MILANO, THE NEW SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, MANAGEMENT & URBAN POLICY

Course Overview: Marketing Social Good

Instructor: Bonnie McEwan, mcewanb@newschool.edu ! Spring 2013

The original goal of marketing was to increase consumption, usually of products and services but occasionally of ideas. Today, as the consumer society is ever more global in scope and multicultural in nature, unbridled consumption is no longer sustainable, nor can it be assumed to increase personal well-being.

In some areas of the world increased consumption of food, health care, housing and other core products and services still confers benefits. However, in the more developed nations copious consumption has led to diseases such as cancer and diabetes, pollution of land, air and water, depletion of natural resources and a host of negative impacts on myriad cultures and species. It’s time to rethink marketing’s purpose and apply its theory and practice to promoting social goods, loosely defined as products, services, behaviors and ideas that are sustainable and contribute to the general well-being of people and the planet.

This course examines various ways that a range of organizations -- government agencies, nonprofits and NGOs, social ventures and profit-making enterprises -- can analyze markets and apply tested marketing principles to promote social goods and effectively impact consumer behaviors. Through readings, class discussions, a hands-on course project and case studies of both success and failure, students in this course will achieve the following objectives:

1) Acquire a basic understanding of social marketing principles, consumption theory and the role that various media play in influencing customer behavior.

2) Gain practical experience in applying social marketing practices to organizations focusing on arts & culture, the environment, health & medicine, international development, leadership or public policy.

3) Participate in a marketing research project, such as a focus group, mystery shopper trip or field observation.

4) Complete a team project to research, analyze and write an assessment of the marketing landscape for a particular issue or organization. This ‘landscape assessment’ will provide students with a work product suitable for inclusion in a professional portfolio.