By Okechukwu Umelo*
Hi! I recently joined iSMA as a volunteer, encouraged by my growing interest in social marketing. I’m thrilled to be given the opportunity to support the organization’s work with my knowledge, skills and experience.
Much ado about sanitation marketing?
February 05, 2016 - POSTED BY Nathaly Aya Pastrana POSTED IN Change Notes By Okechukwu Umelo* Hi! I recently joined iSMA as a volunteer, encouraged by my growing interest in social marketing. I’m thrilled to be given the opportunity to support the organization’s work with my knowledge, skills and experience.
Doug McKenzie Mohr: Envisioning a Sustainable Future
June 17, 2014 - POSTED IN Change Notes In his book, Fostering Sustainable Change, Dr. Doug McKenzie-Mohr has written that humans live “in a finite world” which will eventually force us to adopt sustainable practices. The book's narrative cautions, “While we have no choice regarding whether we eventually adopt these practices, the speed with which they are adopted will determine the grace with which we make this transition.” So, how do we accelerate our efforts to adapt?
Directions for Future Research
March 19, 2014 - POSTED IN Change Notes Social marketers are set apart by their quest for evidence-based approaches. We want to know that our time and energy working for social change makes a difference. We channel the desire to “do something” through a knowledge base that requires us to “do something that works”. That’s why it was so exciting to see “Social Marketing: Systematic Review of Research 1998-2012” published in the March 2014, 20th anniversary edition of Social Marketing Quarterly.
Overcoming Barriers: Two Important Questions to Ask
February 19, 2014 - POSTED IN Change Notes Looking for a relatively inexpensive and easy way to more deeply influence behavior for the public good? Watch this 11-minute video from Nancy Lee’s TEDxMontlakeCut Talk. It features a Wisconsin drunk driving initiative that yielded a 17% reduction in crashes, with taxpayer cost reduced from $56,000 per accident to $15,000 per accident. How did these social marketers choose what behaviors to address? Nancy shared two questions from social marketer Mike Rothschild about how this work was done. First, he asked people “Why?” the target audience engaged in drunk driving. Then he asked, “How can we help you?” It’s amazing how asking these two questions helped unearth barriers to behavior and helped generate an impressive return on investment for taxpayers, saving lives as a result.
Connecting through Storytelling
January 29, 2014 - POSTED IN Change Notes Nicholas Kristof — journalist, author, op-ed columnist, and a winner of two Pulitzer Prizes — knows how to tell a story. Yet even he has struggled to strike a chord with readers on tough social issues. So, he turned to the field of social psychology (Sound familiar, social marketers?) and the research of Paul Slovic, Ph.D. to move readers.
Mike Kujawski on Digital Strategies for Social Change
January 16, 2014 - POSTED IN Change Notes Tweets, posts, petitions … where is an organization or activist to begin? Mike Kujawski, partner and senior consultant of the Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing, says, “If you are feeling overwhelmed, realize that no one these days knows everything.” He stresses, “We all feel overwhelmed. It is a mindset shift. It is no longer possible to be expected to know everything.”
Leverage the Power of ISMA in 2014
January 08, 2014 - POSTED IN Change Notes 2013 was a banner year for social change marketing internationally. We connected through the World Social Marketing Conferences, the ISMA, and social media in new and more collaborative ways than ever before. These connections elevate the standards for social marketing that WORKS. Operating from standard definitions, training based on specific protocols, and rigorous program evaluation help our field advance, ultimately changing more lives for the better.
Semantic Web Thinking for Social Marketers
December 13, 2013 - POSTED BY Avi Lambert POSTED IN Change Notes The following post was written by guest blogger Avi Lambert, a social marketer from Canada. The broad adoption of the consensus definition of social marketing is certainly something to smile about. It also got me thinking that it’s a great jumping off point for a post on the topic of semantic web thinking for social marketers.
Healthy Pregnancy, Healthy Baby Text Messaging Service in Tanzania
November 20, 2013 - POSTED IN Change Notes Last night a comedy show portrayed a woman in labor, screaming and pushing to humorous effect. Watching this, my daughter's eyes grew wide and she said, "I'm scared to grow up and do that." My initial thought was to reassure her that, "There is nothing to worry about." And while I did work to reassure her in a practical and balanced way, it triggered additional thoughts. The pain of labor is certainly a concern, but more serious worries stem from the potential complications of childbirth. And, unfortunately, where we are born, the information we have, and the care we receive all greatly influence the health and chance of survival for mothers and babies. |