17 October 2003
Investment essential for Maori Social Marketing Success
Investment in Maori capacity within the management and delivery of social marketing initiatives is essential if social
marketers wish to make an impact on behavioural change for Maori, New Zealand’s inaugural social marketing conference
heard today.
Manager of Maori Development and Communications at the Health sponsorship Council, Trevor Shailer, told the Social
Marketing for Social Profit conference that partnership, participation and a willingness to invest in Maori capacity
were essential if social marketing campaigns for Maori were to be successful.
“This means further development of national Maori-managed and Maori-delivered programmes. Successful campaigns need
investment in the form of Maori capacity to ensure they are effective in reaching a Maori audience,” he said.
Mr Shailer said social marketing had traditionally comprised five components – price, product, place, promotion and
policy.
But reaching the Maori community involves three more ‘p’s – partnership, participation and protection. These would only
be achievable if solid relationships existed between social marketing organisations and the Maori community in the form
of increased Maori capacity.
Social marketers also needed to provide a “smorgasbord” of Maori and mainstream communication options if they wish to
reach target Maori audiences.
Opening the conference earlier, State Services Minister Trevor Mallard said social marketing did not work unless it
connected with the community.
“The answer to communicating with Maori and Pacific Island groups effectively is to do it through and with the
communities themselves,” he said.
The conference runs for two days and has been organised by the Health Sponsorship Council, the Cancer Society of New
Zealand, the Land Transport Safety Authority, the New Zealand Retirement Commission and the Ministry for the
Environment.
“Social marketing is about creating programmes designed to influence the voluntary behaviour of target audiences, in a
way that benefits society as a whole,” says Health Sponsorship Council director Iain Potter.
“Although use of the phrase ‘social marketing’ is a recent development in New Zealand, there are already some excellent
social marketing programmes taking place here.
“This conference provides a first opportunity for social marketers to tackle, together, some of the big challenges
facing the profession.”
Campaigns aimed at reducing smoking, obesity, unsafe behaviour in the sun and drink driving are among the existing
social marketing programmes in New Zealand.
The conference is being sponsored by the Auckland Regional Council, the Greater Wellington Regional Council, Clemenger
BBDO and the Land Transport Safety Authority.
For further information contact: Health sponsorship Council 04 472 5777
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