Interview: Julie Huibregtsen
12th August 2016
In our latest interview we had the time to catch-up with experienced Social Marketing practitioner, champion and trainer, Julie Huibregtsen.
“As a member of the ESMC 2016 organising committee, what are you personally looking forward to at the conference?”
I’m looking forward to meeting my Nordic colleagues and hear how they’re setting up Social Marketing, how they face the challenges by doing that! And always very nice hearing new examples, especially in ‘new’ area’s like safety and immigration issues. And looking forward meeting new inspired young social marketers at the workshop!
“As an experienced consultant and practitioner, what three small pieces of advice would you give to someone who is starting or devising a behaviour change programme?”
- Always involve the management in whatever workshop or training you’re organising in a company. That way the chance you will be really applying Social marketing afterwards is much bigger.
- Make true curiosity your most valuable asset. Appreciate this truly as a professional skill. Listen to and observe your target audience with boundless interest, leaving your own judgement
- Never practice social marketing as a lone wolf, always involve as many people as possible right from the very beginning (colleagues, communication, researchers, external partners). It’s already valuable if a group of people brainstorm with your team a couple of hours every month. This way you avoid blind spots and profit from their creativity and open minds! And as a side-effect, more people in your organisation experience and start to understand the power of social marketing.
“What in your opinion, was the best SM campaign or programme in Europe in 2015?”
A very interesting case is “Tap it up” . This is a sustainability project developed by students from Lugano University (Switzerland). It addresses the issue of consumption of PET-bottled water. The project’s focus is on promoting the consumption of tap water by reducing PET waste, making tap water more accessible.
Their strategy is to bring about a behavioural change to be more environmentally and economically sustainable. This project is currently implemented at the university campus. Through the installation of water dispensers on campus and the availability of sustainable bottles, they aim to decrease the purchase of PET water bottles and thus decrease environmental impact. It’s a very well performed Social marketing project, done by students themselves, and a interesting case addressing an environmental issue.