At the Center for Marketing and Social Issues, we conduct research, training, and service projects that address social issues through the application of marketing principles and techniques. Based in the Department of Marketing, College of Business, much of our research focuses on using social marketing to prevent harmful behaviors such as substance use and violence, and to promote positive behaviors and norms.

We also investigate the impact of advertising restrictions on tobacco, as well as the most effective strategies to counter-advertise tobacco to a diverse youth audience. We have an active outreach program where we offer training for health professionals and others involved in social issues to use social marketing to improve the success of their programs.

With declining public and private funding, prevention workers often look to social marketing as a way to help position their products and services as valuable to their communities. Rural and ethnic communities may face additional challenges in preventing substance use and often lack access to health care and other resources for prevention. Prevention programs aimed at ethnic minorities must take account different beliefs, values and language needs.

The Center for Marketing and Social Issues tries to tackle intransigent social issues with the power of marketing, and has an active partnership with the Tri-Ethnic Center for Prevention Research to use marketing tools effectively in at-risk populations.

Previous activities of the Center include:

• Social marketing conference to prevent substance abuse in rural and ethnic youth
• Participation in the Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise graduate program in the College of Business
• Workshops for teen-agers to create anti-violence and anti-tobacco campaigns
• Teen communications institute to teach young women to campaign against alcohol, tobacco and drug use.

We welcome your questions about the Center for Marketing and Social Issues. Please contact us at:

Center for Marketing and Social Issues
Department of Marketing
111 Rockwell Hall
Phone (970) 491-5063
Fax (970) 491-5956