Can Marketing Change Social Behavior?

Most marketing efforts are aimed at motivation: causing a change in behavior or attitude with a purpose in mind.  Often, the purpose is to persuade someone to buy a product or service.  Or, change their opinion about an issue or a political candidate. 

Should the tools of marketing be used to engineer social behavior?  It's been done.  Mothers Against Drunk Driving successfully changed attitudes about driving under the influence.  There are so many other social issues out there that, similarly, might be addressed by using proven marketing methods.

In Hawaii, we have a serious issue of people ignoring warning signs about ocean safety.  Very often they run into trouble and, too often, they die. The state has tried to address the issue rationally with

signs and public service messages in traditional media lie brochures.  Those efforts haven't seemed to have helped.  Here's a picture of a visiting couple who climbed over a wall to walk down to a very dangerous spot where more than half a dozen people have died in recent years. And they climbed over the wall right beside a warning sign. 

Could marketers come up with a more effective program to discourage behavior like this.  I don't have an answer, but I would like to convene some very smart marketers to consider it.