Background: Evidence indicates behavior change is more likely when more social marketing benchmark principles are applied. Yet, transparent and clear reporting of the application of benchmarks to change behavior is rare. Focus of the Article: The aims of this study were (1) to verify the efficacy of social marketing in reducing food waste and (2) to enumerate and critique the practicality of applying social marketing benchmark criteria. Research Question: To address the research aims, two research questions were proposed: (1) Can a social marketing program designed with consumers reduce household food waste behavior? and (2) How are social marketing benchmarks applied to reduce food waste? Program Design/Approach: A consumer-insight driven social marketing program Waste Not Want Not (WNWN) was designed following the social marketing process and delivered to local Redland City Council residents located within the pilot area. This article reports a process and outcome evaluation for the pilot study and a critical evaluation of benchmark criteria application. Importance to the Social Marketing Field: This article demonstrates social marketing’s efficacy to reduce food waste behavior in households, and it critically evaluates application of benchmark criteria to assist future research and practice. Methods: In total, 314 local council area residents were randomly allocated into either a program (n = 110) or control group (n = 204). The program group received intervention materials and invitations to attend the 2-week program activities held in a local shopping center. Control group participants received nothing. The extent of social marketing benchmark application was examined for the WNWN program. Results: Outcome evaluation indicated that the pilot study reduced self-reported household food waste and increased perceived level of self-efficacy in cooking for the program group, but not the control group. WNWN successfully applied five of the eight social marketing benchmark criteria, namely, consumer orientation, insight, competition, marketing mix, and behavior change. Recommendations for Research or Practice: Given that use of more benchmarks increases the likelihood of behavior change, future research must advocate for complete application of the eight major social marketing benchmark criteria in program design. Clear operational definitions are required to improve practice and behavioral change outcomes. Limitations: Study 1 focused on individual feedback and self-reported data minimizing the possibility of generalization. Future research could employ observational methods and involve a wider array of stakeholders to increase generalizability.

中文翻译：

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一项实证研究的结果评估：食物浪费社会营销试验

背景：有证据表明，当应用更多的社会营销基准原则时，行为改变的可能性更大。但是，很少有透明，清晰的基准报告用于更改行为。文章重点：这项研究的目的是（1）验证社会营销在减少食物浪费方面的功效，以及（2）列举和批评应用社会营销基准标准的实用性。研究问题：为了解决研究目的，提出了两个研究问题：（1）可以设计一种由消费者设计的社会营销计划来减少家庭食物浪费行为吗？（2）如何应用社会营销基准来减少食物浪费？程序设计/方法：在社会营销过程之后，设计了一个以消费者为导向的社会营销计划，即“垃圾不要”（WNWN NOT）（WNWN），并将其交付给位于试点地区的当地Redland City Council居民。本文报告了该试验研究的过程和结果评估，以及对基准标准应用的关键评估。对社会营销领域的重要性：本文证明了社会营销在减少家庭食物浪费行为方面的功效，并严格评估了基准标准的应用以协助未来的研究和实践。方法：总共将314个地方议会地区居民随机分配到一个程序（n = 110）或对照组（n = 204）中。计划小组收到了干预材料和邀请，参加了在当地购物中心举行的为期2周的计划活动。对照组参与者什么也没收到。WNWN计划检查了社会营销基准应用的范围。结果：结果评估表明，该计划研究组（而非对照组）减少了自我报告的家庭食物浪费，并提高了烹饪中的自我效能感。WNWN成功应用了八项社会营销基准标准中的五项，即面向消费者，洞察力，竞争，营销组合和行为改变。研究或实践建议：鉴于使用更多基准会增加行为改变的可能性，未来的研究必须提倡在程序设计中完全应用八种主要的社会营销基准标准。需要明确的操作定义以改善实践和行为改变的结果。局限性：研究1专注于个体反馈和自我报告的数据，从而最大程度地减少了泛化的可能性。未来的研究可能会采用观察性方法，并需要更多的利益相关者参与，以提高普遍性。