What role marketers: should we educate
society on values?
IT was recently reported that we are about to be confronted again with another gory road safety advertisement, this time showing a mother and baby being hit by a vehicle. Do we really need this? In a society that is over-stressed, over-worked and over-anxious about everything from terrorism to drugs and crime, is it appropriate for our Government to fund even more graphic images? Would it be better for the Government to fund campaigns encouraging fathers to eat dinner with their family more often, or for parents to turn off the TV and have a family discussion, or for kids to read books more?
So far, much of the debate has been about the effectiveness of the advertising rather than its appropriateness in a broader social context (i.e. how well the message has been conveyed rather than whether it is the appropriate message at all). Market researchers disagree on the effectiveness of road safety advertising and the road safety statistics themselves are not definitive. But there has been little debate about what society should be doing to educate the population on the values our society agrees are important and should be passed on through our schools, sporting clubs and families.
In the broader context, social marketing is about changing behaviour, whether it be about drink-driving, child abuse, smoking, or whatever. The scope for social marketing has tended to be quite narrow and focused on specific problem areas that are perhaps symptoms of a broader decline in social values. One of the more interesting ones in recent years was the ‘See Australia’ campaign, designed to encourage Australians to holiday with their family here instead of overseas. This campaign had an element of promoting the family enjoying time together and was a great success.
We are also seeing corporations responding to changes in social values, for example McDonald’s new emphasis on fresh and healthier menus. Financial services providers are emphasising their more personalised approaches and advertising themselves as having values based on caring for people.
Broader education on values
But governments seem to be reluctant to get involved in broader education on values, even in the post-political correctness age, despite lots of evidence that our social values are in decline and our children have an inadequate understanding of what society expects of them.
One area where debate has started in recent times is the attitude of sportsmen to women, and more recently the fairness of the on-field play of Brisbane Lions players in targeting an obviously injured Nick Riewoldt of St Kilda during a football game. I can sense a social marketing campaign coming on, aimed at children in sport and their parents. Clearly, our ability to get broad agreement on particular values is not easy. For example, there are those who believe sport is about participation, and others who see sport as about achievement and striving to win. Having the debate is important, because it will ultimately help all of us to become more aware of the subtleties of our marketing communications, even at corporate level.
In the mid 1990s, US research reported associations between longer hours spent watching television and lower education performance, more children on welfare and a higher teen suicide rate, lower prison sentences and more violent crimes. Dissatisfaction with the performance of schools in terms of educating on values and enforcing discipline and safety has led to a huge growth in home schooling in the US, with around one million children now being home schooled. Academic and social outcomes of home schooling have been shown to be higher than for the general population. It is noteworthy that 75% of home schooling is among lower-income white families (who are more socially conservative).
There is a growing conservatism and religiousness among the US population in response to the decline in values. Most of the states won by George W. Bush were increasing in population and conservative. By 2010, Florida will be a more populous state than New York. There is a drift in population away from larger cities to smaller ones and to rural areas with better schools and bigger backyards, and an increase in church attendance.
Portent of things to come?
While Australia does not yet have the problems of US cities, the recent riots in Macquarie Fields in Sydney’s west may be a portent of how things could develop if action is not taken. Interviews with some of the youths in the area were quite shocking, with several justifying illegal behaviour such as car theft (“it is easier than walking”) and house burglary (“can’t afford to buy the stuff”) as if it was their right, given their social plight.
We are also seeing a drift of population to Queensland and to coastal areas, and some of the rural towns that are regional centres are also doing quite well in terms of economic growth. There is a definable rise in religious conservatism in Australia, albeit in the alternative churches rather than the mainstream, which we see reflected in the Families First party’s success in having a member elected to the Senate.
Research we have conducted shows that we are likely to see continuing social conservatism in which values of community will continue to sit uneasily against the economic values of global aggregation, and in which technology will both assist in building communities as well as in breaking them down.
The marketing profession is at the forefront of communicating with our society and within our organisations. What role do we have as marketers in communicating social values, and what responsibilities do we have in not communicating anti-social values?
The 'what' and the 'how' of values
First, we need to discuss and debate among ourselves more the considerations about what values we want to convey as well as how we are going to convey them. Is it really appropriate for a motor vehicle commercial to suggest that if we can’t afford a particular brand of car, we should steal it (even if the execution is humorous)?
Second, doing research into social attitudes of our customers helps us to understand better how we can position our brands with respect to the direction of social change. So, rather than simply asking customers in a focus group about the brand and usage of products, how about asking them about themselves and how they feel about some important social issues. If you are focused on wealthy customers, also seek input from lower-income people about the products and values they see – you might be surprised at the insights this will give. Keeping abreast of social commentators is always useful. Equally, it helps to get a broadly based input of values from within the organisation. If all the people in the marketing department are single and under 30, it is important to consult with older people who are married or divorced or who have children.
Third, as AMI members we are people ourselves within a social context and ethical standards. It is reasonable to expect that our own behaviour in the marketing space will show respect for the community we live in.
|
