Comments on: Impact of Social Computing on Marketing http://ItStrategyBlog.com/impact-of-social-computing-on-marketing/ Raj Sheelvant's blog on harnessing Information Technology to create and sustain competitive advantage for the businesses Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:40:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 By: Raj Sheelvant http://ItStrategyBlog.com/impact-of-social-computing-on-marketing/#comment-152 Raj Sheelvant Tue, 18 Dec 2007 21:24:06 +0000 http://ItStrategyBlog.com/impact-of-social-computing-on-marketing/#comment-152 Thanks Mike for the clarification. I was under the impression that social media and social marketing are one and the same... Thanks Mike for the clarification. I was under the impression that social media and social marketing are one and the same…

]]> By: Mike Newton-Ward http://ItStrategyBlog.com/impact-of-social-computing-on-marketing/#comment-151 Mike Newton-Ward Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:39:45 +0000 http://ItStrategyBlog.com/impact-of-social-computing-on-marketing/#comment-151 Unfortunately, the Wharton article to which you refer is describing "social media"--a worthy thing in iself--but not "social marketing."Social marketing is a concept first explicated by Philip Kotler & Gerald Zaltman, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, in 1971, to describe the application of commercial marketing principles to health, social and quality of life issues. (Cf. Kotler, P. and Zaltman, G. (1971) "Social marketing: An approach to planned social change. J of Marketing. Vol. 35, pp. 3-12.) What you describe is better labeled "social media" or "consumer generated content." Social marketing has been used around the globe by government and non-profit organizations to impact issues of societal well-being as diverse as breastfeeding, recycling and encouraging savings account. Not a flash in the pan phenomenon, there are numerous college curricula; six-plus textbooks; an international listserve with over 1,000 members; a dedicated journal; three major US or international conferences; at least six major US firms; centers in Scotland, Canada, Poland and Australia; governmental centers in the UK and the US; a national excellence collaborative in the US, all dealing with social marketing. For more information you can visit the following web sites, among others: www.social-marketing.com; www.social-marketing.org; www.nsmcentre.org.uk. Unfortunately, the Wharton article to which you refer is describing “social media”–a worthy thing in iself–but not “social marketing.”Social marketing is a concept first explicated by Philip Kotler & Gerald Zaltman, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, in 1971, to describe the application of commercial marketing principles to health, social and quality of life issues. (Cf. Kotler, P. and Zaltman, G. (1971) “Social marketing: An approach to planned social change. J of Marketing. Vol. 35, pp. 3-12.)

What you describe is better labeled “social media” or “consumer generated content.”

Social marketing has been used around the globe by government and non-profit organizations to impact issues of societal well-being as diverse as breastfeeding, recycling and encouraging savings account. Not a flash in the pan phenomenon, there are numerous college curricula; six-plus textbooks; an international listserve with over 1,000 members; a dedicated journal; three major US or international conferences; at least six major US firms; centers in Scotland, Canada, Poland and Australia; governmental centers in the UK and the US; a national excellence collaborative in the US, all dealing with social marketing.

For more information you can visit the following web sites, among others: www.social-marketing.com; www.social-marketing.org; www.nsmcentre.org.uk.

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