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The idea of Social marketing came to effect in the 1970s. During that period Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman realized that the same marketing principles that were being used to sell products to consumers could be used to “sell” ideas, attitudes and behaviors. Kotler and Andreasen mentions social marketing as “differing from other areas of marketing only with respect to the objectives of the marketer and his or her organization. Social marketing seeks to influence social behaviors not to benefit the marketer, but to benefit the target audience and the general society.” This technique has been apllied in international health programs, especially for contraceptives and oral rehydration therapy (ORT), and is being used with more frequency in the United States for such diverse topics as drug abuse, heart disease and organ donation.
Similar to commercial marketing, the primary focus is on the consumer–on learning what actually people want and need rather than trying to persuade them to buy what we happen to be producing. Marketing communicates to the consumer, not about the product. The planning strategy takes this consumer focus in the implementation of the elements of the “marketing mix.” This refers to decisions about 1) the basics of a Product, 2 Price and value, 3) distribution (Place), and 4) Promotion. These are often called the “Four Ps” of marketing. Social marketing also adds a few more “P’s.” At the end is an example of the marketing mix. It has evolved from a single-dimensional reliance on public service oriented skills to a more sophisticated and calculative approach which draws from more fruitful techniques used by commercial marketers, termed “social marketing.” Rather than dictating the way that information is to be conveyed from the top-down, public health professionals are learning the key skills to reach by the needs and desires of the target audience themselves, and building the program from there and this is far more goal oriented. This focus on the “consumer” involves in-depth research and constant re-evaluation of every aspect of the program. In fact, research and evaluation together form the very cornerstone of the social marketing process.

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The Shuffle, The Deal and The Blinds

The dealer shuffles a standard 52-card deck.

(In casinos, the dealer never plays. A round disc — known as a “dealer button” –

moves clockwise from player to player with each hand. The button marks which

player would be the dealer if the deal were advanced from player to player as the

game went along.)

Games start with the two players to the left of the dealer (the button) putting a

predetermined amount of money into the pot before any cards are dealt, ensuring that

there’s something to play for on every hand. This is called “posting the blinds.” Most

often, the “first blind” — the player to the left of the dealer — puts up half the

minimum bet, and the “second blind” puts up the full minimum bet.

Each player is dealt two cards; face down and unseen by the other players. These are

known as their hole cards.

Betting Begins

A round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the two who

posted the blinds. Players can call, raise, or fold when it’s their turn to bet. A call

(known as a check when the amount to call is zero) means that the player will match

the highest bet so far put into the pot, minus whatever they have already contributed.

A raise means that the player will call whatever bet has already been made, and raise

the bet by a further amount. A fold means that the player forfeits all money in the pot,

throws in their hole cards, and waits for the next game. The round of betting continues

until every player has either called or folded the last bet/raise, with the consequence

that a player can’t re-raise himself.

The Flop

After the first betting round, the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called

burning the card and is done to ensure that no one accidentally saw the top card, and

to help prevent cheating.

The dealer then flips the next three cards face up on the table. These cards are called

the “flop.”

NOTE: Eventually, a total of five community cards will be placed face up on the table.

Players can use any combination of the community cards and their own two cards to

form the best possible five-card Poker hand.

After the flop, another round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the

left of the dealer (the button). During this and all future rounds of betting, players

have to choose whether to check, call, raise, or fold when it’s their turn to bet.

The Turn

The dealer burns another card and places one more card face up onto the table. This,

the fourth community card, is called the “turn” or “Fourth Street.”

The player to the left of the dealer (the button) begins the third round of betting.

The River

The dealer burns another card before placing the final face-up card on the table. This

card is called the “river” or “Fifth Street.”

Final Betting and The Winner

Players can now use any combination of seven cards — the five community cards and

the two cards known only to them — to form the best possible five-card Poker hand.

The fourth and final round of betting starts with the player to the left of the dealer (the

button).

After the final betting round, all players who remain in the game can reveal their

hands. The player who made the last raise in the river round shows their hand first. A

player can choose not to show their hand if they can’t beat a hand already shown. The

player with the best-ranked hand wins.

Split pots in betting

It is possible for a player to run out of money whilst betting, rendering him unable to

continue betting even though other players might wish to keep betting. In the event

that this happens, the concept of split pots is introduced. The main pot consists of all

money so far contributed by the other players to the pot up to the amount that the

player has so far contributed, plus any other money that was bet by people that have

already folded. This is under contention between all players. Then, a side pot is

created for all the people who still wish to bet. This pot is only filled by money from

those players that still wish to bet and have enough money to do so, and is therefore

also only under contention between those players that contributed to it. If the situation

arises again, a further side pot is created, and so on.

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