A social norm is an evidence-based approach theory which addresses health matters that has increasingly gained concern. Social norms have the potential to intervene and address issues of social injustice and violence, with its involvements, have been fruitful in minimizing the abuse of alcohol and smoking tobacco in high school as well as college environments. In the sustenance of behavioral change, social norms are main elements of interventions. The idea of social norms is progressively being recognized in public and private sectors as well as academic institutions. The concept is an essential factor in the motivation of behavior influence and change (Burchell, Rettie, & Patel, 2012). Persons with incorrect perception on the attitude or behavior of peer and other members of the community, being different from their while in real sense they are not, are the situations explained in the social norm theory. The occurrence of these misperceptions relates to risk behaviors which are mostly overestimated in comparison to protective conducts which are commonly underestimated. These habits cause personalities to alter their habits to fit in the misperceived norm. There are varieties of flaws in social norm marketing approaches including poor marketing techniques, poor communication and unfavorable environmental changes, which negatively affect concepts in social norm approach.
Through marketing strategies, alcohol and tobacco education in learning institutions has always depended on teaching the effects of use and abuse on an individual, education on negative results of alcohol abuse as well as other methods that have demonstrated to be ineffective. However, due to poor marketing techniques, the approach has shown its ineffectiveness, based on the fact that all learners have significantly exaggerated opinion about the level of alcohol misuse amongst their peers. These lead them to drink more than they need to fit in their peers, it is also observed that when learners observe the low statistics, they are pressured to engage those behaviors (Glassman, & Braun, 2013). When survey to determine the level of alcohol use and abuse is conducted and the correct information marketed or publicized, the approach of social norms marketing has displayed improvement in reducing rate of alcohol use and abuse. However, incorrect use of social marketing strategies in addition to social marketing norms by some school officials, practitioners and researchers have negatively affected the marketing techniques. Behaviors have been influenced through poor social marketing strategies over the utilization of marketing values, like the usage of the ‘product, price, placement and promotion' (4Ps) in order to promote awareness, attitude adjustment in addition to motivating persons or change society. Equally, a particular theory is represented by social norms which can be useful through principles of social marketing. Nevertheless, failure to recognize and appreciate the general meaning of the two notions which are related to each other has led to unproductive intercession and assumptions regarding the effectiveness of social norms theory as well as social marketing strategies.
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Due to poor communication strategies, it is observed as part of the problem instead of being the solution. Communication marketing campaigns should distinguish particular counter-advertising concerning advertisement influence on the youth to pawn the weakness in the strategy. Regulation of advertising, marketing, and industry campaigns are not synonymous with communication campaigns. There are minimal possible prevention strategies that are based on communication despite the continuous funding of the approach. Thus the abuse may not be reduced as a marketing problem, but can be minimized through legal issues given the abusers of the substances are heralds of consumer promotion. Furthermore, active campaigns of counter substance abuse have not been well established, advocates on tobacco control have continually made use of media on its drive to combat youth and adult tobacco usage for many years. However, the minimal evidence is observed supporting the cost-effectiveness of counter-marketing strategy. There is a little provision in the current literature that directs towards drafting a successful campaign. The effects of the theme in the message do not convey marketing of social norms due to the content that appears emotional and the features that are creative and admirable (Burchell, Rettie, & Patel, 2012).
The intentions of communication campaigns should be unavoidably seeking to stand against the embellished advertisements of tobacco and alcohol in addition to other types of drugs, but the campaign has failed. There is also openness in promoting severe thinking on the connection between addictive conducts, publication as well as corporate revenues. The current communication campaigns do not explore many research-centered approaches that are more reliable with informative and developmental prevention programs instead they de-emphasizing on techniques of encouragement that are awkwardly outdated marketing methods. The research approach would improve communication campaign, with strategic issues to be portrayed. The design and transmission message in the current communication strategies is not persuasive and informative. The visual communication conditions lack designed to encourage consideration and responsible conduct without depending on fear strategies. Communication campaigns seem not to target the particular audience in their design making the policy to be unsuccessful. Due to poor communication strategies, parents and other adults are not taken into account regarding their role in prevention as the guardians to the youth.
Exceptional in their complexity and their attitude and displeasure reach, different individuals, are faced with fresh environmental challenges in the process marketing social norms. The problems are related to interconnected natural and social arrangements working on various measures. The issues include pollution of the environment, disruption of climate, continuous organic impurities, species extinction and developing diseases (Kinzig, Ehrlich, Alston, Arrow, Barrett, Buchman & Saari, 2013). The determination to change individual and social standards to regulate the progress of these problems is faced with environmental challenges. Through encouragement and education, specific behaviors can be made to become installed as a substance of own morals. Social norm theory provides a model for understanding human behavior which has met significant hinderances in health advancement and prevention. Individual's behavior is influenced by improper observation of how other associates of societal groups think and behave. For instant persons may overrate the tolerance of peer attitude or practice in relation to tobacco and other drug use in addition to alcohol abuse. There could also be underestimation on the level to which associates participate in productive conduct.
In conclusion, the need to move towards greater agreement in terminology makes it essential to appreciate how and when social norms impact on conducts. The public representatives and other disciplines have the know-how on concepts of norms, social as well as group impact. In spite of this knowledge there exist confusion with the meaning of the term norm and also the disparity about the procedure on which norms influence on conduct. Recent research and theory on the norm's idea have the emphasis on the norm being external to an individual and the concept that their strength is found in the reasons of social approval or disapproval, conventionality, and peer pressure. A lot of policy processes like in health, education, employment, and environment carry on with the tussle in crafting real changes in population conduct (Glassman, & Braun, 2013). Implementation of these changes requires significant resources as well as expertise. Without an observation to the essential foundation of social strategies of marketing or social norms theory in addition to failure in knowing when and in what way to use social standards in drafting a social market involvement, alters the targeted conclusion. Improper implementation of the strategies, waste resources decreasing support for such involvements and improvement of health behaviors is hindered.
References
Burchell, K., Rettie, R., & Patel, K. (2012). Marketing social norms: Social marketing and the ‘social norm approach.’ Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 12 (1), 1-9. doi:10.1002/cb.1395
Glassman, T., & Braun, R. (2013). Confusion surrounding social marketing strategies and social norm theory: To prevent high-risk drinking among college students . Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247501611_Confusion_Surrounding_Social_Marketing_Strategies_and_Social_Norm_Theory_To_Prevent_High-Risk_Drinking_Among_College_Students.
Kinzig, A. P., Ehrlich, P. R., Alston, L. J., Arrow, K., Barrett, S., Buchman, T. G., … Saari, D. (2013). Social norms and global environmental challenges: The complex interaction of behaviors, values, and policy. BioScience, 63 (3), 164-175. doi:10.1525/bio.2013.63.3.5
