Date of Conferral

5-30-2025

Date of Award

May 2025

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)

School

Business Administration

Advisor

Jodine Burchell

Abstract

Ineffective use of marketing metrics by social marketers poses a risk of inconsistent and subjective interpretations of campaign success. Social marketing managers and stakeholders are concerned because unreliable metrics hinder their ability to evaluate performance, justify funding, and replicate effective strategies. The purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry, grounded in general systems theory and foundational social marketing literature, was to explore effective strategies that social marketing campaign managers use to implement metrics sufficient to measure successful campaigns. The participants were ten experienced members of the Social Marketing Association of North America, with effective strategies to implement marketing metrics to measure campaign success. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and analysis of current and archival public documents. Thematic analysis revealed six key themes: (a) theoretical and conceptual apathy, (b) poor application of benchmarks and criteria, (c) lack of standardized evaluative methods in the field, (d) integration of practice-based and theoretical constructs to improve strategy, (e) practical strategies for intervention success, and (f) improved awareness of success and failure factors. A key recommendation is for social marketing campaign managers to adopt Andreasen’s benchmarks, implement process metrics, and secure evaluative process funding in the planning stage. The implications for positive social change include the potential for social marketing managers and stakeholders to better design, implement, and evaluate campaigns that lead to more consistent, measurable, and scalable social interventions.

Download

Included in

Marketing Commons

Share

 
COinS