Section 3: Setting Objectives
Setting Objectives consists of:
A. Types of Objectives
Overall the objective of social marketing campaigns is to effect behaviour change for the benefit of individuals, organizations, and/or society. However, other objectives, such as knowledge and belief objectives may need to be achieved first, to prepare the target audience for behaviour change.
Behaviour objectives are simple clear and doable actions.
Knowledge objectives are based on statistics or facts that could motivate the target audience. In particular, the target audience should know the benefits of the proposed behaviour and what tools they can access to help them with behaviour change.
Belief objectives are tied to attitudes, opinions, feelings or values held by the target audience. For instance the individual may need to believe that their current behaviour is putting themselves, their families or society at risk, that they are capable of performing the desired behaviour and that the behaviour will produce the desired results.
Example:
In the Health Canada 2003 Fetal Alcohol Syndrome prevention campaign the following objectives were set:
- Behaviour objective: W omen who are or may be pregnant abstain from drinking alcohol.
- Knowledge objective: Increase awareness that there is no safe amount of alcohol that can be consumed while pregnant and that any amount of alcohol has the potential to cause damage to the baby
- Belief objective: To instil the belief among women that drinking alcohol while pregnant is not worth the risk of damaging their child's health.
B. Research in Objective Setting
In setting objectives it is important to consider research conducted with the audience before a campaign. Research can help to identify the information most needed by the target audience, current attitudes and perceived barriers, thus indicating what objectives may lead to behaviour change.
Example:
Research conducted before Health Canada 's "Back to Sleep" campaign on the prevention of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) identified areas where information was needed. Findings showed:
- Survey respondents were aware that SIDS is the most common cause of infant mortality in Canada - but many did not have accurate information on how best to reduce the risk.
- 49% of parents and caregivers placed infants on their sides to sleep.
- 47% of respondents stated that a side sleeping position reduces the risk of SIDS
- Of respondents who had been advised by a health professional of the best sleeping position for an infant, 61% stated that they were advised to place their infant on his or her side to sleep.
- The research showed that many in the target audience were misinformed of the proper sleeping position of an infant to reduce the risk of SIDS. This led to an objective of increasing knowledge that infants should be placed on their backs to sleep.
C. SMART Objectives
Every social marketing plan should include measurable objectives upon which it can be evaluated. These objectives should be SMART:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-based
These goals should be stated in terms of behaviour change, and other measures e.g. awareness, campaign recall/response, changes in knowledge, belief/behavioural intent. These goals should be long-term goals set for two to three years from the start of the campaign. It often takes a several years for measurable behaviour change to occur. A change of 2% to 5% over a few years is a significant and positive level of change when dealing with health and social behaviours.
Example:
Health Canada's Fetal Alcohol Syndrome /Fetal Alcohol Effects prevention campaign set the objective " To increase the percentage of women who believe that consuming even small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy can harm the baby, from 52% to 57% in one year."
If setting goals relative to behaviour change is not feasible at the time, alternative goals include: goals for campaign awareness and recall, levels of knowledge, acceptance of a belief, intent to change behaviour. When it is not possible to set measurable behaviour change objectives, it should be clear that campaign objectives lead to a long-term goal of behaviour change.
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