Call for Papers: Social Marketing Quarterly
Social Marketing Quarterly (SMQ) announced a special issue with the goal of reflecting on social marketing’s role in addressing race and racism. The journal published a call for papers for social marketing academics and practitioners to submit on the subject.
The year 2020, with its anti-racism social movements and protests around the world, reminded us that, despite our greatest achievements, the problems related to racism still undermine progress in many societies. Authors such as Grier & Poole (2020) have opined that social marketers have not given sufficient attention to issues related to race or racism, perhaps because of the potentially sensitive and controversial nature of this topic. The world’s problems linked to racial inequity are longstanding and deeply institutionalized. Myriad campaigns have been implemented to address aspects of diversity, race relations and equitable access for racial minorities. Achieving racial equity requires a sustained, systemic, multi-stakeholder, and global effort to continue chipping away at the root of this problem and its unforeseen consequences that tend to compound other social matters. Can social marketing contribute to racial equity? How can social marketers help promote racial equity?
Scholars have argued that social marketing alone cannot solve all the problems of the world. However, increasingly, the discipline is being recognized as one that can make a significant contribution in helping to solve the world’s “wicked problems” (Lefebvre, 2013). But precisely because these problems are “wicked” and involve “complex issues” (Lefebvre, 2013),” the solutions to these kinds of problems seem nearly impossible.
In its CFP, SMQ invites authors to submit reviews, conceptual papers, empirical articles, and case studies reflecting on social marketing’s role in addressing racial equity. The deadline for submissions is January 30, 2022.