Social marketing design and evaluation of responsible drinking : A case study of the Swedish organization IQ-initiativet AB

Abstract: The field of marketing does not only consist of traditional marketing and the focus on promoting products and services to increase sales. In recent years a new branch within the marketing field has been established with the focus of promoting behaviours that will benefit the individual and the society as a whole; social marketing. Our purpose with this paper is not only to introduce the reader to social marketing but to describe and explain how social marketing campaigns are created and how the campaigns can be evaluated. The purpose is fulfilled through the use of a qualitative method, namely a case study. Our research question guiding our study is “How can social marketing be understood through the use of an empirical case study?” Our unit of study is the Swedish company IQ-initiativet AB which uses social marketing as a tool to encourage responsible drinking among Swedes. In order to uncover the case of IQ and to answer our research question we used three subquestions. Firstly “How can a social marketing campaign be recognized?”, secondly “How is a social marketing campaign created?” and finally “How is a social marketing campaign evaluated?” To adapt these sub-questions to IQ we performed four in-depth interviews with representatives from IQ, their PR-firm Forsman & Bodenfors and evaluation company Xtreme Nordic. The questions mainly concerned IQ’s national campaigns, which have been shown through various media channels. An interview was also done with the organization IOGT-NTO who promotes a completely sober society in order to get a perspective of the current situation of alcohol consumption in Sweden. From interviews, other sources and earlier research within the field we conclude that even though social marketing is about behavioral change, creating that change is difficult and evaluating an eventual change is even more difficult. IQ focuses on promoting responsibledrinking but cannot link a change in reduced drinking to their specific campaigns. However that does not stop them to do their job. With this case we provide in-depth insight into how one Swedish organization works for healthier drinking behavior. Although the case does not provide empirical generalizations, it provides theoretical contributions that are beneficial for several different stakeholders. Social marketers, campaign organizers/evaluators, commercial marketers and students can benefit from this comprehensive review of social marketing theory and view how it has been appliedin the real life case of IQ. A comprehensive analysis of social marketing is presented in order to increase awareness of the tools that are available for promoting positive behavioral changes in society. The case of IQ exhibits fully functional social marketing campaigns which facilitates understanding and learning for readers by viewing theory in action. The work presented here promotes the development of problem solving skills in order to avoid the common difficulties related to social marketing campaigns and hopes to inspire those interested in future research opportunities.