Going Beyond Downstream Social Marketing: The Case of “Jamie’s Food Revolution”

Abstract

Until the mid-1990s, much of the focus in social marketing was on individual behaviour change, the so-called downstream social marketing. In recent years, scholars have proposed a broadening of social marketing’s horizons beyond the individual to attempt to influence those that help shape the determinants of human behaviour, namely, the structural and immediate social environment. This broadening highlights the necessity to go upper stream in search of the causes of social problems (upstream social marketing).

This case study addresses how a more comprehensive social marketing approach can be applied. To do that, “Jamie’s Food Revolution” campaign is analysed. This campaign looks for engaging different agents in an attempt to take into account their role in the change and push governments to improve their food and nutrition policies. This campaign offers us a good example for examining the potential of an upper stream social marketing approach to address a social problem.