The Hindu Business Line : To make the world a better place

MADD. The abbreviation stands for Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (later changed to `Driving'), founded in 1980, in the US, by Candace Lightner who lost her teenage daughter Cari in a traffic accident.

"The man who killed her had been released two days before on bail for a hit-and-run drunk driving crash that followed two previous drunk driving and one `reckless accident' convictions," informs Alan R. Andreasen in Social Marketing in the 21st Century, from Sage (www.sagepublications.com) . The book is about social changes, "about influencing socially important behaviours and how to make them happen."

Okay, did MADD make any difference? Yes, the idea caught on like wild fire. "By 1981, there were 11 chapters ... By 1990, MADD had 402 chapters and affiliates in Australia, New Zealand, England and Canada." Its influence showed in the form of stricter laws, such as increasing the legal age for drinking to 21. And it showed in results too: "By 1990, alcohol-related fatalities had declined by 20 per cent."

You'd agree that as societies, we don't want: "men to exploit women, parents to abuse children, teens to smoke or use illicit drugs, businesspeople to adopt unethical practices, journalists to slant their reports, ballplayers to take steroids, or legislators to vote cuts in funds for favoured programmes."

But social change requires individuals to act; and, to influence behaviours you need social marketing - be it "to get men with high blood pressure to take their pills" or "to get mothers in developing countries to get their kids immunised." Means, going beyond public information campaign, which usually stops with providing information.

We need to turn awareness into action, to make the world a better place for everyone - not just for investors or foundation executives, writes Andreasen. He is optimistic that "the same basic principles that can induce a 12-year-old in Bangkok or Leningrad to get a Big Mac and a caregiver in Indonesia to start using oral rehydration solutions for diarrhoea can also be used to influence politicians, media figures, community activists, law officers and judges ... to bring about widespread, long-lasting, positive social change."

At times, a name change can help veer public opinion. One interesting example is from the realm of US taxation. "For years, the Republican Party tried to get the public - and politicians - to do something about the estate tax. This was a tax to be paid from an estate when it was passed on to heirs."

The argument of the Republicans was that the levy was double taxation and therefore unfair, but public support wasn't enthusiastic; they seemed to "associate the word estate with wealthy people and apparently felt that the wealthy had too much money anyway."

Republican consultant Frank Luntz had the antidote; he suggested the use of `death tax' instead of `estate tax.' Suddenly, it seemed to everybody how unfair it was `to penalise people for dying!' Closer home, is `fringe benefit tax' an instance of such lingo ploy?

Turn of phrase is visible in `healthful eating' instead of `weight loss;' and `becoming more active' instead of `exercise.' But what's wrong with `exercise?' Because "many overweight people equate `exercise' with gyms and sweating and wearing revealing gym clothing."

Does business respond to issues? Yes, notes the author. For instance, solutions to the obesity worry came in the form of Goldfish Crackers and Hershey syrup with extra calcium, reduced-sugar Cocoa Puffs and Trix, and General Mills and Kraft adding whole wheat to crackers. McDonald's has decided to make `Happy Meal happier' with "plans to promote milk, yogurt, and fruit choices."

In conclusion, the author advises that social marketing has to reposition itself by looking at upstream applications, and work on communities, lawmakers, business allies, healthcare and media.

Influential literature.

BookMark@TheHindu.co.in