Given my interest in health disparities, I chose to focus on designing a social marketing plan that would prevent STI infection in African American female adolescents. While this is just a hypothetical class project, I feel particularly close to this project and would like to see something like it (whatever “it” ends up being) come to fruition.
As I am member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, I thought the Delta GEMS program would be a good entity through which to implement a social marketing campaign such as this given the demographic the program works with. In doing some preliminary research, many of the chapters around the country are addressing STI prevention in their programs, so in a dream world, my plan could be adopted by the national chapter and standardized for implementation across the nation (with variations for regional differences). But before I get ahead of myself, I need to figure out exactly what I am going to do!
The Business Objective and Strategic Quadrant section of my proposal are listed below and I welcome feedback, advice, and guidance, as I have a million ideas and would like to go in equally as many directions. I’d love to have input from any sorors out there who work with this population and particular health topic.
Business Objective
Fundamental Entity: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. Delta GEMS Program
The program is for at-risk adolescent females age 14-18. I selected this particular program as the participants are comprised of the demographic that is disproportionately affected by STDs.
Core competence: Cultivating Sisterhood
Goal: Reduce incidence (new diagnosis) of STD infection in African American female adolescents.
Time frame: Ideally I would like to observe a decline in incidence of STDS every year, over the course of 3 years.
Strategic Quadrant
Category Definition: STD Prevention
Customer Definition: African American female adolescents age 14-18 who would like to protect themselves from STD infection.
Marketing Objective: My objective is to prevent STD infection in African American adolescents age 14-18.
Source of Volume: This is where I have to think the most about my plan. I’m not sure if I should “steal share” or “generate demand”.
Options include:
Abstinence - Generate demand among those who are abstaining from sexual behavior
"Promotion of do not have sex instead" of "engage in safe sexual behavior"
Increase age of sexual debut
Promotion of the benefit of waiting until older to initiate engaging in sexual behavior
Condom Use:
Initiate condom use behavior
Make condom use consistent
Multiple Partners
Reduce number of partners
4 B’s Analysis:
Bodies: All African American female adolescents age 14-18 who are contemplating engaging in sexual behavior
Beliefs:
I won’t be cool if I do not have sex.
“I’m Clean” or “My partner is clean”
I can’t risk being caught with condoms because I’ll get in trouble by my parents.
If we use condoms, my partner doesn’t love me.
If I ask him to use a condom he’ll leave me or think I’m cheating.
I can’t afford to purchase condoms.
I don’t know where to get condoms,
I don’t know how to use condoms.
Behaviors
Before Behaviors:
Engaging in sex with multiple partners
Engaging in sex without using a condom
Inconsistently using condoms
After Behaviors:
Reduction in number of partners.
Consistent use of condoms during sexual intercourse.
Proper condom use
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Janaiya,
ReplyDeleteI think you have a great project here. A few comments reading this post:
1. Goal - it would be nice to put a number on the reduction of STD cases you are seeking in your target segment (e.g. 10% in 3 yrs).
2. Marketing objective - per the BP framework, it needs to be either acquisition or retention. is clear that in your case it is acquisition (of the African American females between ages 14 to 18)
3. Source of Volume - here, in deciding whether you should focus on earn share or stimulate demand, you could think if there is any other entity (like your FE) engaging in STD prevention and if you'd like to earn share from them (could be coz you think they are not doing a good enough job, etc.). If not, then it is clear that you are stimulating demand amongst this demographic to achieve your goal of STD prevention. The options you have listed are all good but they are more executional in nature (you may consider them during the execution part of BP framework).
4Bs analysis - it would also be good to know the number of bodies i.e. how many African American females are there in US (I presume( between the ages of 14-18.
Hopefully, this helps in some way for your project.
Responding to Amanjeev's post: The source of volume decision is tricky here. Because earning share (aka getting more girls to use condoms) would assume that they are already having sex and stimulating demand would be encouraging them to use condoms.. and I can't think of too many uses for them! Unfortunately I don't have an answer except that perhaps this campaign needs a combination of marketing frameworks. I don't know other frameworks outside of the Big Picture, but from public health social norming is the first theory that comes to mind...
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