North Star Resource Group
Social Marketing Applied to Public Health
Hannah Deutschlander
Background
For my independent project, I had completed a year-long internship beginning in May of 2019, at North Star Resource Group in their marketing department focusing on marketing strategies as ways of promotion and tailoring to the needs of specific markets. As public and privately owned businesses use marketing tactics to grow their profits, social marketing is aiding the public health realm by creating programs, campaigns, or initiatives that promote health for all (Grier and Bryant, 2005). Social marketing targets behavioral factors that may contribute to a person's overall health status. The goal of social marketing in public health is to encourage voluntary behavioral changes to a target audience to benefit those individuals or groups (CDC). Social marketers may focus on a specific behavior that this target audience may share to better grapple with a health disparity that may need a program to implement beneficial change for this group (such as campaigns to end teen smoking, etc.). From a public health perspective, the tools and use of social marketing can create change in health practices for a specific group without the need for medical intervention and therefore create a voluntary practice of positive health applications.
About North Star Resource Group
North Star Resource Group (NSRG) is an independent financial advising firm with branches located throughout the United States, and headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. The objective of the company is to provide financial security and achieve financial goals for its clientele. With over 340 financial professionals working at NSRG, clients have the option to find an advisor that meets their specific financial needs and geographical location (North Star Resource Group, 2021). Many of the financial advisors that used the NSRG marketing department’s resources, work directly with medical professionals (physicians, dentists, and veterinarians) in addition to families and business owners.
My Role as a Marketing Intern
Throughout the internship, I was constantly learning how specific language, visuals, and formats can change narratives and ways in which a person may tell a story to try and promote a product/service. Not only was I helping in creating print and digital visuals for colleagues, but I was generating bi-weekly newsletters that were to be distributed to employees of the company nationwide. By sending out these newsletters, I was able to see how the community and culture of the company was able to be represented while still being able to provide informational sections to promote events and activities that may be occurring around the numerous NSRG offices. A major project I had worked on was creating marketing materials (such as PowerPoints and hand held programs) to be used and shared during our company wide meeting that took place in Summer 2019 in Minneapolis. By being in a professional setting, I found myself better able to communicate and to see how marketing can be applied to all different types of organizations and occupations to better aid and assist with promotional strategies. Overall, NSRG has taught me valuable skills between marketing and communication to use and apply to future employment opportunities whether it involves finance or even into the realm of public health.
Takeaways
From my internship experience and education in Community and Global Health, I was able to uncover how social marketing can be applicable to not only business settings, but also in public health. In addition, I had discovered the importance of marketing as a medium to achieve outcomes that are desired by organizations that may not necessarily be accomplished without using marketing methods and materials. Although my internship was not directly related to public health, I found marketing as an instrument applicable to health related fields and to be used in public health industries to try and promote better health for all. By using my education in the CGH concentration, it has taught me to view health in a different lens other than just a biological/individual factor, but something that is on behavioral, societal, and structural level. With social marketing the public health sector can advertise and promote change to each of these levels to try and combat good health for all - rather than just rely on treating an ailment or condition at a biological level. It is important to promote good health practices that can be done at a behavioral level with social marketing in public health.
References
Grier, S., & Bryant, C. A. (2005). Social Marketing in public health. Annual Review of Public Health, 26(1), 319–339. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.26.021304.144610
Our company: North Star Resource Group. North Star Resource Group | North Star Resource Group. (2021, July 8). Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://www.northstarfinancial.com/company/
Strategy 8. Social Marketing. Center for Disease Control. CDC. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/pdf/strategy8-social-marketing.pdf
Hannah Deutschlander
My name is Hannah (she/her) and I am a graduating senior with a degree in Anthropology with a concentration in Community and Global Health. I am originally from Carver, Minnesota but currently reside off campus in Saint Paul, Minnesota. After graduation I plan on moving to Austin, Texas to be closer to family and pursue career opportunities.