The Impact of Marketing Communication on Social Innovation in the Case Study of the Bottle and Returnable Can Deposit System in SLovakia

Abstract

Social innovation brings new solutions that contribute to improving people's quality of life and its role is to develop society. This can be development in different areas such as poverty, unemployment, climate change or ecology. Some social innovations are often perceived negatively by society at large, and it is the role of the institution introducing the innovation to correctly communicate the reasons for and impact of social innovations. Modern society includes modern communication through different communication channels. In order for a social innovation to be successfully introduced and accepted by society, a communication strategy needs to be developed. Organizations implementing social innovations are aware that marketing communication has a major impact on social innovations and can be a decisive factor in achieving behavioral change in society in relation to the problems the social innovation is intended to address. The aim of this study is to highlight social innovation in the environmental field in Slovakia using the example of the bottle and returnable can deposit system. In its government programme, the Slovak Republic has committed to increase the return rate of returnable packaging from the current 60% to 90% by 2025, while the returnable packaging deposit system was only introduced in Slovakia in 2022. In this paper, we will analyze the impact of marketing communication and its impact on the results of the introduction of social innovation in the field of returnable packaging deposit.