Reviewing research evidence for social marketing: Systematic literature reviews

Systematic literature reviews are among the most popular methods in social research. Within the social marketing field, systematic literature reviews have been conducted to document program effectiveness, examine current strategies and practices, and assess the academic landscape of the discipline. This chapter applies the systematic literature review method to examine the use of formative research in social marketing health interventions. A systematic search strategy was conducted which identified 166 self-labelled social marketing health interventions reported in 242 refereed journal articles. Nutrition was the most popular topic, followed by alcohol prevention, HIV/AIDS, and physical activity. A majority of these interventions reported conducting some form of formative research activities to understand the target audience’s characteristics, attitudes, behaviours, and preferred communication channels. Theory and model use was not always reported. Qualitative methods were employed in nearly half of the identified interventions. Relatively limited stakeholder participation in formative research activities was found, particularly of policy makers. Study limitations are discussed and implications for further research indicated.