Social Marketing for Safe Water

Applying these ten steps with appropriate research is the key to a successfulsocial marketing intervention. A systematic planning process ensures that real andsustained behavior change takes place among the selected target audience and thatthe allocation of resources is efficient. The preceding theory and proposed frameworkby Lee and Kotler (2011) will be applied to the Spring Health case study in the nextchapter to develop strategies which increase the consumption of safe water amongthe poor population in rural Orissa.Box 2: Case Study: Developing Community Action Plans with SocialMarketing Concepts in WashingtonThe Washington Department of Health developed local community actionplans together with coalitions of two mid-size cities, Moses Lake and MountVernon, to find policy and environmental approaches that help preventobesity. The principles and practices of social marketing served as aguideline during the development process of the community action plans.At the beginning of the planning process, the coalitions defined the problemthrough environmental assessment. Members from the community wererecruited to describe their physical environment regarding accessibility andfacilities of the community (bicycle parking, parks, grocery stores). With thismethod, the coalitions could identify environmental factors that contribute toobesity.After defining the problem, community stakeholders broadly identified targetaudiences. Further, each priority area conducted formative research in orderto develop effective environmental and policy approaches that wouldpersuade the target audience to increase physical activity and healthiereating. Consultations with the target audience helped to understand theperceived barriers associated with the recommended behavior change. Thefocus groups, of which participants were mainly Hispanics in Moses Lake andchildren in Mount Vernon, also served to identify community-level changesthat would help overcome these barriers. In the following, each coalitiondeveloped and prioritized intervention strategies based on the targetaudience insights. A network of linked paths throughout the community andthe creation of community gardens for the provision of fresh fruits and27