Extension Behavior Change: Introduction to Social Marketing Principles for Extension

Presenters: Laura Warner, Lisa Krimsky, and Laurie Albrecht

Social marketing is a research-based approach to bringing about behavior change that benefits the community and the individual. It is proven to be effective in a number of fields but is underutilized by Extension. In many cases, social marketing could help participants take the final step toward adopting best practices informed by emerging research (i.e., healthy lifestyle measures, water conservation techniques).

This training presents social marketing as an approach to creating behavior change in Extension programming. The speakers will present participants with an overview of this approach, followed by a discussion of the role of this strategy within the Extension system. Tools from the "social marketing toolbox" will be discussed, and examples from real UF/IFAS social marketing projects will be shared. Participants will also play a role in planning for future trainings on this topic.