What Causes Social Marketing Programs to Fail? A Qualitative Study

Background: This paper addresses the key factors that cause social marketing programs (typically consisting of discrete or interventions, but also including broader-scale initiatives) to fail. It argues understanding these failures offers greater insight researchers and practitioners than publications solely focused on successes. Focus: Our discusses causes failure programs, an area has largely been ignored in extant research. Research Question: What fail? Importance: As majority practitioner-oriented research focuses how develop a successful program, we identify tendency ignore failed programs. We suggest both can arguably learn more useful lessons from rather Thus, this contributes literature by exploring failures. Methods: conducted ten semi-structured interviews with recruited using purposive sampling technique. Results: four elements responsible for each centered planning implementation stage. Firstly, formative at earliest stages program is often neglected, resulting limited target audience. Relatedly, frequently overlooked during early stage, use available theory frameworks result performing poorly. Thirdly, be successful, it must congruent goals wider environment infrastructure within which situated; adopting too narrow focus impact failure. Lastly, found common issue relating stakeholder mismanagement, specifically around issues power imbalance mismanaged expectations failing launch. Researchers acknowledge do indeed fail recognize failings lies into enhance future practice. Recommendations: attention required design stage audience detail. drawing upon inform development demonstrate implementing changes designs would reduce chance Further, systems-level approach critical additionally benefit outcomes. Limitations: A relatively small sample size could considered limitation study. Similarly, our practitioner insights may limit scope findings. Future advance current findings incorporating views broader range stakeholders, themselves. consider integrating analysis process encourage reflection improve