NMIMS-6(R1)-SOCIAL

MARKETING.
ANALYZING THE DIFFUSION OF
SOCIAL PRODUCTS AND SOCIAL
MARKETING RESEARCH.

 ANALYZING THE DIFFUSION OF SOCIAL PRODUCTS.

THE AIM OF SOCIAL CHANGE CAMPAIGNS IS THE ADOPTION OF AN
IDEA OR PRACTICE BY ALL THE MEMBERS OF A TARGET ADOPTER
GROUP OR POPULATION.
THE ABILITY OF SOCIAL MARKETERS TO PLAN AND MANAGE THE
DIFFUSION OR SPREAD OF ADOPTIONS TO THE LARGEST POSSIBLE
TARGET ADOPTER POPULATION REQUIRES AN UNDERSTANDING OF
BOTH INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR AND THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH NEW
IDEAS AND PRACTICES SPREAD TO THE LARGEST GROUP OR
POPULATION OF TARGET ADOPTERS.
SOCIAL MARKETERS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT WHETHER NEW IDEAS
OR PRACTICES ARE DIFFUSED AMONG MANY, SOME, OR A FEW
MEMBERS OF A TARGET ADOPTER POPULATION.

PREDICTING SOCIAL DIFFUSION AND CHANGE :-

MARKETING SCIENTISTS HAVE DEVELOPED PREDICTION MODELS

THAT SUCCESSFULLY FORECAST THE SPREAD OF ADOPTIONS.
PHILIP KOTLER, THE GURU OF MARKETING, CLASSIFIED THESE,
MODELS INTO THREE TYPES :
1) RAPID PENETRATION DIFFUSION
2) GRADUAL PENETRATION DIFFUSION.
3) CONTAGION LIKE DIFFUSION.
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RAPID-PENETRATION DIFFUSION MODEL :

SOCIAL MARKETERS WHO USE RAPID PENETRATION DIFFUSION MODEL ARE
DEALING WITH A DIFFUSION PROCESS AS SHOWN IN FIGURE BELOW.
TO USE THIS MODEL, SOCIAL MARKETERS MUST ESTIMATE TWO ITEMS.
THE FIRST IS THE TOTAL NUMBER OR PERCENTAGE OF POTENTIAL ADOPTERS.
IN THE FIGURE BELOW, THIS PROPORTION IS 40%, THAT IS, IT IS UNLIKELY,
THAT MORE THAN 40% OF THE POPULATION WILL EVER ADOPT THE SOCIAL
PRODUCT.
THIS CEILING CAN BE ESTIMATED BY CONDUCTING A SURVEY TO DETERMINE
THE PERCENTAGE OF PERSONS WITH STRONG DESIRE FOR THE PRODUCT.
THE NEXT STEP IS TO ESTIMATE
THE CONSTANT RATE AT WHICH
REMAING POTENTIAL ADOPTERS
WILL BE PENETRATED.
FOR EXAMPLE, A RATE OF 30%
WOULD MEAN THAT IN EACH
PERIOD, 30% OF REMAINING
POTENTIAL TARGET ADOPTERS
WOULD BE CONVERTED.
THIS MODEL WILL PROVIDE
ACCURATE ESTIMATES AS LONG
AS NONE OF THE
CHARACTERISTICS OF DIFFUSION
PROGRAMME IS CHANGED AND NO
SUPERIOR ALTERNATIVE TO THE
SOCIAL PRODUCT IS AVAILABLE.

GRADUAL PENETRATION DIFFUSION MODEL.

SOCIAL MARKETERS, WHO FORECAST DIFFUSION ON THE BASIS OF THIS MODEL

CAN REFER TO THE DIFFUSION (S) CURVE AS SHOWN IN FIGURE BELOW.
HERE THE DIFFUSION STARTS SLOWLY. BEYOND SOME POINT, DIFFUSION
ACCELERATES AT AN INCREASING RATE AND SUBSEQUENTLY DECELERATES
UNTIL IT STOPS AT A PLATEAU.
TO USE THIS PREDICTION MODEL, SOCIAL MARKETERS MUST ESTIMATE THE S
CURVES PARAMETERS
A PILOT TEST OF THE DIFFUSION PROGRAM CAN PROVIDE INITIAL ROUGH
ESTIMATES.
IF THE SOCIAL PRODUCTS IS LAUNCHED DIFFERENTLY IN SEVERAL PILOT
AREAS, THE SOCIAL MARKETERS MUST ESTIMATE THE PARAMETERS FOR EACH
AREA SEPARATELY AND CHOOSE THE MOST EFFICIENT PROGRAMME FOR EACH.

CONTAGION LIKE DIFFUSION MODEL

WHEN THE DIFFUSION PROCESS RESEMBLES THE SPREAD OF A CONTAGIOUS

DISEASE, ITS PATTERN IS LIKE THE CURVE SHOWN BELOW.
IN APPLICATION, THE USE OF CONTAGION LIKE DIFFUSION MODEL CALLS FOR
THE ESTIMATES OF TOTAL POSSIBLE NUMBER OF POTENTIAL TARGET
ADOPTERS, THE RATE BY WHICH TARGET ADOPTERS INFLUENCE NON ADOPTERS
AND THE RATE BY WHICH NON PERSONAL MEDIA INFLUENCE NON ADOPTERS.
CONTAGION LIKE DIFFUSION MODEL : ACTUAL VERSUS PREDICTED
ACCORDING TO BASS, THERE ARE TWO MAJOR
INFLUENCES ON THE TOTAL POSSIBLE, NUMBER
OF POTENTIAL ADOPTERS : THE PRICE OR COST
OF ACQUIRING THE SOCIAL PRODUCT AND THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SOCIAL MARKETING
PROGRAMME IN ESTABLISHING MULTIPLE USES
OR CONSISTENT USERS OF THE ADOPTION
PRODUCT. (THIS WILL APPLY TO THE TWO
PREVIOUS MODELS AS WELL)
THE MAJOR DETERMINANT OF THE RATE OF
INFLUENCE OF TARGET ADOPTERS ON NON
ADOPTERS IS THE SOCIAL PRODUCTS CAPACITY
TO STIMULATE FAVOURABLE WORD-OF-MOUTH
COMMUNICATION.
THE RATE OF INFLUENCE OF NON PERSONAL
MEDIA ON NON-ADOPTERS IS MAINLY A FUNCTION
OF THE SIZE AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE MASS
MEDIA COMMUNICATION.

SELECTING A PREDICTION MODEL.

THE DIFFUSION MODEL SHOULD FIT THE SPECIFIC SOCIAL PRODUCTS TO BE MARKETED.
EACH HAS A SET OF CONDITIONS THAT IT MEETS BEST, SO ONE CAN DETERMINE WHICH
MODEL IS MOST APPROPRIATE FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
THE RAPID PENETRATION MODEL IS BEST FOR FORECASTING SOCIAL PRODUCTS THAT ARE
EXPECTED TO HAVE A PENETRATION LEVEL OF ONLY A FRACTION OF THE TARGET
ADOPTER POPULATION, TO PENETRATE THE TARGET ADOPTER POPULATION RAPIDLY, AND
TO PENETRATE THE REMAINING NON-ADOPTERS AT A CONSTANT RATE.
THE GRADUAL PENETRATION MODEL IS MORE SUITED TO SOCIAL PRODUCTS WITH THE
FOLLOWING EXPECTATIONS FOR ADOPTION : EARLIEST ADOPTION BY A SMALL FRACTION
OF TARGET ADOPTERS KNOWN AS INNOVATORS; FURTHER ADOPTIONS BY ANOTHER
RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER OF TARGETED POPULATION KNOWN AS EARLY ADOPTERS, WHO
IN TURN WILL INFLUENCE AN EARLY MAJORITY TO ADOPT; FURTHER ADOPTION BY A LATE
MAJORITY; AND FURTHER ADOPTION BY LAGGARDS WHO ARE FINALLY CONVERTED TO
ADOPTION.
THE CONTAGION LIKE MODEL IS MOST PREDICTIVE IF THESE CONDITIONS ARE MET ,
ADOPTION IS EXPECTED TO REACH THE TOTAL TARGET POPULATION, AS DETERMINED BY
THE SOCIAL MARKETING PROGRAMMES PRICING CHARACTERISTICS, MULTIPLE USE, AND
PERSUATION CHARACTERISTICS; PRODUCT PENETRATION BY TWO RATES OF PENETRATION
(RATE OF INFLUENCE EXERTED BY TARGET ADOPTERS ON NON ADOPTERS AND RATE NON
PERSONAL MEDIA INFLUENCE ON NON ADOPTERS ).

INNOVATION DIFFUSION RESEARCH :-

INNOVATION DIFFUSION RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT DIFFERENT TYPES OF

ADOPTERS ACCEPT AN INNOVATION AT DIFFERENT POINTS IN TIME . TABLE
BELOW SUMMARIZES THE SIZE TIMING OF ADOPTION AND MOTIVATIONS FOR
ADOPTION OF EACH TARGET ADOPTER SEGMENT.
TARGETADOPTER
SEGMENTS
INNOVATOR
SEGMENT

SIZE
%
-

TIMING
SEQUENCE
OF ADOPTION

MOTIVATION FOR ADOPTION

2.5%

FIRST

NEED FOR NOVELTY AND TO

BE DIFFERENT

EARLY ADOPTER
SEGMENT

13.5%

SECOND

RECOGNITION OF ADOPTION
OBJECTS
INTRINSIC
/
CONVENIENCE VALUE FROM
CONTACT WITH INNOVATION.

EARLY MAJORITY
SEGMENT

34.0%

THIRD

NEED TO IMITATE /MATCH

AND DELIBERATENESS TRAIT

LATE MAJORITY
SEGMENT

34.0%

FOURTH

NEED TO JOIN THE WAGON

TRIGGERED BY THE MAJORITY
OPINION LEGITIMATING THE
ADOPTION OBJECT.

LAGGARD
SEGMENT

16.0%

LAST

NEED TO RESPECT TRADITION.

The Rogers- Shoemaker Adoption Diffusion Paradigm.

MANAGING SOCIAL DIFFUSION

1.
2.
3.

ROBERTSON, ZIELINSKI, AND WARD IDENTIFIED AN IDEAL PATTERN OF

ADOPTION DIFFUSION:
RAPID TAKE OFF: INITIAL ADOPTIONS ACHIEVED WITH SPEED.
RAPID ACCELERATION: CUMULATIVE ADOPTIONS SECURED ALONG A STEEP
DIFFUSION CURVE.
MAXIMUM PENETRATION: THE GREATEST NUMBER OF ADOPTIONS
ACHIEVED WITHIN THE TARGETED ADOPTER SEGMENT.
NO DROPOUTS : STABLE , COMMITTED ADOPTIONS OVER THE LONG- TERM

4.

ACHIEVING RAPID TAKE OFF THE FACTORS AFFECTING THE RATE OF TAKE
OFF ARE SUMMARIZED AS FOLLOWS.
1. THE MORE THE SOCIAL MARKETING PROGRAM IS FOCUSED ON MARKET
SEGMENTS THAT ARE HIGHLY PREDISPOSED TO THE SOCIAL PRODUCT,
THE MORE RAPID THE TAKEOFF
2.
THE MORE THE PROGRAMME FOCUSES ON THE INNOVATORS AND EARLY
ADOPTERS IN THE TARGET SEGMENTS , THE MORE RAPID THE TAKE OFF
3. THE MORE THE SOCIAL PRODUCT FITS THE ATTITUDES AND VALUE OF THE
CULTURE, THE MORE RAPID THE TAKEOFF.
4. THE MORE THE SOCIAL PRODUCT EMBODIES THE CHARACTERISTICS OF
SIMPLICITY, COMMUNICABILITY, RELATIVE ADVANTAGE, COMPATIBILITY,
AND DIVISIBILITY THE MORE RAPID THE TAKEOFF.
5. THE GREATER THE ACCESSIBILITY OF THE SOCIAL PRODUCT BY MEANS OF
AGGRESSIVE RETAIL OR SERVICE OUTLETS, THE MORE RAPID THE TAKE
OFF.
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ACHIEVING RAPID ACCELERATION:-

THE FACTORS AFFECTING RAPID ACCELERATION DIFFUSION ARE AS UNDER:

1. THE GREATER THE SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AMONG MEMBERS OF THE
ADOPTERS THE MORE RAPID THE ACCELERATION.
2. THE GREATER THE EXPOSURE OF NONADOPTING SEGMENTS OF THE TARGET
POPULATION THROUGH PERSONAL AND NON-PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS,
THE MORE RAPID THE ACCELERATION.
3. THE MORE MANAGEABLE THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES AND THE COSTS OF
ADOPTION, THE MORE RAPID THE ACCELERATION.
4. THE GREATER THE FREQUENCY WITH WHICH RESPECTED LEADERS OR
OTHER PUBLIC FIGURES PROMOTE THE SOCIAL PRODUCT, THE MORE RAPID
THE ACCELERATION.
ACHIEVING MAXIMUM PENETRATION: - PHILIP KOTLER IDENTIFIED TWO
FACTORS THAT AFFECT MAXIMUM PENETRATIONS OF SOCIAL CHANGE
CAMPAIGNS THAT ARE ACCOMPANIED BY TANGIBLE CONCRETE PRODUCTS.
ONE IS THE SOCIAL PRODUCTS PRICE OR COST AND THE OTHER IS THE
SOCIAL MARKETING PROGRAMMES EFFECTIVENESS IN ESTABLISHING
MULTIPLE USES OR CONSISTENT USERS OF THE PRODUCT
ACHIEVING DIFFUSION BY COMMITTED TARGET ADOPTERS:
SOCIAL CHANGE CAMPAIGNS SUCCEED IF THEY ACHIEVE COMMITTED
ADOPTION NOT JUST TRIAL ADOPTION

IDEALLY THERE SHOULD NOT BE ANY TARGET ADOPTER DROPOUTS

THE MORE A SOCIAL PRODUCT IS ABLE TO DELIVER ON ITS PROMISES, THE

GREATER THE SATISFACTION IT GIVES TARGET ADOPTERS; THEN WE CAN
10 OF
PREDICT, THE GREATER CHANCES A SOCIAL CAMPAIGN WILL BE FREE

SOCIAL MARKETING RESEARCH

SOUND RESEARCH IS THE BASIS OF SOCIAL MARKETING.
ONLY BY RESEARCHING AND UNDERSTANDING THE SPECIFIC NEEDS,
DESIRES , BELIEFS , AND ATTITUDES OF TARGET ADOPTERS AND THE
SPECIFIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SOCIAL PRODUCTS THAT ARE
BEING MARKETED CAN SOCIAL MARKETERS MOVE TOWARD THE
SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF SOCIAL CHANGE CAMPAIGNS.
IN DESIGNING SOCIAL MARKETING PROGRAMME, THE PLANNER MAKES
DECISIONS THAT SEEK TO INFLUENCE THE BEHAVIOR OF TARGET
ADOPTERS.
THE DECISIONS ARE MADE ON THE BASIS OF PERSONAL LOGIC AND
INTUITION, PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WHAT ONE HEARS FROM OTHERS
OR WHAT RESEARCH DATA SUGGEST.
THE DESIGN OF RESEARCH AND THE COLLECTION OF DATA
REPRESENT THE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH. WE WILL NOW DISCUSS THIS
SUPERIOR BASIS FOR MAKING SOCIAL MARKETING DECISIONS.

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SOCIAL MARKETING RESEARCH TECHNIQUES:

THE SOCIAL MARKETER CAN DRAW ON A VARIED SET OF RESEARCH
TECHNIQUES THAT ARE APPROPRIATE FOR DIFFERENT DECISIONS
THAT MAY BE MADE.
THE THREE GROUPS INVOLVED IN THE SOCIAL MARKETING RESEARCH
ARE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R & D) PERSONNEL, SOCIAL
MARKETERS AND COMMUNICATION SPECIALISTS.
AFTER THE MARKETING PROGRAMME IS APPROVED , SOCIAL PLANNER
WILL RESEARCH ATTITUDES, BEHAVIORS AND NEEDS AND DEVELOP
CONCEPTS THAT ARE TRANSLATABLE INTO A ROUGH PRODUCT BASE.
IF A PRODUCT PASSES THE PRODUCT TEST , THEN THE SOCIAL
MARKETERS WORK CLOSELY WITH THE COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST
TO
DEVELOP
A
BRAND
NAME,
PACKAGING,
AND
VARIOUS
COMMUNICATION MATERIALS.
THESE MATERIALS ARE TESTED IN THE MARKET PLACE TO LAUNCH AN
EFFECTIVE SOCIAL CAMPAIGN
THE NORMAL FLOW OF EVENTS IN PLANNING A SOCIAL MARKETING IS
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SHOWN IN THE NEXT SLIDE

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SOCIAL MARKETING DECISIONS

TARGET ADOPTER RESPONSES /

CHARACTERISTICS

APPROPRIATE
TECHNIQUE.

TARGET-ADOPTER GROUPS

ADOPTERSEGMENTATION
RESEARCH.

POSITIONING OF THE SOCIAL

PRODUCT.

SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC, PSYCHOLOGICAL,
PSYCHOGRAPHIC, AND BEHAVIOURAL
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ADOPTER
SEGMENTS.
PERCEPTION OF SUPERIORITY OR
DISTINCTIVENESS

FEATURES PF TANGIBLE PRODUCT

BASE

PERCEPTION OF SUPERIORITY OR PARITY

OF THE PHYSICAL / SENSORY PRODUCT.

PRODUCT TESTING.

SELECTION OF THE BRAND

RECOGNITION AND IMPRESSION OF A

MEANING

BRAND NAME TESTING

PACKAGING OF THE TANGIBLE

PRODUCT BASE

RECOGNITION AND IMPRESSION OF A

MEANING

PACKAGE TESTING

IMAGE OF PRODUCT / CAMPAIGN

AGENCY

PERCEPTION OF SUPERIORITY OR
DISTINCTIVENESS

POSITIONING RESEARCH

MESSAGE OF THE MASSCOMMUNICATION MATERIAL &

EXECUTION

PERCEPTION, IMAGE AND MOTIVATION OF

THE COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION
MATERIAL PRETEST

MAINTENANCE OF MASSCOMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN

AWARENESS, RECALL, IMAGE, AND

MOTIVATION OF THE COMMUNICATION

POST COMMUNICATION
EFFECTIVENESS
RESEARCH

PRICING OF THE TANGIBLE PRODUCT

BASE

ACCEPTABILITY OF THE INTENDED PRICE

PRICE SENSITIVITY
RESEARCH.

ADOPTION-PROMOTION AND
MOVEMENT GENERATION CAMPAIGNS.

ADOPTION BEHAVIOR AND DIFFUSION

TEST MARKETING

PRESENTATION AND DELIVERY OF THE

PRODUCT OR SERVICE

ADOPTION BEHAVIOUR AND

SATISFACTION

TEST MARKETING

DIRECT COMMUNICATION

ADOPTION BEHAVIOUR AND DIFFUSION

TEST MARKETING

DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

DELIVERY OF THE PRODUCT TO THE

TARGET ADOPTERS.

DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL
RESEARCH.

POSITIONING RESEARCH

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DESIGNING THE SOCIAL MARKETING RESEARCH

PROGRAM.

TO IMPLEMENT MARKETING RESEARCH TECHNIQUES, THE FOLLOWING

QUESTIONS HAVE TO BE ANSWERED:
1) WHO SHOULD BE SURVEYED?
2) HOW MANY SHOULD BE SURVEYED?
3) HOW SHOULD THE RESPONDENTS BE SELECTED?
4) HOW SHOULD THEIR RESPONSES BE GATHERED?
5) HOW SHOULD THEIR RESPONSES BE INTERPRETED?
1) WHO SHOULD BE SURVEYED? Surveys probe the types of individuals and groups
whose behavior is being targeted for change. Once the types have been determined, the
Survey seeks to find specific individuals whose responses will indicate the most about the
likely behavior of the Target Adopters.
2) HOW MANY SHOULD BE SURVEYED? The answer to this question depends on the
variability of the data and the confidence level that is acceptable. The more variable data and
the more confidence that is sought, the larger the sample must be.
3) HOW SHOULD THE RESPONDENTS BE SELECTED? The sampling design determines
the representativeness of the results of the marketing survey. For example: A survey estimate
from 100 respondents is representative and project able( within a +or 10% margin of error
and a 95% confidence level ) to the population provided that the sampling design is random.

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4) HOW SHOULD THEIR RESPONSES GATHERED?

MOST COMMONLY USED INSTRUMENTS ARE QUESTIONNAIRES

AND PROJECTIVE TESTS (SUCH AS A WORD-ASSOCIATION AND
SENTENCE COMPLETION TESTS)
THE INFORMATION REQUIRED CAN BE COLLECTED BY MAILQUESTIONNAIRES , TELEPHONE OR PERSONAL INTERVIEWS .
5) HOW SHOULD THEIR RESPONSES BE INTERPRETED?

ONCE GATHERED, THE DATA WILL HAVE TO BE ANALYZED,

INTERPRETED AND PRESENTED IN A WAY THAT ANSWERS THE
SURVEYS SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES.

THE PRESENTATION USUALLY TAKES THE FORM OF

DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS AND ANALYSES OF RELATIONSHIP
AMONG VARIABLES OR CHARACTERISTICS

DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS HAVE MANY FORMS: FREQUENCY

DISTRIBUTIONS AND MEASURES OF AVERAGE, SKEWNESS &
DISPERSION

RELATIONSHIP AMONG VARIABLE CAN BE EXPLORED THOUGH

SIMPLE
CROSS
TABULATIONS
OR
THROUGH
ADVANCED
STATISTICAL METHODS.
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