It has long been accepted that social marketing is significantly different from commercial marketing despite the fact that its hallmark is the borrowing of the latter's concepts and tools (Andreasen 1995; Bloom and Novelli 1981). One of these differences is that social marketing is charged with dramatic goals, getting all Americans to eat five fruits and vegetables a day, getting all gay men to practice safe sex, or getting 90% of all children in developing countries fully immunized by age two. Consider the following mission statements:
Share Our Strength works to alleviate and prevent hunger in the United States and around the world.
The Alzheimer's Association . . . creating a world without Alzheimer's disease while optimizing quality of life for individuals and their families.
Goodwill Industries will actively strive to achieve the full participation in society of people with disabilities and special needs by expanding their opportunities and occupational capabilities. . .
The Environmental Defense Fund is dedicated to protecting the environmental rights of all people, including future generations.
Project Inform is . . . working to end the AIDS epidemic.
Boys & Girls Clubs [aims]. . . to inspire and enable all young people, especially those from disadvantaged circumstances, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring individuals.
By contrast, commercial marketers' missions are more often concerned with achieving modest gains in market penetration or brand market share. A second difference is that social marketers typically have only limited resources for achieving such impressive objectives, whether these resources emanate from taxes, charitable donations, or the organization' ...