Post-COVID-19 social marketing strategy: Reorienting production, consumption, and consumer behaviour

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is almost over, but its economic and business consequences will continue to be felt for years. There were already warnings of the need for an increased role of social marketing due to environmental and human health concerns. Still, experience from the pandemic has made it mandatory in many sectors. Faced with the consequences of the pandemic, many changes are being witnessed in the post-pandemic era in production, consumption, and consumer behaviour that this paper will explore. By reviewing the literature, the prospects, and challenges of social marketing in the post-COVID-19 era are examined, observing recent global trends. A systematic review of qualitative and quantitative evidence was done by browsing scientific papers and relevant literature. Findings suggest that social marketing is experiencing a reverse trend, which implies that reorienting production, consumption, and consumer behaviour is not happening as many would have expected in the post-COVID-19 period. According to the United Nations (UN) World Economic Situation and Prospects Report, the prospects for a robust global economic recovery remain dim due to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which include persistent inflation, rising interest rates, and heightened uncertainties (UN News, 2023). The contribution of this paper is the findings and conclusions of policy measures in social marketing that are more reorienting in the long run than simply adopted in the short run.