Introduction

A full, clear problem description and analysis will help you decide whether to undertake a social marketing effort. If you do, the problem description will help you keep your main goal in mind.

In this Phase, you will:

• state your health or safety problem and the groups it affects
• identify the major causes of the problem
• draft a list of possible audiences for your program
• learn about previous efforts to address the problem
• form a strategy team
• identify issues and aspects of your situation that could affect the program’s success

You will rely on existing statistics and easy-to-find literature during this phase. If they leave some problem description or analysis gaps, you will fill them in with findings from the market research that you will conduct in Phase 2.