Written by Nancy Lee, as part of her Social Marketing Sightings theme.
Sighted on: SPARKS Conference Pacific NW Social Marketing Association 2022
Social Issue: Trusted Messengers & Information
Social Marketing Strategy: Campaign Development
On December 5th & 6th of this week, the Pacific NW Social Marketing Association held its 10th annual two-day conference in Seattle. This year it was again a remote format. From its beginning back in 2013, this conference adapted a TED Talk style, with on average 12 speakers each given 12 minutes to share something relevant and of interest for social marketers. The emphasis for the conference has always been on providing inspiration for the development of successful social marketing programs.What inspired me at this year’s conference was a theme noted in several of the speaker presentations. The key to success in behavior change for social good is trust. Our audience needs to believe that:
- The information is true, that it is based on scientific data or other credible sources.
- The messenger is credible, including having expertise and being trustworthy.
In the end, it was clear that intentions to adopt a behavior (e.g., COVID immunization) will be significantly influenced by these perceptions, and that strategies and tactics need to be developed to ensure this, from the beginning.