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Segments due to its inherent peculiarities and uniqueness usually respond to campaign elements differently and different techniques are required to reach and motivate various segments.

In social marketing, the behaviour changes are sought to proceed in a sequence of five stages: awareness, engagement, behaviour change, make it social norm and improve social/environmental outcomes.

Therefore, the segment ‘Sceptics’ may need message to boost their awareness with the aim to increase their commitment toward behaviour change, whereas segment ‘Status Quo’ should get message to continue their adopted behaviour.

Moreover, the creativity of the message, uses of words, images and its explanation should be tailored to a particular segment’s characteristics to get maximum reach of the target audience.

For example, the expression ‘Social distance’ needs to be explained in mass media for mass level understanding not only with words but also with various images to ensure its specific understanding.

Once, the goals for each segment is decided, an effort is needed to understand the existing social norms, potential barriers of behaviour change and competing behaviours (e.g., the behaviours those target group prefer to do).

However, the barriers like ‘how to maintain social distancing in a slum’, ‘where to wash hands in roads’, ‘how to get free mask and wear it while working in intense sunlight’, ‘where to dispose of those mask’ are not getting enough attention in those communications.

Thus, to be effective, strategies need to be undertaken to make those proposed behaviours at least as attractive as some of the competing alternatives.

Unless the environment and its infrastructure are not supporting the behaviour change, removing some of the barriers as mentioned above are difficult.

Therefore, an upstream social marketing influence also need to design and implement the downstream behavioural change. Partnerships between governments, non-profits and private sector organisations for the purpose of delivering information to citizens could be an option. Thanks to the Ministry of ICT and a2i who partnered with Facebook and launched a nationwide social media campaign to circulate health message related to Covid-19 for the people of Bangladesh.

Nevertheless, door-to-door campaign by community social service providers is also needed to reach those who are not reachable in social or mass media.

Identical to the world, Covid-19 pandemic is new for Bangladesh. Therefore, a foolproof plan of intervention programme may not be possible at a go.

Continuous monitoring is needed to improve or adapt with the targeted market requirements. Specific criteria-based evaluation of intervention programme at a specific interval can also yield actionable insights about what worked well, what didn’t and what lesson we can carry forward for the next phase of intervention.

Worldwide different states, cities, neighbourhoods, businesses, educational institutions, public places have started to reopen, so also in Bangladesh.

However, the risk of infection and its spread are still there. Until, an effective vaccination is available, we have no other options other than adopting these new behaviours of wearing mask, quarantine, queuing, handwashing and so on to survive.

Therefore, a well-planned long-term behaviour change social marketing intervention programme directed by government authorities in collaboration with diverse stakeholder is a necessity to fight against the Covid-19.

The writers are working as professors at the Department of Marketing, Faculty of Business Studies, University of Dhaka.