What they may need to
know before they will act believe before they will
act
Objective Get 400 micrograms of For it to help, you need to Without enough folic acid,
folic acid everyday take it before you become the baby is at risk for
pregnant, during the early serious birth defects.
weeks of pregnancy.
Target Goal Increase the percentage Increase the percentage Increase the percentage
of women ages 18 to 45 of women ages 18 to 45 of women ages 18 to 45
who take a daily vitamin who know folic acid who believe folic acid
containing folic acid from should be taken before prevents birth defects
39% in 2008 to 50% by pregnancy from 11% in from 20% in 2008 to 30%
2012. 2008 to 15% by 2012. by 2012
Alternatives for Goal Setting
If baseline data are not available and setting goals relative to behavior change is not
practical or feasible at the time, the following alternatives might be considered for
goal setting:

 Establish goals for campaign awareness and recall (e.g., tobacco prevention
program with a goal of 75% target audience/adults who smoke will correctly
recall the campaign slogan and two of the four television ads)
 Establish goals for levels of knowledge (e.g., improve nutrition among low-income
families with a goal of 50% of women participating in pilot projects will correctly
identify and describe the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables)
 Establish goals for acceptance of a belief (e.g., chain of gas stations, establishes
a goal that 80% vs 25% prior to launch of campaign will report they believe
topping-off gas tanks can be harmful to the environment)
Alternatives for Goal Setting
 Establish target goals for response to a campaign component (e.g., water utility
will consider a campaign success if 25% residential customers visit a website or
call the toll-free number for a listing of drought resistant plants)
 Establish target goals for intent to change behavior (e.g., promote physical
activity, a brief 6-week pilot program increased interest in physical activity from
20% to 30%, a 50% increase in behavior intent in the next six months)
 Establish target goals for the campaign process (e.g., 40 abstinence campaigns
developed and implemented during the upcoming school year)
Objectives and Target Goals will be used
for campaign evaluation
 The message is simple. Establish a goal that is meaningful to campaign
efforts and that will be feasible to measure.
 Examples of items to measure:
1. Number of mammograms among women in the pilot community
2. Number of people stopped at checkpoints wearing seatbelts
3. Pounds of specific types of litter on roadways
4. Number of women in childbearing years taking folic acid
REDUCING TRACTOR ROLLOVER INJURIES AND
DEATHS: A SOCIAL MARKETING APPROACH THAT
MAKES IT LOOK EASY (2006)
Exploratory research – the research shows:
1. Farming has the highest fatality rate of any industry in the U.S., and tractor
overturns are the most frequent cause.
2. That these injuries and deaths are easily prevented by retrofitting
unprotected tractors with roll-over protective structure (ROPS)
3. ROPS are 99% effective in the event of tractor overturn
4. Only 59% of U.S. tractors are equipped with these lifesaving structures
5. Revealed that previous interventions had been largely education focused
simply making farmers aware of dangers of overturns.
6. Knowledge wasn’t the barrier
7. Target audience - Secondary research indicated that small crop and livestock
farmers which is roughly 85% of New York farms were either completely
lacking any ROPS-equipped tractors or had only one tractor that is equipped.
Continuation….
Formative research and strategic response:
1. Barrier: $1000 cost per tractor and logistical barriers when retrofitting
2. Strong, long-held beliefs that “this won’t happen to me”
3. Motivating factors were clear as well as centered on the risk of death injury to younger
family members using the equipment and the real possibility of permanently disabling
injuries.
4. New York State rebates for roll bars program:
 Which reimburses farmers for the cost of the safety equipment up to $ 703 or 70% of
the cost.
 Developed and offered a toll free help line and website to assist in decision making
(augmented product), ordering the gear, and applying for rebate (Place).
5. Variety of product options are available (i.e., rigid rollbars, folding rollbars, awnings, or
cabs)
6. Money to run the program came from grants from CDC, and rebates funded initially by state
legislature.
7. Search for additional private sector funding is now underway
Continuation….
Pretest research and Strategic response:
 To develop promotional materials and communication channels.
 The team got clear advice from respondents:
 It needs to prominently feature financial assistance: We know what’s right, we just can’t afford
it.”
 It needs to be brief “ Farmers don’t have a lot of time on their hands to read. You better get to
the point”
 It needs to be convincing “ The only time they’re concerned about a roll over is when someone
else is out there operating the tractor”.
 It needs to be eye catching: “They are not really reading, they just want to see something visual
first and then it catches their eye, they will stop and read it”

Evaluation:
 In 6 months, tractors dealers 5 targeted countries sold approximately 10X more rollbars
 In over 4 years of program, 800 farmers accepted the program
 58 program participants reported that they had subsequently overturned a tractor or had a close call
and had not experienced injuries or fatalities

We can say that their campaign for ROPS was very successful and that injuries cause by tractor
overturn is preventable.