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The nature, role and value of marketing within the road safety team in a City Council
A social marketing approach
Dominic Boyle
University of Chester, West Kirby, UK, and

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Tony Proctor
Department of Leadership and Management, Chester Business School, University of Chester, Chester, UK
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to supplement the growing literature on social marketing by reflecting on the kinds of social marketing activities undertaken in one area of a public service administered by a large City Council in the UK. The study sought to consider the extent to which traditional theoretical ideas on marketing can be coupled with current contributions in operational terms in practical situations. Design/methodology/approach The methodology is based on anecdotal data and the critical reflections of the principal researcher concerning current and recent activities in the area of interest within the council. For this purpose, traffic services and management within a City Council was chosen, an area in which the first author of the paper has considerable experience and expertise. Findings People engaged in the type of work examined here, in fact, undertake social marketing, although they do not readily recognize the activity in these terms. Concerning road safety, the majority of resources and effort is directed at children on a specific issue (that is, pedestrian safety). Little is done to reinforce the importance of the notion of road safety or branding as individuals move through life. Illustrations and cases are used to highlight the key findings. Originality/value There are relatively few studies highlighting the working of social marketing and very few in the particular context of this paper. As such, the paper provides a useful and novel contribution to the literature. Keywords Social marketing, Employee attitudes, Employee behaviour, Road safety, Local authorities, United Kingdom Paper type Case study

Introduction Much of the literature on social marketing has been concerned with encouraging healthier lifestyles (cf. Department of Health, 2004; Department of Health and The National Consumer Council, 2005). There are, however, many other areas where social marketing has relevance. For example, it is relevant to countering anti-social behaviour in all its forms. Some forms of this behaviour may be health related, as is the case with countering alcohol and drug abuse. Other forms include prejudice (related to age, ethnicity or gender) and wanton destruction like vandalism and attacks on the police, fire service and ambulance service workers as they carry out their work. Environmental pollution is also an area where social marketing can play a positive role (Laroche et al., 2001). This study reflected on the kind of social marketing activities undertaken in one area of a public service administered by a large City Council. The authors were interested to examine the extent to which traditional theoretical ideas on marketing coupled with recent contributions to social marketing theory could be put into practice. In this framework, the

Management Research News Vol. 32 No. 8, 2009 pp. 707-715 # Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0140-9174 DOI 10.1108/01409170910977924

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approach was to examine the single case of traffic services and management. The first author has considerable experience and expertise in this field and the research approach captures his reflections on current and recent activities within the Council. In essence, he is an expert in the field and this study taps expert opinion. The duties of a Highways and Traffic Safety Services Manager include management responsibility for Road Safety Services, which involves teams engaged in the following:
.

Engineering the introduction of engineering measures aimed at improving safety at locations with known casualty problems. School crossing patrol service the provision of school crossing patrols (better known as lollipop men or lollipop women because of the shape of their signs). Road safety education, training and publicity (ETP) this entails road safety officers working to affect the behaviour of various sections of the public.

The impetus to achieve casualty reductions are the targets set by the national government for 2010, a target set to reduce the numbers of road casualties (people killed or seriously injured) by 40 per cent. The goal for child casualties is a reduction of 50 per cent. These targets are set against the average for the years 1994 to 1998 inclusive (Department for Transport, 2000). Each of the core activities listed above involve marketing in some form. For example, engineers consult the public on proposed schemes where the measures proposed may be controversial while the school crossing patrol service conducts recruitment campaigns, which promote societal benefits rather than presenting the role as merely a job. However, the road ETP team has a direct marketing orientation. For this reason, this paper focuses on their activities. Application of principles of marketing to road safety education, training and publicity Two well-recognized definitions of marketing include marketing as the management process, which identifies, anticipates and supplies customer requirements efficiently and profitably (UK Chartered Institute of Marketing [CIM]). Another is that marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchange and satisfy individual and organizational objectives (American Marketing Association [AMA]). However, both definitions have their critics (Blythe, 2005). The CIM definition takes profit as the only outcome of marketing while the AMA definition fails to account for the role of marketing in a broader social context. Certainly, the CIM definition does not fit with the marketing of road safety services since for a significant proportion of the public (that is, the customer) improving road safety may not be perceived as a priority. In addition, there are no immediate monetary gains to be made rather, the savings to society in the form of reduced human and financial costs associated with fewer road casualties is the goal. While Blythe (2005) criticizes the AMA descriptions for failing to take account of the social context of marketing, this definition seems to fit better with the promotion of road safety as a marketing activity. Road safety education, training and publicity essentially involve the promotion and distribution of ideas (that is, the idea that inappropriate behaviour is a bad thing since it can result in death or serious injury to either an individual or others) in ways that satisfy organizational objectives (that is, the governments objective to reduce road casualties). Nevertheless, each definition applies primarily to

the private sector and the four primary objectives of profitability, growth, shareholder value and customer satisfaction (Doyle, 2002). Since road safety ETP is primarily concerned with achieving behavioural change for the benefit of society as a whole, it emerges as a form of social marketing. Social marketing had been defined as
The application of marketing technologies developed in the commercial sector to the solution of social problems where the bottom line is behaviour change (and it Involves) the analysis, planning, execution and evaluation of programs designed to influence the voluntary behaviour of target audiences to improve their personal welfare and that of society. (Andreasan, 1995)

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Another description suggests that social marketing is an intelligence-led health promotion technique, whereby developing a detailed understanding of the local population allows social marketing messages to be targeted effectively (North West Public Health Observatory [NWPHO], 2006). While definitions vary in the literature, three key elements reoccur. These elements are: (1) The purpose of social marketing is to achieve a particular social good with clear behavioural goals clearly identified and targeted. (2) Social marketing is a systematic process aimed at tackling short-, medium- and long-term issues. (3) Social marketing uses marketing methods. While social marketing seems to have many overlaps with other forms of marketing, it nevertheless differs from other approaches, which include public education and communication and/or education strategies because its ultimate goal is to influence and change behaviour. It is not just concerned with increasing knowledge or changing attitudes. The focal point of social marketing is changing values and attitudes as a precursor to influencing a range of behaviours. Attitudes and behaviours, of course, are both entrenched and extremely difficult to influence a sustained change in attitudes is quite difficult to achieve. Influencing behaviour requires a consumer-oriented approach and an examination of behaviour from this standpoint. It must take into account the notion that markets are made up of diverse market segments, which demand different marketing strategies in order to change established behaviour patterns. A key element in this process is the role of marketing research. Since road safety ETP practice is aimed at changing behaviour, it is a form of social marketing. However, the experience of the principal researcher (the second author) gained working alongside staff engaged in road safety ETP, both generic marketing and social marketing principles are not applied consciously or routinely in practice in the field. Following below is an analysis of current road safety ETP practice in a particular City Council and a critique of how the practice sits in the context of established marketing techniques. Current City Council ETP campaigns Table I indicates the ETP campaigns presently in place, the audience at which they are aimed, the methodology employed and categorization (that is, education, training or publicity). Campaigns one to three are primarily education based, aimed at equipping children with basic knowledge and skills rather than seeking to achieve a change in behaviour or attitudes, other than child pedestrian training. An important component of this is the involvement of parents or careers in the expectation that this knowledge will change

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Campaign (1) Child pedestrian training

Target audience Children age 5-7 and their parents

Methodology Simple workbooks and activities for Key Stage 1 children. Recruitment of parents and carers to act as trainers and to assist in taking children out onto the road network to be trained in the skills necessary to negotiate it safely. Aimed at instilling basic awareness of traffic safety issues among young children and raising the profile of this as an issue with parents/carers Working with children to brand a lightcontrolled crossing in their neighbourhood while training children in its proper use. Children then train senior citizens in the local community in their use (older people found to have difficulty in how to use new forms of controlled crossing) Working with children to map their journey to school. These journeys are videoed, and children identify hazards/problems on the route. Project includes resources for engineering measures to be applied to address identified problems Interactive multi-media presentation and presentation package. Shows alternative outcomes of inappropriate behaviour in a non-judgemental fashion and seeks to provoke discussion within peer group with aim of changing attitudes and behaviour Local launches/support for national antidrink drive campaigns (summer/Christmas)

Category Education, training

710

(2) Supercross

Children age 7-9 and adults age over 60

Education, training

(3) Our walk to school

Children age 9-11

Education

(4) Drive to arrive

Teenagers 14-18

Education

Table I. Current City Council ETP campaigns

(5) Drink drive

16

Publicity

their attitude to road safety issues and, therefore, influence their own behaviour and the priority they assign to road safety when seeking to instil values into their children. Campaigns four to seven are aimed at achieving modified behaviour among the target group by changing attitudes. As such, these fall within the definitions of social marketing provided above. To judge how these campaigns sit in terms of established marketing principles, their fit with to established marketing practice can be considered. The marketing mix and the four Ps of marketing (product, place, promotion and price) were introduced nearly 50 years ago (McCarthy, 1960). To these initial four Ps, others were added subsequently. For example, people, process and physical evidence were later additions (Booms and Bitner, 1981). Other relevant additions to the list of Ps in the social marketing context include publics, partnership, policy and purse strings (Weinreich, 2006). The road safety ETP campaigns described above are now placed in context of the eight Ps of the social marketing mix. Product In commercial marketing, a product can be defined as anything that a firm offers to satisfy the needs or wants of customers (Doyle, 2002). In seeking to influence attitudes

and behaviours, the product in this case is less tangible. We are looking at the proposition (Department of Health and The National Consumer Council, 2005) and assessing how it is envisaged that one can help and support the customer to move from the current to the desired behaviour. In the case of road safety ETP, the product or proposition can be defined as the idea being suggested that is, it is important for a small child to use a car seat to reduce the risk of injury or that it is socially unacceptable to drink and drive. The target audience hopefully buys into these ideas. However, many of those involved in the delivery of road safety ETP will not view the ideas being promoted as products. However, in marketing terms, this is the case. Place In the context of product sales, placement is actually distribution (Biech, 2003). In social marketing, distribution can be defined as dissemination channels (NWPHO, 2006). Clearly, for dissemination channels to be effective they must be accessible to the target market. In the case of road safety ETP campaigns, this would appear to be the case, since use is made of the conventional mass marketing media, which is visible to most drivers in one way or another. The place for the anti-drink drive campaign is less consciously identified. A local launch is held and media representatives called to provide as much coverage as possible. Often, campaigns aimed at school-aged children have a captive audience. To facilitate access to the target audience, campaigns are designed to be consistent with the national curriculum in the UK and are delivered in schools. The Fire and Rescue Service deliver the Drive to Arrive Programme, which is aimed at teenagers and young drivers. As well as being delivered in schools, a vehicle equipped with the interactive media equipment required is used to deliver the programme wherever the target audience can be found; even where youths congregate on street corners. Promotion In promotion, the marketer uses knowledge of the target markets, and an appreciation of the prevailing social and political context, to encourage people to buy into the social objective (North West Public Health Observatory, 2006). The extent to which this occurs within the road safety ETP social marketing programmes listed earlier varies. In the case of the Drive to Arrive Programme, this has been designed with a very specific group in mind the age, social grouping and values of the group are readily identified compared to some other segments. Because young people in deprived areas are over-represented in the road casualty statistics, the programme has been designed with that social group in mind. In fact, the beliefs and outlook of this group may differ from those of their affluent peers. This stands in contrast to the work on drink drive campaigns, where no effort has been made at local level to account for the social or political context. The message is directed simply to everyone. This may be due partly to the fact that the required change in behaviour has been largely achieved. However, the message is reinforced regularly at appropriate intervals, as suggested in by the 7 Doors Social Marketing Approach (Robinson, 2004). However, it is appreciated that media-only interventions are insufficient in bringing about sustained behaviour change (Tones, 1994). To achieve behavioural change, a range of different communications mechanisms are required. Price Given that in social marketing, no money changes hands between the consumer and the marketer, it could be questioned whether price is relevant. However, price can be defined in non-financial terms. For example, in social marketing, price refers to

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necessary action on the part of the consumer to obtain the product the cost could be monetary but it is most often time, effort or other intangible risks such as embarrassment or disapproval of peers (Centre for Substance Abuse Prevention, 2002). Thus, in social marketing, price relates to the costs of behaviour change (McDermott et al., 2004). This view is relevant as attempts to change behaviour to improve road safety among younger audiences where peer pressure is a factor. Some of the behaviours we are seeking to change may be seen as cool among younger audiences. For example, driving fast is a cool pastime as mediated by the action of many popular action television shows. In the road safety ETP campaigns undertaken at present, this factor of price has been recognized. The message within the Drive to Arrive Programme portrays inappropriate behaviours as distinctly un-cool (for example, a young boy-racer is seeking to impress a girl with his fast driving and this strategy backfires, leaving him looking like a fool). Publics Social marketers often have many different audiences and marketing programmes must address these audiences if they are to succeed (Weinreich, 2006). The road safety ETP campaigns described earlier address different audiences in different ways. However, it is questionable whether sufficient coverage is being achieved in reaching the different groups. The intensive programmes are aimed at children of all ages including older teenagers, with some limited engagement among senior citizens. The remaining publicity programmes are directed at a wider audience, with the exception of the promotion of child seats where the promotional literature is made available in places where the target audience is most likely to be found. Partnership Until recently, road safety ETP work was executed largely in isolation, other than some coordinated activities with the police. This is now beginning to change, largely because the governments shared responsibility for the delivery of the casualty reduction targets with Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and Fire and Rescue Services. Because of this, partnerships are beginning to materialize with the Fire and Rescue Service (an example of this is the Drive to Arrive Programme). However, progress in engaging with the PCT has been slower. Policy Road safety ETP work is in itself a response to policy (for example, a response to the governments policy of seeking to reduce road casualties). The linking process connects different policy agendas and in so doing, maximizes a policys impact across the whole system. This process offers considerable promise. Strategies such as traffic calming measures, speed camera installations, lower speed limits, improved street lighting, tougher penalties for infringing driving legislation and the like are all relevant here. Nevertheless, there is always more that can be done and if the government was committed to bring about legislative change, road safety could be improved drastically. For this reason, policy makers should also be considered as a potential target audience. Purse strings This term refers to how a social marketing campaign will be funded and supported by human resources. The road safety ETP programmes described are funded from a variety of sources including government grants, the Councils own revenue budgets

and neighbourhood renewal funding. The limited range of activities undertaken is indicative of the limited funds that are available at the local council level. For this reason, it is especially important that activity is concentrated in areas (and audiences) where the greatest impact will occur. Market segmentation Two types of segment variables are needs and profilers (Doyle, 2002). Needs are simply the benefits the consumer is seeking to derive from a particular product. A needs-based segmentation strategy would be one where the marketer sought to divide customers into segments, where each grouping is seeking the same benefits from the product. Having earlier defined the road safety ETP product as ideas that we are seeking target audiences to buy into through social marketing, the present ETP programme can be seen to employ needs-based segmentation. For example, promotion of child car seats is directed at new parents. Doyle (2002) defined profilers as descriptive, measurable customer characteristics such as industry, geographic location, nationality, age and income. Again, the road safety ETP programme clearly employs profiling segmentation, since the target audiences for each activity is defined clearly by factors including age, location and indices of deprivation those suffering deprivation being more likely to become a road casualty (Department for Transport, 2003). As such, the road safety ETP programme employs both needs- and profile-based segmentation strategies. However, whether this segmentation has been consciously achieved is questionable. While the target audiences for the various ETP programmes are actionable segments, it is unclear whether the needs of the whole market are being met and whether there are profilers other than age and deprivation that could be used to identify actionable segments. Concerning needs, Table II divides the population of the city into age segments and
Age range 0-4 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84 85-89 90 Totals % in group 5.7 6.1 7.0 7.7 8.4 6.6 7.1 7.5 7.1 6.0 6.1 4.7 4.8 4.5 4.1 3.1 2.0 1.1 0.5 100.0 % Casualties 1.4 2.8 13.5 18.1 10.6 8.5 8.5 8.5 6.7 3.2 4.3 3.2 3.9 1.8 1.4 2.1 1.1 0.4 0.0 100.0 Programme Car seats Child pedestrian training, supercross, walk to school Walk to school, drive to arrive, seat belts Drive to arrive, drink drive, seat belts Drink drive, seat belts Drink drive, seat belts Drink drive, seat belts Drink drive, seat belts Drink drive, seat belts Drink drive, seat belts Drink drive, seat belts Drink drive, seat belts Drink drive, seat belts, supercross Drink drive, seat belts, supercross Drink drive, seat belts, supercross Drink drive, seat belts, supercross Drink drive, seat belts, supercross Drink drive, seat belts, supercross Drink drive, seat belts, supercross

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Table II.
Demographic information about campaigns

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shows the percentage of overall road casualties occurring in that age segment. An indication of the ETP programmes aimed at particular segments is also provided. Road safety ETP programmes are applicable to all ages. However, it should be noted that the seat belt and drink drive campaigns, while aimed at all ages, are neither run intensively nor tailored for delivery by the media. In addition, the proportion of the older population reached by Supercross (which, for the elderly is essentially a training programme) is very small. On this basis, around 74 per cent of the population, among whom around 64 per cent of road deaths or serious injury occurred in 2005, receives very little attention in the context of the social marketing of road safety. Similarly, 15-19 year olds comprise just fewer than 8 per cent of the population but provide 18 per cent of casualties. Issues such as increased exposure to risk due to higher levels of travel and risk-taking behaviour related to age are likely to play a role in this outcome. Nevertheless, the programmes aimed at this specific age group are limited. The number of casualties killed or seriously injured as vehicle occupants or riders is greater than the number involved as pedestrians this is not reflected in the level of resources directed to these groups. The large majority of road safety ETP activity is directed at child pedestrians, which represent a relatively small proportion of the total overall. It would not necessarily be correct to cease this activity and direct resources elsewhere. This activity has been ongoing for many years and casualties in this group have reduced. Ceasing activity could potentially result in increasing casualties over time and it might be the case that this activity yields great benefits in terms of this being a highly actionable segment. What these casualty statistics suggest is that on a needs-segmentation basis, there are other potential target audiences. However, in terms of profilers, further research is required to identify common characteristics within these potential target audiences or to further segment groups according to other relevant profilers. Conclusions Road safety education, training and publicity is a form of social marketing, although many of those involved in this work do not necessarily define their work in these terms. Marketing practice has been applied, and segmentation and other theoretical marketing tools such as the marketing mix are used, although not in a conscious manner. The majority of resources and effort is directed at a single group (children) on a specific issue (pedestrian safety). Little is done to reinforce the importance of the road safety brand or idea as individuals move through their life cycles. This activity does not necessarily reflect the casualty problem and there may be other groups that should be targeted. Detailed data exist, which would permit road safety practitioners to identify these groups. Following this, research can be undertaken to produce actionable segments for which appropriate messages can be designed. This research should be undertaken to ensure that the limited resources available are used efficiently. Efforts should also be made to improve partnership working with the PCT since to date the large majority of experience in social marketing has been gained in the health sector, and as such, they will be well placed to assist. There is much scope for further research into different aspects of social marketing. Some of these were identified at the beginning of the paper (for example, where social marketing has relevance in countering anti-social behaviour). Studies, which examine social marketing efforts to counter alcohol and drug abuse, prejudice, vandalism and environmental pollution, would be extremely welcome.

References Andreasan, A. (1995), Marketing Social Change, Jossey-Bass, Washington, DC. Biech, E. (2003), Marketing Your Consulting Services, Pfeiffer, San Francisco, CA. Blythe, J. (2005), Essentials of Marketing, Pearson Education, Harlow. Booms, B. and Bitner, M. (1981), Marketing strategies and organisation structures for service firms, in Donnelly, J. and George, W. (Eds), Marketing of Services, American Marketing Association, Chicago, IL. Department of Health (2004), Choosing Health: Making Healthy Choices Easier, The Stationery Office, London. Department of Health and the National Consumer Council (2005), Social Marketing Pocket Guide, National Social Marketing Centre for Excellence, London. Department for Transport (2000), Tomorrows Roads: Safer for Everyone, Department for Transport, London. Department for Transport (2003), Tackling the Road Safety Implications of Disadvantage, Department for Transport, London. Doyle, P. (2002), Marketing Management and Strategy, Pearson Education, Harlow. Laroche, M., Bergeron, J. and Barbaro-Forleo, G. (2001), Targeting consumers who are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 18 No. 6, pp. 503-31. McCarthy, E. (1960), Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach, Irwin, Homewood, IL. McDermott, L., Eadie, D., Peattie, K., Peattie, S., Hastings, G. and Anderson, S. (2004), Domestic composting: challenges and opportunities for social marketing, Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Conference, Gloucester, July. North West Public Health Observatory (2006), Synthesis, Issue 6, December, North West Public Health Observatory, Liverpool. Robinson, L. (2004), The seven doors social marketing approach, available at: www.media.socialchange.net.au/strategy/ (accessed 2 January 2007). Tones, K. (1994), Marketing and the mass media: theory and myth. Reflections on social marketing theory, Health Education Research Theory and Practice, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 165-9. University of Oklahoma, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (2002), CSAPs southwest CAPT prevention briefing June/July 2002, available at: www.swcapt.org/products.htlm (accessed 22 January 2007). Weinreich, N. (2006), What is social marketing?, available at: www.social-marketing.com/ Whatis.htlm (accessed 3 January 2007). About the authors Dominic Boyle is the Manager of traffic and road safety services for a large City Council in the North of England in the UK. Dominic has worked in this field for nearly 20 years. He is presently studying for the Masters degree in Business Administration at the University of Chester. Tony Proctor is a Professor in Marketing at the University of Chester. His publications include Strategic Marketing Management (2nd ed., Routledge, 2008), Essentials of Marketing Research (4th ed., FT-Prentice Hall, 2005), Public Sector Marketing (FT-Prentice Hall, 2007) and Creative Problem Solving for Managers (2nd ed., Routledge, 2005). He has over 35 years of experience working in higher education following a career in business and commerce. Tony Proctor is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: tony_proctor@btinternet.com; t.proctor@chester.ac.uk To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints

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