This study aims to examine the evolution and current landscape of social marketing in Brazil, with a focus on its applications across the health, environmental and socio-economic sectors. The research provides a comprehensive synthesis by identifying key factors that influence campaign effectiveness and proposes a future agenda to enhance the field’s societal impact.
A systematic literature review (SLR) of 58 publications from 1997 to 2023 was conducted, using metanarrative synthesis and bibliometric tools. The findings were organized into three thematic domains: health and environmental risk interventions, audience-specific socio-cultural influences and implementation strategies involving technology and adaptive practices.
Social marketing in Brazil has primarily targeted public health, especially human immunodeficiency virus prevention, but has also addressed malnutrition, obesity and environmental concerns. While the field demonstrates adaptability, the review reveals limited theoretical integration, weak segmentation strategies and insufficient use of the full marketing mix. This underscores the need for more context-sensitive, inclusive and sustained interventions.
The study offers actionable insights to improve social marketing campaigns’ strategic design, reach and evaluation. It also encourages cross-sector collaboration and adaptive approaches suited to Brazil’s regional diversity.
By situating social marketing within Brazil’s unique cultural and economic landscape, the study informs initiatives to foster long-term behavior change and improve quality of life through evidence-based public interventions.
This is the first SLR to critically examine Brazil’s social marketing trajectory, bridging theory and practice. The proposed research agenda addresses conceptual gaps and emerging challenges, advancing the localization of social marketing frameworks in line with global discourse and national priorities.
