Evaluating Effectiveness of Social Marketing Campaigns for Education

The task is to develop a strategic social marketing plan targeted at reducing voluntary school dropouts by 5%. The approach includes conducting surveys to evaluate campaign success, allocating a $20,000 USD budget for various promotional activities, and implementing the plan over six months. The process involves designing and testing marketing materials initially, followed by launching the campaign and making necessary adjustments based on feedback from teachers and students.

Running Head: SOCIAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN 1

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Background, Purpose and Focus
The purpose of the plan is to convince the students they should not drop out of the school until they
graduate. It is a serious issue in the United States of America as more and more students are
dropping out of the school after the ninth grade. These students reduce their chances of earning a
living wage when they leave end their studies. Other than that, these school dropouts create
substantial burden financial and social burden on the community, state and the country. This
phenomenon has recently garnered the attention of various governments and social agencies. With
the research in this area, it has been identified that the students in the age group of sixteen to
twenty-four from the lowest quarter of the family income is more likely to drop out of the school in
comparison to the students belonging to higher quarter (Burchell, Rettie& Patel, 2013). Although
there is no specific reason for the high dropout rate of certain schools, the most common reason is
the difficult transition from the primary to the high school, difference in the education level and lack
of engagement with the students serves as the primary reasons for the high dropout rate of the
students. In this regard, the present social marketing campaign is focused on raising the awareness
of the students regarding the importance of the education at the primary and the higher level. In the
report, a marketing plan has been developed which will be targeted at the students studying in the
primary and the secondary level. The marketing plan will raise the importance of the students
regarding the importance of the education. The purpose of the campaign is to reduce the voluntary
dropout of the students from the higher education level. The focus of the campaign is on the
intentional dropout of the students.
Situational Analysis
The voluntary dropout of the students is a grave situation in the United States of America.
The situational analysis of the present situation can be conducted by SWOT analysis of the current
situation.
Strengths
 Recent increased awareness for the education
 Several non-government and government organizations are involved in the cause
 Allocation of high government budget
Weakness
 Incapability of the teachers to get the students engaged
 Lack of trained teachers in the country
Opportunities
 Potential sponsors
 Lack of awareness for the cause
 Several potential sponsors

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Threats
 Perception that it is not a priority issue
 Poverty
 Carelessness of the teachers
According to the report by City Year (2017), the issue of high school dropouts is enormous in the
USA. The report highlights that in high poverty community, there are several external factors which
interferes the ability of the students to go to school and enhance their learning. Therefore, it is
important that these students are provided with extra and individualized support to the students. In
the present, the schools in the USA are established in such a manner that they provide support only
to 15% of the students of the country. However, in high poverty communities, 50% of the students
require support in various forms, namely, academic support, or support in social or emotional
setting.
The issue of the dropout crisis in the country. It is a major issue as the dropouts face very bleak
economic and social prospects in the future. In comparison to the graduates, they are less likely to
be poor and suffer from health issues. In future, they are likely to become dependent on the public
welfare, engage in crime and increase the social cost by taxpayers.
Target Audience
The target audience of the present marketing campaign is the students which is the primary
target audience of the marketing campaign. Other than that, the parents of these students are the
secondary target market for the marketing campaign. In the social marketing campaign, the
organization will try to educate the parents fo the children belonging to the lower-middle class
students. The marketimg campaigm will be specifically designed for the young parents of these
children so that they realize the importance of educatin. In childhood, the biggest influence is that of
the parents; therefore, it is important that the marketing campaign is dedicated to educate the
parents that education has an extreme importanace in the lives of children. There will also be the
target audience of teachers. It is important that the teachers realize the importance of education in
the future lives of the children. In the class, they should discuss the importance of education with
the children. They are an integral part of thee childhood of a person. Therefore, the teachers are
acknowledged as an important target audience in this marketing campaign (Brennan, & Binney,
2010).
Behavioural Objectives and Goals
It is important to set some goals and targets while developing marketing plan. The goals
helps to identify the aim of the marketing plan. It is also important to monitor and evaluate the
efficacy of the marketing plan. In the present, following objecitves have been designed for the
marketing plan. The use of SMART framework has been used to design the objectives of the
marketing plan.
 To raise the awareness of the people regarding the importance of education

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 To decrease the dropout rate of the students by 5% in six months
 To encourage the students to enrol in the higher education system
Barriers, Benefits and Competition
There will be several barriers in the implementation of the marketing campaign. The biggest
barrier in the designing of the social marketing campaign is the designing process. The marketing
plan should appeal to diversified target audience. It sohlud equally appeal to the students, teavher
and parents of the children at lower quadrent of income. Therefore, the designing and the content
of the marketing plan should be carefully chosen for the marketing of the advertisement. Another
significant barrier is that to create awarenesss of the social marketing campaign amidst numerous
other markting plans. It can be critiqued that at present, several other organizations are operating
similar campaigns; thereofore, it is difficult to design a specific campaign which cancreate a
distinguished place in the mind of the custmoers (Whit, & Peloza, 2013, May). Another major
challenge is the financial constraints in the development of the marketing campaign. The monetary
gain from the social marketing is very minimal; as a result, it is quite difficult to find fundings for such
advertising campaigns.
Positioning Statement
In the development of marekitng campaign, there are three significant steps, namely, the
segmentation, target market determination and positioning. The positioning is the process of placing
the product or the services in the mind of the customers. It influences the perception of the
customers towards the organization. The positioning is an importan step in the marketing process as
it influences the marketing mix and overall efficacy of the marketing campaign. The positioning
statement of the marketing campaign can be stated as,
“ Brighten your Future with the Education”
Education bringsforth talent of the child. It also helps a child in realizing self-worth and makes him
proficient to survive in the difficult world. Education helps a child not only to win bread and butter but
also develops his knowledge and wisdom which supports him in leading the future life successfully
(Hastings & Domegan,2013)
Development of 4Ps
The 4Ps are one of the most popular concept of the marketing. They are integral in the
development o the marketing plan of any product or service. In a cmobines manner, the 4Ps of the
markwting plan is called marketing mix. The marketing mix is the offering of sn organization to the
customers. It is the combination if several aspects related to the product. They are essential aspects
of the product and the customers evaluate these aspects to before buying the product
(Reichert,Heckler, & Jackson, 2001). In the marketing mix, 4Ps stand for product, price, promotion
and plaace. In this section, the marketing mox of the organization has been developed.
Product: The product of the marketing campaihn will be education provided to the students. The
marketing campaign will promote the subsidized education provided by the government to the

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young adult students. It will draw the attention towards different several different benefits of
education. It will also highlight the importance education in several different aspects of life of the
students (Lennon, R., Rentfro & O'Leary, 2010).
Price: The present campaign will bring the attention towards subsidized education. Therefore, the
price of the service will be very low.
Promotion: In the promotion, different themes will be used together so that the maximum impact
can be made on the customers. The importance will be given to the broadcast media as it is
commonly used by the identified target market segment. The promotional capmaigns will be
broadcasted to television as well as newspapers. In addition to it, the organization will also use social
meda campaign strategy. The importance of education will be highlighted with the help of social
media as these communication meiums are popularly used by the students. The use of different
themes such as animation and the use of vibrant colors will be used in the marketing campaign. It
will enhance the attractivesness of the campaign and engage more people with it. In the social
marketing campaign, it is important that the organization should focus on giving a clear message to
the audience (Lefebvre, 2013).
Place: The distribution strategy of the organization will comprise of the broadcasting of ther medua
campaign in the television. Other than that, the voliunteers will also be encouragesd to organize
plays and other such events in schools. These cultural programs should highlight the importance of
edication for young children. The choice of organizing plays in school is appropairate as it will
increase the access to million of students.
Plan for Monitoring and Evaluation
The plan will be monitored according to the goals and objectives dcided at the first place in
before the development of the marketing plan. The plan will be considered if there is decline in the
voluntary dropout of the student by 5% at the end of six months. It can be evaluated that evaluation
can be conducted with the help of survey. After the commencement of the marketing plan, it is
important that the organization conducts a survey with the teachers to analyse if the marketing plan
is appropriate. Moreover, it is also important that the feedback of the teavghers is utilized to
improve the marketing plan of the education (Serrat, 2017).
Budget and Funding
The budget for the present marketing campaign has been determined as 20,000 USD. It will
cover the cost of designing, creativity, animation and the laiunch of the broadcast media. Other than
that, the organization will also try to create plays in school within the same budget. The social media
promotional strategy will be utilized due to its low cost (Carins & Rundle-Thiele, 2014).
Implementation Plan
The marketing campaign will comprise of various implementation methods. The timeline for
the development and the lauh of the marketing plan has been determined as six months. In the first
two months, the designing, development and testing of the campaign will be conducted. In the next
two months, the marketing campaign will be launched. Appropriate changes will be made in the

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marketing plan according to the feedback of the cutomers. In the next two months, the product will
be sold to different customers.