SOCIALBRANDING : SUMMARY Social Branding incorporates multiple psychological and sociological theories to form a clear and deep change process. Many of these theories have been accepted for decades in academia but without effective application in prevention. They include symbolic interactionism, the functional approach to attitudes, cognitive dissonance, self-fulfilling prophecies, role theory, among others. In application, the strategy utilizes some traditional marketing strategies like mass media, but places more of an emphasis on alternative media and marketing approaches, such as experiential marketing, influencer marketing, and socio-interactive marketing. Social Branding® is fundamentally different from current public health interventions that only include education and policy. Most current public health programs rely on the conscious reasoning of the focus market to behave logically at all times. Social Branding® recognizes the power of identity and the subconscious desires that too often drive individuals, especially youth and young adults, to perform unhealthy behaviors. For example, teens smoke because they think it is cool, while college students binge drink because they think it is what a social college student does. Many people perform risk behaviors because they believe that those behaviors are an effective way to achieve or maintain their desired identity. Social Branding® believes that efforts focusing only on logical reasoning, such as education and policy, do not address this powerful and common source for unhealthy behaviors. While identity and desire can be strong motivators to perform risk behaviors, a Social Branding® campaign can alter the attitude that fuels this desire and redirect it toward a healthy behavior instead. Social Branding® associates this healthy behavior with the focus market’s desired identity, or who they want to be. A “social brand” is developed which, through careful planning, becomes a role model among the focus market and presents a better strategy to embody a desired identity. This is a powerful behavior motivator that leads to passionate and sustainable behavior change. In addition, since Social Branding® focuses on identity, campaigns also ignite cultural change which creates a social environment that supports and promotes the healthier behavior. To be able to build and maintain a successful Social Branding® campaign, Rescue Social Change Group developed this four-step approach:
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