M matters: What's social marketing and media got to do with it?

For years now, social change leaders have applied marketing principles to move and motivate their target audiences to change attitudes and ultimately and ideally behavior. By making the consumer the focus of the program, understanding the benefits and barriers for participating, and engaging in the marketing mix of product, price, promotion, and place, social marketers have been successful in applying this framework to clinical trial recruitment. A comprehensive recruitment plan will address the goal, objective,target, strategy, tactics, and evaluation that center around tested messages, disseminated through a host of communications channels including media and the "new" news media. The heart of social marketing, whether a public engagement campaign or a clinical trial recruitment effort, is always about them, not about you. Keeping focused on the target audience, their desires and concerns and channeling compelling messages through creative, motivating ways to engage them will help ensure a successful effort.