Just got back from Brighton where the first 'World Social Marketing Conference' was held at the Metropole.
I didn't see much of the sea but the event itself was fascinating for all kinds of reasons.
First of all, I met and spoke with Philip Kotler. I have to get this fact out of the way because my colleagues are all ribbing me about this. Whatever you think of the guy I can assure you he seems nice enough - even when I started telling him about my research. He stayed awake anyway.
There's no doubt that social marketing is a large and growing sector.
It's an area Nick and I are realising (slowly I know) that we are working in more often than not.
To present marketing - in our writing, consultancy or teaching - as just commercial, profit-focused is not only undesirable, it's inaccurate.
In Marketing & PR we made sure we discussed how small businesses and nonprofits could benefit from clear marketing thinking. In the forthcoming Virtually Free we likewise apply sound marketing principles to all kinds of organisations.
In any case, very few business people rush to work simply to make money.
We know that, for many of us, money is a 'hygiene factor' [it's a kind of minimum requirement] but it's not a motivator. Of course as you take hygiene factors away you can start to 'disincentivise' work. As you build up motivators, you get more and more committed and industrious.
The World Social Marketing Conference was packed with highly motivated people, marketers, from agencies, nonprofits, universities and other, hybrid, organisations.
I came away enthused. Eager to do more with the knowledge we have at PWOTG.
