Glossary
A
Activity
See Intervention activity.
Audience profile
A formal description of the characteristics of the people who make up a target
audience. Some typical characteristics useful in describing segments include
media habits (magazines, TV, newspaper, radio, and Internet, etc.), family size,
residential location, education, income, lifestyle preferences, leisure
activities, religious and political beliefs, level of acculturation, ethnicity,
ancestral heritage, consumer purchases, and/or psychographics.
Source: CDCynergy: Social Marketing
Audience orientation
A characteristic of social marketing concerned with making decisions with the
audience's point of view rather than the planner's point of view.
Audience segment
A subgroup of people within the target audience who are enough alike on a set of
characteristics such as current behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, demographics, and
behavioral determinants such that one can develop a strategy and intervention
activities that are likely to be equally successful with all members of the
segment.
Adapted from: CDCynergy Social Marketing
Audience segmentation
Audience segmentation is the process of dividing a broad target audience into
more homogeneous subgroups, called audience segments.
B
Behavioral determinants
Factors, either internal or external, that influence an individual's actions or
behaviors. Behavioral science theories and models list various determinants.
Source: CDCynergy Social Marketing
Behavioral objective
A behavioral objective is a written description of the aim or goal you have
for the specific behavior you want the target audience to take. It should be a
clear, specific, measurable, and feasible action.
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C
Channels
The routes or methods used to reach the target audience.
Source: CDCynergy Social Marketing
Competition
Behaviors and related benefits that the target audience is accustomed to—or may
prefer—to the behavior you are promoting.
Source: Turning Point Social Marketing National Excellence Collaborative: The
Basics of Social Marketing: How to Use Social Marketing to Change Behavior.
Contributing factors
Determinants that directly or indirectly cause the problem. A contributing
factor can be biological, behavioral, or attitudinal; or an element of the
physical or social environment; or the result of policies related to the
problem.
Source: CDCynergy Social Marketing
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D
Determinant
See Behavioral determinants.
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E
Exchange
The concept that people compare the costs and benefits of performing a behavior
before actually doing it. The benefits must outweigh the cost or
people to perform a behavior.
Source: CDCynergy Social Marketing
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F
Formative research
Formative research is research conducted during the development of your program
or intervention to help you choose and describe your target audience, understand
the factors which influence their behavior, and determine best ways to reach
them. Formative research is also called formative assessment, market research,
consumer research, or audience research.
Adapted from: CDCynergy Social Marketing
Four P's
See "Marketing Mix" or "Product," "Price," "Place," and "Promotion."
Four classes of strategies and tactics to consider when planning intervention
activities for a target audience—Product, Price, Place, Promotion.
Source: CDCynergy Social Marketing
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G
Gray literature
Any documentary materials that is not commercially published and is typically
composed of technical reports, working papers, business documents, and
conference proceedings.
Source: American Library Association
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I
Indicator
A specific, observable, and measurable characteristic or change that shows the
progress or not a program is making toward achieving a specified outcome.
Source: CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity's Progress Monitoring Report glossary
Intervention activities
The events, actions, or methods used to influence, facilitate, or promote
behavior change and that take place as part of the program.
Adapted from: CDCynergy Social Marketing and DNPAO's Progress Monitoring Report
glossary
Intervention strategy
An intervention strategy is a guiding plan of action for the social marketing
intervention or program. The intervention strategy (also called market strategy)
encompasses:
• Specific target audience segment(s)
• Specific behavior change goal
• Benefits of the desired behavior to promote
• Costs and barriers to behavior change that will be minimized
• The marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion)
• Activities that will influence or support behavior change
Source: CDCynergy Social Marketing
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L
Logic model
A systematic and visual way to present the perceived relationships among the
resources you have to operate the program, the activities you plan to do, and
the changes or results you hope to achieve.
Source: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity's Progress Monitoring Report glossary
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M
Marketing mix
Tools used to influence target audiences: product, price, place, and promotion.
Adapted from: Kotler & Lee, Social Marketing: Influencing Behaviors for Good.
Media advocacy
Using the mass media strategically to advance a social or policy initiative.
Initially, the goal of media advocacy must be determined. Then a story needs to
be developed based on facts and values and made meaningful to a clearly defined
target audience so that it can attract attention and precipitate specific
action.
Source: CDCynergy Social Marketing
Message
The memorable, explanatory words or images that capture a health communication
concept. Messages are the actual words or images that communicate what you want
people to know, feel, or do.
Source: CDCynergy Social Marketing
Monitoring and feedback
The process of tracking program implementation and audience response. Includes
assessments of whether materials are being distributed to the right people and
in the correct quantities, the extent to which program activities are being
carried out as planned and modified if needed, and other measures of how and how
well the program is working. Also measures the extent to which members of the
target audience are exposed to program components. Also measures the audience's
response to the program, including their feelings and perceptions about it, and
whether they attended and understood an activity or message.
Source: CDCynergy Social Marketing
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O
Objective
Statements describing the results to be achieved and the manner in which these
results will be achieved.
Source: CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity'sProgress Monitoring Report glossary
Outcome objective
Objectives written to determine if the program or intervention had the intended
effects. Could be short-, mid-, or long-term. Long-term outcome
objectives can go beyond measuring behavior change to measure health status.
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P
Partners
Individuals or organizations/agencies that contribute to the efforts initiated
by a leader or head organization/agency. Partners can have a variety of roles
(e.g., contribute research data, share evaluation experience, help to spread the
health message).
Source: CDCynergy Social Marketing
Pilot-testing
Implementing and evaluating the program or program components in a limited area
for a limited amount of time at a point when you can still make program
adjustments based on the pilot experience.
Source: CDCynergy Social Marketing
Place
Where the audience performs the desired behavior, accesses products/services, or
is thinking or hearing about the health issue
Adapted from CDCynergy Social Marketing
Plan components
Main elements of a social marketing plan (problem, target audience, behavior,
and intervention strategy).
Planning questions
A checklist of questions organized by the four plan components that can be
referenced throughout the process of developing a social marketing plan.
Pre-testing
A type of formative research that involves systematically gathering target
audience reactions to messages and materials before they are produced in final
form.
Source: CDCynergy Social Marketing
Price
What the audience gives up to get a tangible product; also the costs or
barriers to making the desired behavior change
Adapted from: CDCynergy Social Marketing
Primary research
The process of collecting one's own data about the audience and health problem,
from designing the method of data collection through analysis and reporting on
the new information.
Source: CDCynergy Social Marketing
Primary target audience
A primary target audience (also called target audience) is a group of
individuals whose behavior needs to change in order to positively impact the
problem. In some cases, they are directly affected by the problem themselves. In
other cases, the primary target audience will be those who can make policy or
environmental changes because you want their behavior to change (i.e., voting
behavior, approval of policies).
Process objective
An objective written to determine if the program or intervention is implemented
as designed, or how and why the intervention was implemented.
Product
What the audience gets or what you offer; can be tangible items, intangible
benefits, or the behavior itself.
Adapted from: CDCynergy Social Marketing
Program evaluation
The systematic collection of information to document and assess how a program
was implemented and operates, and the impact of that program.
Adapted from: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity's Progress Monitoring Report glossary
Promotion
Messages, materials, channels (path used to reach the target audience), and
activities to promote behavior change and describe the product, price, and place
features of the program.
Adapted from: CDCynergy Social Marketing
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Q
Qualitative research
Research that collects data that appear in words rather than numbers. Useful for
collecting information about feelings and impressions. Focus groups and in-depth
personal interviews are common types of qualitative research.
Source: CDCynergy Social Marketing
Quantitative research
Research designed to count and measure knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and
behaviors. Yields numerical data that are analyzed statistically. Surveys are a
common type of quantitative research.
Source: CDCynergy Social Marketing
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S
Screener
An instrument containing short-answer questions used in the recruitment process
for research methods such as focus groups and central location intercept
interviews. Interviewees' answers to the questions determine who is and who is
not eligible to participate in the research.
Source: CDCynergy Social Marketing
Secondary audience
A group of individuals who are able to exert influence on the primary target
audience's behavior.
SMART objectives
A method of writing objectives. The acronym stands for Specific,
Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-specific.
Stakeholder
Those who have an investment in the program or intervention being planned.
Social marketing
The application of commercial marketing technologies to the analysis, planning,
execution, and evaluation of programs designed to influence voluntary behavior
of target audiences to improve their personal welfare and that of
society.
Source: Marketing Social Change: Changing Behavior to Promote Health, Social
Development, and the Environment by Alan Andreasen
Surveillance
The ongoing, systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of data
essential to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health
practices, closely integrated with the timely dissemination of these data to
those responsible for prevention and control.
Source: Thacker SB, Berkelman RL. Public health surveillance in the United
States. Epidemiol Rev. 1988;10:164–190.
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T
Target audience
See primary target audience.
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