The Dimensions of Religion as Underpinning Constructs for Mass Media Social Marketing Campaigns: An Emerging Concept

The purpose of this review is to consider the underlying concepts and related issues that have been proposed in the literature of the potential relationship to use the dimensions of religion as constructs for mass media social marketing campaigns. The literature appears divided as to whether: (1) an individual’s attitude changes and then their behaviour or (2) behaviour and then attitude, as a result of mass media social marketing campaigns. Whilst the seven dimensions of religion help characterise the constructs and under-pinning themes of religion(s) and their existence in the world today, there does not appear to be a definitive approach to the way we professionally practice, capitalise, use, create or evaluate mass media social marketing campaigns. Whilst both concepts have received and continue to receive growing attention in the literature, further clarification and understanding can only be sought via questions surrounding the emerging concept, which will further assist in distilling the information and possibly provide a new beginning for the study of the concept as well as providing guidance for professional practice.


Introduction
This review has been developed using both electronic database searches and conventional printed journal and other publication searches. The electronic databases accessed were: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Business Source Premier, Emerald, Factiva, Informit, Jstor, ProQuest 5000, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Knowledge and Wiley Online Library. The abstract search terms that were used to generate the primary lists from which relevant materials were selected included: dimensions of religion; religion; constructs of religion; mass media social marketing campaigns; mass media; social marketing; mass media campaigns and social marketing campaigns. Tertiary and secondary electronic searches were conducted using key terms (i.e. authors) derived from materials in the primary list and manual searches.
It begins with a description of the approach adopted to create the review. This is followed by the development of themes to guide the review. These themes include two parent disciplines followed by the immediate discipline as outlined in figure 1.

Figure 1. Concept map of the review
It is important to note, that in totality; mass media social marketing campaigns is considered as one of the parent discipline themes. This grouped theme helps maintain a myopia view, where as splitting into multiple themes (i.e. mass media; social marketing; mass media campaigns; social marketing campaigns) would dilute the intent of the research and possibly become unmanageable. Finally, the review is bought together in a conclusion that sets the scene for further research to be conducted.

Approach to this Review
While the extent of the literature directly related to the dimensions of religion was limited, the literature is central to the seminal and subsequent works of Professor Ninian Smart who is considered an authority in religious studies. The literature directly related to mass media social marketing campaigns was formidable and as previously mentioned, the inclusion as broken into individual themes had the potential to make it quite unmanageable.
In the context of the complexity suggested by the inter-related concepts mentioned above and the steady growing body of literature, the central challenge in constructing this review was choosing the materials to include and exclude.
The selection criteria developed focused on whether the key terms were regarded as seminal work, directly addressed in the work and the year of publication. Materials that duplicated ideas were omitted, therefore making the sources redundant.
Still remaining for consideration was a wide variety of literature. These, of course, included seminal works such as: those of Lenski (1961), Smart (1971), Kotler and Zaltman (1971) and Kotler (1975). In the field of dimensions of religion: those of Smart (1989;. In the field of mass media social marketing campaigns: those of Lazer and Kelley (1973), Kotler and Roberto (1989) and Kotler, Roberto and Lee (2002). However, they also included recent explorations of the material under review. Some reporting applied investigatory initiatives whilst others having a purely theoretical, prospective nature.

Themes
From an efficiency perspective, there was a need to confirm that any links between the dimensions of religion and mass media social marketing campaigns was worthy of study, from the perspective of its perceived value as well as the potential for the longevity of the concept. Although the dimensions of religion are the central theme to this investigation, there are underpinning themes of each dimension that are evident whilst attempting to clarify the central theme, ultimately the seven dimensions of religion are used as a definition of religion.
Finally, mass media social marketing campaigns was examined whilst confirming the theme was one in totality rather than that of many themes. The whole is then drawn back together in a summary of the concept surrounding the relationship to use the dimensions of religion for the evaluation of mass media social marketing campaigns. As discussed in the literature, this summary provides the basis for subsequent consideration of the implications for further study.

Value and Longevity of the Concept
Both the dimensions of religion and mass media social marketing campaigns have received and continue to receive growing attention in the literature. This attention is illustrated from the results of an abstract search of the EBSCO Business Source Premier database for the terms "dimensions of religion (DOR)" and "mass media social marketing campaigns (MMSMC)" in each year from 1960 to 2010.
As figure 2 illustrates, the patterns for dimensions of religion and mass media social marketing campaigns show steady and continuing growth. The combination highlights an emerging field that links the two (2) concepts. Such growth rejects the typical pattern of a management 'fad' or 'fashion' (Fink, 2003: 54;Gibson and Tesone, 2001;Gibson et al, 2003;Kennedy, 2004), which Abrahamson (1996: 256) describes as a rapid, bell-shaped swing. The tenacity and resilience of the concept(s) over time and the emergence of the combination provides the support for the study, in the sense it would be worth establishing more congruence about its meaning.

Parent Discipline -Dimensions of Religion
In terms of religion, 74% of Australia's population reported having a religious affiliation (ABS, 2004;2006), 77% of Britain's population reported belonging to a religion (ONS, 2001) whilst 79.9% of America's population indicated they had a religious identification (Kosmin and Keysar, 2008).
It is the intent to use the seminal and widely accepted works of Ninian Smart's seven dimensions of religion, which help characterise the constructs and under-pinning themes of religion(s) and their existence in the world today. There are many definitions of religion and Table 1 below shows a selection of them, which highlight the evolution of the attempt to describe, "What is religion?" However, it is outside the scope of this review to give finality on the definition of religion or list all of the religions that fall under the seven-dimension categorisation. "The essence of religion consists in the feeling of absolute dependence" James Martineau  "Religion is the belief in… a Divine mind and will ruling the universe and holding moral relations with mankind" C.P. Tiele  "Religion is… that pure and reverential disposition or frame of mind which we call piety" F. H. Bradley (1846H. Bradley ( -1924 "Religion is… the attempt to express the complete reality of goodness through every aspect of our being" James Frazier  "Religion is…a propitiation or conciliation of powers superior to man" Emile Durkheim  "Religion is…a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, … which unite into one single moral community" Rudolf Otto  "Religion is that which grows out of, and gives expression to, experience of the holy in its various aspects" Paul Tillich  "Religion is the state of being grasped by an ultimate concern, a concern which qualifies all other concerns as preliminary and which itself contains the answer to the question of the meaning of our life" J. Milton Yinger (1916-) "Religion is a system of beliefs and practices by means of which a group of people struggle with the ultimate problem of human life" John Hick (1922-) "Religion constitutes our varied human response to transcendent reality" Ninian Smart (1927Smart ( -2001 Seven characteristics or dimensions of religion: The practical and ritual, experiential and emotional, narrative or mythic, doctrinal and philosophical, ethical and legal dimension, social and institutional and the material dimension. Peter Berger (1929-) "Religion is…the establishment through human activity of an all-embracing sacred order, that is, of a sacred cosmos that will be capable of maintaining itself in the ever-present face of chaos" James C. Livingston (1930-) "Religion is that system of activities and beliefs directed toward that which is perceived to be of sacred value and transforming power" Roy A. Clouser (1937-) "A religious belief is any belief in something or other as divine. 'Divine' means having the status of not depending on anything else" Roland Robertson (1938-) "Religion pertains to a distinction between an empirical and a super-empirical, transcendent reality: the affairs of the empirical being subordinated in significance to the non-empirical" Source : House, (2006).
Whilst the seven-dimensions of religion attempt to give a balanced description of religion and their role on worldly views, human spirit and the shaping of society; not all of the dimensions will always be identifiable, present or if present; almost impossible to measure (Smart, 1989: 21).
It is important to note that Smart (1989: 21) refers to the dimensions of religion as a list and has not intentionally classified them through a typology or taxonomy. The underpinning themes from the literature will help define/scope each dimension; evident within each dimension are also non-religious themes that appeal to the masses rather than to the definition or explanation of religion.
The seven dimensions of religion are: (1) The practical and ritual dimension (2) experiential and emotional dimension (3) narrative or mythic dimension (4) doctrinal and philosophical dimension (5) ethical and legal dimension (6) social and institutional dimension and (7) the material dimension.

Practical and Ritual Dimension
This dimension, from a religious perspective, refers to the practices and rituals of different traditions and cultures such as preaching, prayers, meditation and regular worship which fulfil a function in developing both spiritual awareness and ethical insight (Smart, 1996: 70-129). From a non-religious perspective, this is the way in which communities re-enact their myths and stories to confirm and express their beliefs through action. Religious or not, such events, rituals, ceremonies and/or practices can be performed both publicly and privately as well as being www.ccsenet.org/ijms International Journal of Marketing Studies Vol. 5, No. 1; both formal and informal. Whilst some are dogmatic, certain traditions adhere to particular values or secular rituals, which can form and maintain both personal and social relationships whilst being either visible or non-visible.

Experiential and Emotional Dimension
Arguably the most attractive dimension, the intent of ritual, prayer and worship is to deal with and evoke religious feelings including but not limited to: assurance of salvation, awe, bliss, brilliant emptiness, comfort, devotion, direct experiences of the divine, dread, ecstasy, enlightenment, expanded sense of identity, guilt, inexplicable presence, inner peace, liberation, mystery, security and visions (Smart, 1996: 166-195). Finke (2003: 3) suggests that the accumulation of religious knowledge and experiences builds religious capital, such capital; is crucial and necessary to gain the mastery and attachment to a religion. However, it is difficult to measure the size of the investments one must accumulate, experience emotionally or otherwise to know the effect(s) that could or will occur. Or, is it the unconscious, super-conscious and/or neurologically induced events of our higher reality that are mistaken for experiential or emotional encounters?

Narrative or Mythic Dimension
Myths are the sacred stories, which pass from generation to generation and from a religious perspective refer to stories about "The Sacred" (i.e. the deity). They are sacred because such stories work on several levels to amalgamate the narratives and explain what a particular tradition believes through a systematic and complete interpretation of god(s), the nature of humans and their place in the universe. Delivered orally or written, the stories may have historical accounts mixed with hagiography and symbolism. However, in order for a myth to be given historical status, the account must be falsifiable. Written myths, documents based on long oral traditions, are generally recognised as having authority and are often believed to be, by the relevant body of the faithful, guaranteed and/or divinely (Smart, 1996;130-165).

Doctrinal and Philosophical Dimension
Many religions have a philosophy or system of doctrines, a systematic formulation of religious teachings and beliefs in an intellectually coherent form that maybe written down in a sacred text or orally transmitted about the nature of divinity or ultimate reality and the relationship of humans to that ultimate, real, divinity. These doctrines have been recorded and may have derived partly from religious narrate, more general philosophical sources and as a result from reflection. The content of such doctrines can vary greatly from one religion to another.
Whilst myths, are intimately connected to a group's doctrines, the doctrines attempt to offer a coherent system of structured beliefs beyond the symbolic aspect of myths. Therefore, doctrines play a significant part in all religions, because faith has to 'become' which then requires a type of intellectual statement as the basis of the faith. The values of a tradition can be both positively and negatively affected by its doctrines because it is the doctrines that provide a type of worldly view whilst addressing the ultimate question of salvation (Smart, 1996;27-69).

Ethical and Legal Dimension
The ethical and legal dimension focuses on laws in which a tradition incorporates into its fabric, which is both formal and informal, either written or orally transmitted which followers are expected to adopt (Smart, 1996: 196-214). Furthermore, evident in every tradition are sets of rules, guidelines or behavioural precepts for conduct according to which the community, employees, employers, consumers, producers and citizens at every level of existence judge a person depending on the level of conformity to those precepts (Malloch, 2003: 8). Such rules are often regarded as revealed from the supernatural realm or from the higher being of a particular faith.

Social and Institutional Dimension
A religious tradition or belief system that is a sort of social organisation with shared and implied attitudes practiced by the group, which is self-perpetuating. As with any religion and/or tradition, there are often rules for identifying community membership and participation in public but may also contain individuals who are exemplary but may live outside of the society/group. Smart (1996: 215-274) suggests that the teachings of the tradition/belief system are preserved and passed on through the social organisation which almost inevitably becomes incarnate in material form such as: buildings, cities, idols, other creations, places of worship, symbols and works of art. Organisations surrounding a religion can be truly complex and formally organised which allows for a sense of normative values and group bonding. Therefore, religions could be considered a necessary component of a functioning society since they supply rules to live by and importantly, a community to live in.

Material Dimension
Ordinary objects or places that symbolise or manifest in material form that help connect the believer to the sacred, supernatural or the divine (Smart, 1996: 275-288). Recognising the fact that there are often many specific religious artefacts from a material perspective, the relative importance of these varies from religion to religion. Consequently, a better understanding of how religious capital investments in the material dimension can affect the broader society; this would require further studies on the effects of sacred objects, sacred tourism, pilgrimage and sacred areas and/or places.

Parent Discipline -Mass Media Social Marketing Campaigns
Kotler and Roberto (1989: 24) define social marketing as "a program planning process that promotes the voluntary behaviour of target audiences by offering benefits they want, reducing barriers they are concerned about, and using persuasion to motivate their participation in program activity". Providing a narrower definition, Kotler, Roberto and Lee (2002) continue with "a program-planning process that applies commercial marketing concepts and techniques to promote voluntary behaviour change". Lefebvre and Flora (1988) indicate that a social marketing campaign contains the following elements: (1) a consumer orientation, (2) an exchange, (3) a long-term planning outlook and (4) moving beyond the individual consumer (Andreasen, 1997;Leathar and Hastings, 1987;Lefebvre, 1992;Lefebvre, 1996 andSmith, 1996).

Australian Campaigns
There is emerging literature on mass media social marketing campaigns across: (1) health (2) environmental (3) family and (4) community. However, Delaney et al (2004) suggest that a "large body of international literature exists that examines the effectiveness of road safety mass media campaigns" and further supported by evaluations of road safety mass media campaigns conducted in Australia, New Zealand, North America and Europe.
Typically in Australia, the government and not-for-profit organisations are responsible for the majority of mass media social marketing campaigns. Generally, the campaigns are centred on the following areas: 1) Health -smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, obesity and over-weight, prostate cancer, skin cancer, depression, mental health, sexual health, chronic disease, general health and eating habits; 2) Environmental -green energy, solar power, cleanup Australia day, littering, pollution, animal cruelty, rain water harvesting and the impact of the mining industry; 3) Family -sexual abuse and domestic violence, depression, single parents and child abuse; 4) Community -road safety, speeding, drink driving, driving in school zones, learner drivers, fatigue, occupational health and safety, gambling, sport and recreation, as well as charity/charitable deeds.
The literature appears divided as to whether: (1) an individual's attitude changes and then their behaviour or (2) behaviour and then attitude, as a result of mass media social marketing campaigns. However, Delaney et al (2004) support the view that campaigns that use emotional rather than rational appeals with a persuasive orientation tends to have a greater effect whilst campaigns associated with information and education are less effective. Cameron and Harrison (1998) Vol. 5, No. 1; the creation/development of an effective mass media social marketing campaign or a framework for their review and evaluation.

Campaign Evaluation
From their review of public information campaigns addressing youth risk-taking, Shanahan, Elliot and Dahlgren (2000) highlighted Australian mass media social marketing campaigns (n = 156) between the years 1985-1998, across a number of topical areas:  Road safety: n = 45; of which 4 (8.9%) had no evaluation Alarming is that, in totality, 11.5% of those campaigns recorded 'no evaluation'. Of the campaigns that were evaluated, the pre-test/post-test technique was most popular (n = 32; 20.5%), with majority not indicating the type of evaluation conducted. Understanding that cost and complexity are significant challenges when evaluating the effectiveness of mass media social marketing campaigns, it is also important to recognise and reduce the impacts from exogenous variables.

Evaluation Limitations
Evident in the literature is the emerging importance to evaluate campaigns using the 'right' technique, however; Hornik, Jacobs and Coffman (2007) identify notable limitations on measurable outcomes and impacts when designing and especially when evaluating a campaign. Those limitations include but are not limited to: 1) Measurements need to be targeted as closely to the campaign as possible 2) The impacts of a campaign may take time to manifest 3) The impact of a campaign may be subtle in magnitude 4) It may be difficult to link campaign output with its impact

Target as Closely to the Campaign as Possible
If the surveying methods are not specific to the target audience, the effects or impact(s) of the mass media social marketing campaign may appear diluted. Whilst the campaign should be targeted to a particular audience, group or sub-group, it is important to remember that it may also reach much larger numbers of people. In addition to the surveying methods, the analysis and evaluation of the campaign should focus specifically on the identified target population (Hornik, Jacobs and Coffman, 2007). Also, in an effort to drive mass voluntary behaviour change, as a consequence, the measurement of 'unintended' effects will also need to occur.

Impacts of a Campaign May Take Time to Manifest
The message, the audience, the level of exposure and exogenous variables such as barriers to behaviour change are all factors that cause delays on campaign effect. Campaign effects or impacts can vary drastically due to timing (Tellis, 2004). Hornik, Jacobs and Coffman (2007) suggest that measuring behaviour changes immediately after a campaign may not capture the full long-term effects and adequate projections for the timing of measures is required.

Impacts of a Campaign May Be Subtle in Magnitude
Evaluating or measuring the effectiveness of large campaigns that are attempting to drive mass voluntary behaviour change may be relatively simple with effects or impacts easily evident. However, when the campaign is small, and only incremental behaviour changes are expected; the evaluation technique must be sophisticated enough to detect even the smallest effects and impacts (Hornik, Jacobs and Coffman, 2007). Galvin, (2005) suggests that trying to link behaviour to a specific mass media social marketing campaign is complex, expensive and has many variables. Therefore, conducting effective campaign evaluations becomes increasingly difficult and possibly unproductive as the evaluation moves away from measuring simple outputs (i.e. frequency and duration) to connecting audience impacts or effects to environmental impacts or effects (Hornik, Jacobs and Coffman, 2007).

Evaluation Methods
Based on Hornik, Jacobs and Coffman's (2007) abovementioned limitations, they also provide a summary of potential methods for assessing impacts, outcomes or effects of a mass media social marketing campaign; which includes but is not limited to: (1) Pre and post campaign surveys (2) rolling sample surveys (3) cohort studies (4) direct response tracking (5) observed audience action (6) qualitative studies (7) traffic to websites about the issue (8) surveys and self-reporting. Evaluating the impacts, outcomes or effects of a mass media social marketing campaign requires resources, time and methodological attention to control the factors that are influenced both internally (i.e. demographic characteristics and target audience) and externally (i.e. competing for audience attention).

Pre and Post Campaign Surveys
Data collected via the pre-test / post-test survey methodology can be an effective means of measuring mass voluntary change in behaviour, attitudes, salience and campaign recall (Hoonakker, Carayon and Schoepke, 2005: 2). Such a methodology can be considered a valid metric, especially when there are no other reasonable alternative explanations for the change other than the mass media social marketing campaign itself (Hornik, Jacobs and Coffman, 2007).
Pre-test data is required to compare any changes on the determined population based on post-test results. Multiple benefits are that surveys can reach a broad geographic base and can be repeated if necessary. However, validity is dependent on the response rate. To accurately capture the effects of a campaign, surveys should be targeted to both the geographic and demographic audience. Surveys based on hearing or sight recall; need to be captured within a few weeks after the conclusion of the campaign. However, further research is still required on the minimum/maximum time span required/available to capture recall effects.

Rolling Sample Surveys
In order to keep track of detailed day-to-day responses, rolling sample surveys are very useful for the evaluation of a specific mass media social marketing campaign to determine and capture the salience and response time of the target audience.

Cohort Studies
A cohort study methodology approach allows for the monitoring of a target subset of individuals longitudinally. Cohort studies can be used to evaluate the 'lag' of exposure effects or impacts that manifest over an extended period of time. Furthermore, they provide an opportunity to delve more deeply into the cause and effect of a relationship. However, as a limitation, they can take much longer to produce conclusive findings (Hornik, Jacobs and Coffman, 2007).

Direct Response Tracking
The mass media social marketing campaign might ask or expect an immediate response or action that is measurable from the target audience. This could include calling a specific phone number, emailing a response or directly mailing back a provided document and/or data card. Audience members, who participate or respond, usually receive a perceived 'gift' for their participation.

Observed Audience Reaction
The target audience behaviours are observed or audited either formally or informally with specific behaviours monitored and more accurately gauged using sophisticated methodologies in either a controlled environment or directly observed in real-world settings.

Qualitative Studies
Qualitative studies can capture data through narratives and anecdotes, usually obtained as a single source-of-truth or as a mixed methodology approach to supplement and/or clarify quantitative data. Qualitative data can be collected through but not limited to focus groups, phone calls or interviews and techniques such as: phenomenology, ethnography, case study research, grounded theory and historical research.

Traffic to Websites about the Issue
The traffic to websites method is an inexpensive proxy metric for capturing behaviour intention, community awareness, target audience awareness and salience of a website URL. Also, due to social media, measurements can be taken from blogs and chatter (i.e. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn). It is paramount that a website is set up to collect visitation statistics as well as focusing on tracking the statistics that capture the desired effect. A www.ccsenet.org/ijms International Journal of Marketing Studies Vol. 5, No. 1; benefit of the website is that it allows members of the target audience who are considering changing their behaviour to research the issue and learn more about any barriers (i.e. costs) and/or any associated benefits.

Surveys and Self-Reporting
Measuring the impacts, outcomes or effects of a campaign sometimes involves surveys and self-reporting (Galvin, 2005;Kaiser et al., 2003). In the literature, the validity of self-reported behaviour has been debated (Fletcher, 1999;Lindeman, Sundvik and Rouhiainen, 1995;van Esch, 2009), in addition; some members of the target audience may attempt to tell an interviewer what they want to hear even though there is little incentive for a participant to falsify information. However, Kaiser et al. (2003) suggests there is research evidence that indicates self-reporting can provide valid information on an individual's ecological behaviours.

Immediate Discipline -Application of the Dimensions of Religion as Constructs for Mass Media Social Marketing Campaigns
The field of mass media social marketing campaigns still has a number of unexplored facets, with its definition, constructs and applicability continuing to evolve over time. Although there are a number of theories, there does not appear to be a definitive approach to the way we professionally practice, capitalise, use, create or evaluate mass media social marketing campaigns. The 'religious affiliation' statistics (i.e. Australia 74%; Britain 77% and America 79.9%) indicate such a high percentage of people are connected with religion, therefore; if the dimensions of religion could be used/incorporated into mass media social marketing campaigns, the successful achievement of mass voluntary behaviour change could occur. However, this possible link requires further investigation.

Discussion, Limitations and Future Research
Through this review, figure 1.2 demonstrates the tenacity and resilience of the concept(s) (i.e. parent disciplines) and illustrates the emergence of the field combining both the dimensions of religion and mass media social marketing campaigns. Notably, there is limited literature of the emerging concept. Against this backdrop, clarification and understanding can only be sought via questions surrounding the emerging concept, which will further assist in distilling the information and possibly provide a new beginning for the study of the concept as well as providing guidance for professional practice.
To help set-the-scene, the following gaps in the literature require further investigation: 1) Are the seven (7) dimensions of religion currently used or identified within mass media social marketing campaigns?
2) What reception, understanding, openness to consider, do managers of social marketing campaigns have to a clearly articulated description of the application of the dimensions of religion?