VISION

We envision a world where social marketing is an established field of practice that is well-recognized for contributing to individual and societal well-being.

What We Mean By “Social Marketing”

Social Marketing seeks to develop and integrate marketing concepts with other approaches to influence behaviors that benefit individuals and communities for the greater social good. Social Marketing practice is guided by ethical principles. It seeks to integrate research, best practice, theory, audience and partnership insight, to inform the delivery of competition sensitive and segmented social change programs that are effective, efficient, equitable and sustainable.

                 — International Social Marketing Association‘s global consensus definition

Social marketing integrates commercial marketing concepts with other approaches to influence positive behavior change for individuals and communities for greater social good. It’s getting you to brush your teeth, rather than getting you to buy the toothbrush. This differs from social media in that social media are the online communication channels such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. A social marketer may use these in an intervention but has other tools available to change behavior also.

Watch these short videos to learn more.

MISSION

To promote the use of social marketing in North America (including Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America), and to grow and support the community of practitioners and academics involved in this field of practice.

VALUES

Through the work we do, across every touchpoint, SMANA is committed to being:

  • Innovative
  • Inclusive
  • Collaborative
  • Rigorous
  • Responsive
  • Supportive

SMANA’s Membership Promise

  • We connect practitioners, academics, and students within the North American social marketing arena.
  • We aim to build a stronger legacy and community of practice and to disseminate best practices across broad geographic and topical areas.
  • We provide assurance that our social marketing efforts are scientifically rigorous and informed by practice to better position social marketing as a viable intervention framework.
  • We facilitate opportunities for organizations, agencies, and other stakeholders to take advantage of our membership expertise in behavior change strategies.
  • We advocate for the advancement and use of social marketing.

Our Current Strategic Plan

SMANA’s strategic plan for 2021-2023 has five key areas of focus:

  1. Growing the Field of Social Marketing – Promote and raise awareness of the social marketing field and its contribution to society.
  2. Our Members & Volunteers – Ensure that we have a continually growing and engaged membership and volunteer base that sees value in SMANA and the resources that it provides.
  3. Coalition Building – Regularly collaborate with other similar fields working to improve individual and societal well-being.
  4. Financial Health – Strengthen the financial position of SMANA so that it has the resources to hire paid staff and provide a wide variety of quality services to its members.
  5. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) –  Make DEI a cornerstone of SMANA, reflected both internally and externally.