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The value of social marketing must ultimately depend on its ability to provide unique and practical assistance to those involved in “furthering social causes.” This article discusses what is unique about social marketing and then assesses its contribution in one specific area: health education.

There has been a long debate about whether there is a link between tobacco advertising and children′s smoking. Reviews the evidence for such a link drawing on a wide range of academic research that has adopted three approaches to the problem: studies of consumer response; studies using econometric methods; and studies of the impact of advertising bans. Preaches the conclusion that, within the inevitable confines of social science research, it is no longer tenable to deny that cigarette advertising does influence children′s smoking.

The purpose of the editorial is to accompany this special issue on “Social marketing: social change”.

The editorial presents three invited reflections by Philip Kotler, Michael Polonsky and Gerard Hastings. It also discusses the articles in this special issue.

Overall, the contributed papers demonstrate that there are many layers to social marketing.

The articles featured in this special issue help to advance social marketing theory as well as offer valuable implications and recommendations for managers, practitioners and policymakers.

The debate surrounding tobacco control has become increasingly polarised as the health and tobacco lobbies seek to influence tobacco policy. In recent times the main focus for debate has been the impact of tobacco advertising on under‐age smoking. However, with the proposed ban on tobacco advertising, this paper argues that branding may prove pivotal to re‐orienting thinking about how tobacco marketing continues to influence smoking initiation. Marketing theory asserts that creating demand for a product is dependent upon building a strong brand identity that concurs with the needs, values and lifestyles of the consumer. It is hypothesised that branding can function by affecting not only the way people perceive specific tobacco products but also their perceptions of smoking behaviour itself. Using branding to extend the debate in this way provides some useful insights into the role tobacco marketing might play in encouraging young people to start smoking. It is concluded that explanations for smoking initiation can be found, not by attempting to isolate the abilities of tobacco marketing and health policy to persuade young people to adopt one behaviour in favour of the other, but by examining how exposure to competing forces such as these during adolescence may conspire to brand smoking in a way that encourages young people to experiment with cigarettes. It is suggested that more significant advances in reducing smoking rates are likely to depend upon a willingness to confront the fundamental contradictions that are created by such competing forces.

In MIP, Vol. 25 No. 1, Mike Saren argued that academic marketers need to move beyond our “traditional managerial and business confines”. This paper aims to suggest that the discipline is already on the move in that direction, and that social marketing is in the vanguard.

Commissioned as a viewpoint, with permission to “think aloud”.

The paper starts by restating the simple premise that marketing's core business is behaviour change. Marketers are highly skilled at understanding people and persuading them to do things, mostly, but not only to buy and consume products and services. Furthermore, one increasingly influences behaviour at the strategic level, addressing stakeholders as well as customers, and recognising the benefits of turning transactions into long‐term relationships. Social marketers are demonstrating that these insights have obvious and invaluable applications far beyond the marketplace.

As researchers, teachers and practitioners, one should recognise the opportunities presented by social marketing, and act on them as appropriate.

A persuasive argument for an authoritative source.

In 2005, the European Union launched a four‐year antismoking television advertising campaign across its 25 Member States. This study aims to evaluate the second and third years (2006 and 2007) of the campaign based on telephone interviews with over 24,000 consumers (smokers, non‐smokers, and ex‐smokers).

The study focuses on smokers and examines the potential for using segmentation and targeting in informing the campaign. Three important factors are used to identify clusters: attitude toward the campaign; comprehension of the campaign; and inclination to think responsibly about their smoking behaviour.

Cluster analyses identify three distinct and significant target groups (message‐involved, message‐indifferent, and message‐distanced) who respond differentially to the advertising. Furthermore, the percentage of respondents within each cluster varies across the EU Member States. Using Schwartz's cultural framework, the cultural dimension of “openness to change versus conservatism” is found to explain substantial cross‐national variation in message‐involved and messaged‐distanced respondents.

Cluster solutions are shown to be stable across the two data waves. Implications of these results are discussed.

This is the first study that seeks to better understand consumer reactions to social‐marketing advertising across different segments of the overall target group.

This paper aims to present the problem of obesity and associated ill health in the UK. It seeks to show how marketing by major companies contributes to this problem.

This paper uses the case study of “Terry” to illustrate the issues involved.

This paper finds that life expectancy is predicted to fall in the UK unless action is taken against the growth of obesity. The marketing of fast foods needs to be curtailed.

Ten pledges are made to “Terry” to improve his health, pledges that can be applied to the whole nation.

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on trends within social marketing after ten years of involvement with the field, including being co-founding editor of this journal.

The paper outlines personal interaction in the development of social marketing and then highlights five “millstones” that are identified as limiting factors.

Social marketing has to be more than just communications, has to be more than a definitional toy, has to break free from the straightjacket of the 4Ps and must reach beyond the well-trodden path of services marketing and be prepared to work with industry.

Observations on the evolution of social marketing through personal experience of engagement with the field.

Shows that adolescent drinking varies considerably between the ages of 12 and 17, with 14 and 15‐year‐olds marking a key group whose members are keen to test their limits with alcohol and drink to intoxication but who do not necessarily enjoy the process of drinking. They dislike the taste of alcohol and the amount which needs to be drunk to reach intoxication. Designer drinks have particular characteristics that meet the needs of this group by minimizing the costs and maximizing the effects of drinking. The brand image of designer drinks matches the perceptions and expectations of 14 and 15‐year‐old drinkers, while 16 and 17‐year‐olds view these drinks as “immature”. Furthermore, consumption of these drinks is linked to heavier drinking. Concludes that these results have implications for health promotion at an individual and environmental level, with a need to educate young people about the hazards of designer drinks, address the semiotic implications of designer drinks and lobby against these drinks.