GOLI KE HAMJOLI’ (FRIENDS OF THE PILL)- AN INTEGRATED SOCIAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN

Social marketing is gaining prominence in developing nations like India. The caselet discusses a social marketing initiative – ‘Goli ke Hamjoli’ (Friends of the Pill) – launched by Commercial Market Strategies (CMS) under the USAID funded Program for Advancement of Commercial Technologies (PACT) – Child Reproductive Health (CRH), to promote oral contraceptives (OC). The caselet examines the reasons behind the launch of such a campaign. The promotional strategy adapted by CMS and the communication elements associated with this integrated marketing communication campaign is also discussed. Finally the caselet elaborates on the outcomes of this campaign.
Issues:
» Promoting International health programs in developing nations

» Social marketing and its significance in India

» Integrated marketing communications and its application in social marketing

» Challenges in implementing social marketing campaigns in developing nations
Introduction

Marketing communications campaigns are not just being used by corporate organizations to promote commercial products, but are also being used extensively by governments, health organizations, and non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) as a means of ‘social communication’ for various purposes. Health communication initiatives constitute a major share of such social communications. Health communications once used to be mere public notices. Now they are changing into innovative multidimensional campaigns that are classified as ‘social marketing’. There are various examples of such social marketing initiatives including the Pulse polio immunization campaign, HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns, etc.

Questions for Discussion:
Discuss the various communication elements used by CMS for its integrated ‘Goli ke Hamjoli’ campaign in India.
Social marketing campaigns are not similar to commercial marketing communication campaigns in many ways. Briefly describe some of the distinct elements in both these forms of communication.