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From the 4Ps to COM-SM: reconfiguring the social marketing mix

Alan Tapp (University of the West of England, Bristol, UK)
Fiona Spotswood (Bristol Social Marketing Centre, The University of the West of England, Bristol, UK)

Journal of Social Marketing

ISSN: 2042-6763

Article publication date: 7 October 2013

12920

Abstract

Purpose

In this paper, the authors aim to contend that the 4Ps of social marketing have been stretched beyond breaking point. Originally designed for social marketing mixes that contained products and prices, the social marketing 4Ps are no longer fit for purpose in an age where social marketing interventions are so wide ranging. There is an urgent need for a replacement – a model that helps social marketers with the process of choosing an appropriate intervention design to fit the particular behaviour change problem faced. Here, the authors propose a model, the COM-SM framework, that connects social marketing programme types with the “capability, opportunity, motivation” model of behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

This article is based on critical review of the efficacy of the 4Ps model in helping managers design social marketing programmes, followed by the conceptual development of an alternative.

Findings

Using some typical scenarios, it is contended that the COM-SM model better enables the marketer to adapt their designs to fit the behavioural challenges that they face.

Originality/value

The COM-SM model reworks the association between behaviour change insights and the social marketing mix, proposing a new way of designing social marketing interventions.

Keywords

Citation

Tapp, A. and Spotswood, F. (2013), "From the 4Ps to COM-SM: reconfiguring the social marketing mix", Journal of Social Marketing, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 206-222. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSOCM-01-2013-0011

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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