Social Marketing: A Critical Appraisal
Buchanan, D. R., Reddy, S. & Hossain, Z. (1994). Social marketing: A critical appraisal. Health Promotion International, 9, 1, 49-57.
Analyzes the growing use of social marketing (SM) in the field of health promotion in response to an article by A. Hastings and G. Haywood (1991), which makes an argument for this application. The analysis suggests that the purported benefits of SM might not be as great as the proponents claim. Some problematic, unintended consequences arise from the use of SM methods, including the narrow focus on individual behavior change and the potentially manipulative techniques for inducing behavior change. Further discussion is needed about the limits and potential iatrogenic side effects of using SM strategies for health promotion.
