Dr Fourali, senior lecturer for Business Management and Marketing BA, discusses working on the very first international encyclopaedia for the developing discipline of social marketing
Date: 11 July 2019
Over the last decade or so, social marketing (SM) has matured into a serious discipline gaining many advocates around the world. Its supporters range from academics to practitioners and other broader social workers who have become convinced about its effectiveness as a tool to make our world a better place.
This significant development of SM coupled, with its multidisciplinary nature, underlines the urgent need for a reliable and comprehensive source of advice for all concerned. This does not only include the expert academics, but also the increasing ‘army’ of practitioners who want to improve our society, tackling various social problems such as addiction, obesity, mental health and domestic violence.
In the light of such developments and resulting need, the creation of the Palgrave Encyclopaedia of Social Marketing became a natural outcome.
I assumed this responsibility a few weeks ago after a long period of consultation about the purpose and the benefits of the encyclopaedia. It was a very informative experience that encouraged me, and the team involved, to not only think in terms of academic and practical relevance, but also in terms of making the project worthwhile for the publisher to invest in.
I was fortunate to gain the kind support of several world authorities in the field, such as Professor Jeff French, who realised the importance of the project straightaway and were key to the success of this initiative.
The future of the encyclopaedia
This will be an ongoing project, with the encyclopaedia being continuously updated with new contributions that take into account the latest advances in the field. Accordingly, it should not only generate opportunities for bringing together the work of experts to help develop the field, but will also represent a valuable reference for best practice.
I hope the encyclopaedia will become a great source for good. It would be a great privilege if the work becomes the driver for raising awareness of this very humanitarian discipline and the creation of better skilled social marketers. This would lead to more effective project outcomes that maximise the benefits to the communities being served.
We have sown the seed of this potentially very promising project and hope that it will eventually produce many fruits, having now started putting together a team of expert support editors to help make this a reality.
