The History of Social Marketing in Europe

Abstract

This article presents the ways in which social marketing has been used in Europe, the contribution it has made to tackling major health issues, and the challenges it has faced. The extent to which social marketing is used varies greatly across Europe, although the past decade has seen a rise in EU-wide funded Social Marketing Programs. Despite the inconsistent and rather sporadic use of social marketing in Europe, some of the European aid organizations continue to fund numerous social marketing programs in developing countries. The European social marketing community need to continue to work together to promote its value and gain continued political buy-in for the discipline.