The ESMC 2026 programme has been designed to reflect the evolving priorities of social marketing and behaviour change, bringing together keynote addresses, themed plenary sessions, parallel presentations, panels, and interactive formats across three days in Montpellier.

A defining feature of the conference is its themed plenary sessions, which provide a coherent framework for the overall programme and help connect research, practice, and policy around shared challenges. These plenaries are deliberately curated to keep discussions focused on real-world relevance, disciplinary advancement, and practical impact.

The plenary themes for ESMC 2026 are:

• Public Health Communication: Messaging, Emotion, and Citizen Empowerment

• Changing Behaviour in Real-World Contexts: From Theory to Social Intervention

• Actors of Sustainability: Transitions Require Simultaneous Change Across Systems and Stakeholders

• Equality and Diversity: Breaking Barriers to Create Change

• Accelerating Interventions: Harnessing AI and Digital Technology for Good

• Engaging Youth in Social Change: How, Why, and With Whom?

Together, these themes shape a programme that balances theoretical insight with applied experience, addresses both downstream and upstream approaches, and encourages critical reflection alongside practical learning. The result is a programme that supports meaningful exchange across disciplines, sectors, and career stages — while remaining firmly grounded in the realities of designing, delivering, and evaluating social marketing interventions.

8 JULY > 1 PM

MAIN CONFERENCE BEGINS

8.30 - 12.30 > REGISTRATION

Registration for the conference will offically open at 8.30 AM on Wednesday 8th July for those attending pre-conference skills workshops. 

For all other conference delegates we advice arriving from 11.30 AM onward to collect your delegate badge, bag and programme.

12.00 - 1.00 > LUNCH & NETWORKING

All delegates are invited to join the conference for a networking lunch at the MBS School of Business.

1.00 - 2.30 > OPENING PLENARY THEME: Public Health Communication: Messaging, Emotion, and Citizen Empowerment

WELCOME & OPENING ADDRESS

The European Social Marketing Conference 2026 will open with a warm welcome from the hosts, the MBS School of Business and the European Social Marketing Association. Delegates will be greeted by Dr. Jacqueline Boysselle (MBS) and Prof. Jeff French (ESMA).

KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS

It’s Not About You! - Developing a Citizen-Centred Mindset

Effective social marketing doesn’t start with your organization’s priorities, jargon, or goals—it starts with people. “It’s not about you” means putting citizens at the heart of your efforts by deeply understanding their realities, needs, values, and perceptions.
A citizen-centred mindset goes beyond delivering messages. It demands that we listen actively, respect what truly matters to individuals, and design policies, programs, and communications grounded in their lived experiences. It’s a shift from telling people what they should care about to meeting them where they are—building trust and creating the conditions that make positive behaviors easier, more relevant, and more meaningful.
Drawing on extensive experience and real-world examples, François Lagarde will open the Conference by powerfully reminding us that putting citizens first is not just a best practice—it’s the foundation of effective social marketing.

François Lagarde, Social Marketing Consultant, Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health, University of Montréal

From Information to Emotion: Using Empathy and Self‑Esteem to Shift Behaviours

In France, where rationality is so embedded, the country of Descartes, policy makers and NGOs committed to positive impact and prevention are increasingly confronted with “dead ends” as many still assume that rational information and education are sufficient to change behaviours. Yet, the outcomes observed in public health and other societal fields suggest that it is time to question this belief and be more inspired by Spinoza, whose philosophy highlights the central role of human emotions and community bonds.

Drawing on this perspective, Sandrine Raffin will show why effective social marketing campaigns must undoubtedly start with a deep understanding of citizens as a target group but then go further by deliberately grounding strategies in empathy, strengthening people’s self‑esteem, and mobilising the influence of local, trusted individuals. Throughout her talk, she will share practical insights and concrete, real‑world examples to illustrate how these levers can significantly enhance the impact of public health and social change initiatives.

Sandrine Raffin, Linkup

2.30 - 3.00 > COFFEE & NETWORKING

3.00 - 4.30 > CO-LAB SESSIONS

This secton of breakout sessions will host up to four 90 minute interactive group-working sessions intended to foster colaborative learning and networking.

Further details of these sessions will be released as abtracts and proposals are reviewed.  

4.30 - 5.30 > PLENARY THEME: Changing Behaviour in Real-World Contexts: From Theory to Social Intervention

KEYNOTE

Changing Individual Behaviour and Business Models: The Channelling Approach of Installations

In every social setting, from taking the bus to going to the dentist, breaches and deviant behaviours are extremely rare. Members of a society exhibit remarkable conformity to expected behaviours. After studying behaviours and their determinants for two decades, using participants who filmed their own activities with miniature cameras mounted on their glasses, it was found how societies tightly channel individual behaviour by combining three types of components (the affordances of the built environment, embodied competencies, and social regulation). These components are assembled into "installations" (e.g., a restaurant, a highway, a ceremony) that combine to channel individual behaviour at every step. The redundancy of these components and their presence at the point of action are key to the efficiency and resilience of these systems. I will explain how to design efficient interventions based on these very principles to create more satisfying and sustainable behaviours and organizations. While this approach shares some traits with various behavioural science currents, its pragmatic and morally neutral use of the material environment and regulation makes it a very powerful instrument that must be used with ethical caution.

Professor Saadi Lahlou, Chair in Social Psychology, Director of MSc Psychology of Economic Life Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science

5.30 - 7.30 > WELCOME RECEPTION

Join us for an evening of drinks and snacks at the Welcome Reception, hosted on campus at the MBS School of Business. This is a great chance to meet other attendees, speakers, and industry leaders in a relaxed setting. 

9 JULY

CONFERENCE DAY 2

9.00 - 10.00 > PLENARY THEME: Actors of Sustainability: Transitions require simultaneous change across systems and stakeholders.

WELCOME FROM ESMA

Prof. Jeff French, ESMA Acting President, CEO of Strategic Social Marketing

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Social marketing and systems change 

How can we craft narratives that change - for the better! - our value systems, our routines, and the structures that drive our behaviors? This talk we explore how visual, group processes of systems thinking are across academia, industry and policy to address this question. 

Domenico Dentoni, Full Professor of Business, Resilience and Transformation Chair Director | Communication and OrgAnizing for Sustainable Transformations (COAST) MBS School of Business

10.00 - 10.30 > COFFEE & NETWORKING

10.30 - 12.30 > PARALLEL SESSIONS

Sessions will take place across a range of breakout rooms drawn from the call for abstracts and invited / curated sessions. Please continue to check the website for updates as the review process continues.

12.30 - 1.30 > LUNCH & NETWORKING

1.30 - 3.00 > PARALELL SESSIONS

Sessions will take place across a range of breakout rooms drawn from the call for abstracts and invited / curated sessions. Please continue to check the website for updates as the review process continues.

3.00 - 3.30 > COFFEE BREAK

3.30 - 4.30 > PLENARY THEME: Equality and Diversity: Breaking Barriers to Create Change.

SPEAKERS

Mario Campana - Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor), Management Marketing, Business & Society, Centre for Business, Organisations and Society (CBOS), University of Bath

Nadia Zainuddin - Senior Lecturer, School of Business, University of Wollongong. President, Australian Association of Social Marketing

5.30 - 9.30 > BEACH SOCIAL

The ESMC organising team is planning a relaxed and informal social evening at a beach location close to Montpellier. This event will be ticketed separately, with additional tickets available to purchase during registration.

The evening will offer a laid-back opportunity for delegates to continue conversations from the conference over a drink and light food, set against the beautiful coastal backdrop of southern France.

Coach transportation will be provided from Montpellier Business School to the beach venue, with return transfers to central Montpellier at the end of the evening.

10 JULY

CONFERENCE DAY 3

9.00 - 10.00 > PLENARY THEME: Accelerating Interventions: Harnessing Ai & Digital Technology for Good.

WELCOME 

John Landels - Founding Director, National Social Marketing Centre, ESMA Board Member

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Agnes Helme-Guizon - Professor, Grenoble School of Management (IAE), University Grenoble Alpes, Researcher, CERAG Lab, France

10.00 - 10.30 > COFFEE & NETWORKING

10.30 - 12.30 > PARALELL SESSIONS

Sessions will take place across a range of breakout rooms drawn from the call for abstracts and invited / curated sessions. Please continue to check the website for updates as the review process continues.

12.30 - 1.30 > LUNCH 

1.30 - 2.30 > PLENARY | THEME > Engaging Youth in Social Change: How, Why, and With Whom?

Final session timings can be download at the link at the top of the page.

2.30 - 3.00 > BREAK

3.00 - 4.00 > PARALELL SESSIONS

Sessions will take place across a range of breakout rooms drawn from the call for abstracts and invited / curated sessions. Please continue to check the website for updates as the review process continues.

4.00 - 5.00 > FINAL PLENARY

Building Momentum for Good: Reflections, Commitments, and Next Steps

As the conference draws to a close, this final plenary creates a shared space to reflect on the ideas, debates, and challenges that have emerged over the past three days — and, crucially, to consider what happens next.

Framed around the theme of Momentum for Good, the session invites participants to share key insights, provocations, and practical takeaways from across the programme. Rather than simply looking back, the focus is on how learning from ESMC 2026 can be translated into action — across research, practice, policy, and systems.

Moderated by Jeff French and Jacqueline Boysselle, members of the ESMC 2026 planning team, the session will encourage contributions from across the room, highlighting diverse perspectives and surfacing common threads. The aim is to collectively identify priorities, commitments, and opportunities for collaboration that can help sustain momentum beyond the conference and support citizen-powered social change in real-world contexts.