Introduction
The global Black Lives Matter movement prompted a growing interest in Indigenous peoples' knowledges, perspectives, and experiences in social marketing (Forrest & Raciti, 2022). Indeed, this is inspiring, sparking a welcomed uplift in allyship and action from individuals, organisations, institutions, and governments alike. While much social marketing work involves Indigenous peoples, these endeavours are not finding their way into the social marketing literature (see Kubacki and Szablewska, 2019; Madill et al., 2014). Indigenous studies that make their way into social marketing literature typically pre-date #BLM, focus on downstream programs, use a limited range of theories, and rarely recognise the power dynamics that impact their effectiveness (George, 2020). The dearth of Indigenous social marketing literature is at odds with the broader business and social sciences literature, where Indigenous research that speaks to social justice and other core social marketing principles is more common (e.g., Ackbar and Sharp, 2023; Cooms et al., 2024; Eva et al., 2023; Love & Hall, 2022; Manganda et al., 2023; Salmon et al., 2024). Hence, this special issue seeks to showcase social marketing research and practice that centre Indigenous peoples’ knowledges, perspectives and experiences.
As this special issue is the first on Indigenous peoples in the Journal of Social Marketing, the Australian Aboriginal guest editors wish to ‘cast a wide net’ and invite empirical and conceptual scholarly articles, case studies, and viewpoints that highlight the diverse ways in which Indigenous peoples are involved in social marketing. Importantly, the guest editors seek strengths-based articles that amplify Indigenous peoples' voices, resilience, ingenuity, and self-determination worldwide. All methodologies and both “insider” and “outsider” perspectives are welcome. Furthermore, the guest authors adopt Raciti’s (2023) recommendations with a) all authors to position themselves in their articles, making clear to readers if they are Indigenous or non-Indigenous, and b) in accordance with the “nothing about Indigenous people without Indigenous people” principal, have a preference for articles that include Indigenous authors and/or acknowledge Indigenous contributors.
References
List of topic areas
- Co-design and participatory research: Examining the processes and outcomes of social marketing campaigns developed in collaboration with Indigenous communities. How are Indigenous voices integrated into the planning, implementation, and evaluation stages of these initiatives?
- Cultural Appropriateness and Sensitivity: Exploring the importance of cultural relevance and sensitivity in social marketing efforts targeted at Indigenous populations. How can social marketers ensure their campaigns respect and reflect Indigenous values, traditions, and languages?
- Traditional Knowledges, Perspectives and Innovation: Investigating the role of Indigenous knowledge systems in informing social marketing strategies. How can traditional practices and wisdom be leveraged to address contemporary social issues and promote positive behaviour change?
- Self-determination and Agency: Analysing the impact of social marketing initiatives on Indigenous individuals and communities' self-determination and agency. How do these initiatives contribute to empowerment, capacity-building, and resilience?
- Ethical Considerations and Challenges: Reflecting on the ethical aspects of engaging Indigenous peoples in social marketing endeavours. What are the best practices for ensuring these initiatives are conducted ethically and responsibly?
- 'All teach, all learn' approach: What theories help frame Indigenous social marketing initiatives and contribute to program success?
Submissions Information
Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available here.
Author guidelines must be strictly followed.
Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to "Please select the issue you are submitting to".
Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.
Key deadlines
Closing date for abstract submissions: 2nd November, 2024
Email for submissions: [email protected]
Opening date for manuscripts submissions: 2nd September, 2024
Closing date for manuscripts submission: 30th April, 2025