Social marketing strategies to fight corruption

It is widely accepted that one of the most critical elements of a country's anti-corruption programe is the involvement of civil society but there is less agreement on how such involvement can be encouraged. Social marketing can make an important contribution to the creation of an atmosphere in public life that discourages fraud and corruption. Drawing on lessons from the use of social marketing in public health campaigns (e.g., to reduce smoking and alcoholism, to encourage safe sex and to encourage physical fitness), environmental campaigns (e.g. to promote recycling), education campaigns (to encourage literacy), and the protection of individual/group rights (e.g. racial and gender equality, gay and lesbian rights), this paper argues that social marketing can also make an important contribution to the creation of an atmosphere in public life that discourages fraud and corruption. It can do so by: raising awareness about the costs of corruption to a country; mainstreaming a concern about corruption within national institutions; and increasing the understanding of causal factors of corruption amongst the public and influencing behavior.