Social advocacy : Extending post intervention effectiveness

Social Marketing literature offers limited information on advocacy and how advocacy can support lasting behaviour change. Commercial marketing benefits from brand advocates who recruit and promote in the interest of the commercial entity (McConnell & Huba, 2007). This research will attempt to examine the benefits of advocates to develop a guiding framework that can be applied in social marketing, extending the Prochaska & Norcross (2001) Stages of Change Model. It is thought that supporting and further enabling advocates will influence an approach-avoidance relationship (Schmitt, 2019) assisting potential recruits to avoid negative behaviours. There are four proposed research questions; RQ1: How does Social Marketing identify an advocate; RQ2: What are the steps in becoming an advocate?; RQ3: What strategies can create social advocates?; and RQ4 How do advocates influence change?

To answer the proposed research questions three case studies will be analysed in different social contexts (health, environment, and financial) to assist in building a social advocacy framework. The initial stage will utilise the case study methodology (Yin, 2014), including surveys, and phenomenological interviews. Information gathered will lay the foundations to develop a social advocacy framework which will then be empirically tested within an intervention.