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The Transition to the Commercial Sector: What Happens to Socially Marketed Products after Graduating from USAID Support? Special Study 1

This paper explores the transition of the commercial sector in 5 countries following the graduation of a US Agency for International Development (USAID) support and turnover of responsibilities to the private sector. The essential goal of Social Marketing Change (SOMARC), a USAID-funded project, is to introduce contraceptive products into the commercial markets, particularly to the low- and middle-income consumers. The graduated programs include Protex Condoms of Morocco, O.K. Condoms of Turkey, Panther Condoms of Barbados, Protektor Condoms of Mexico, and Protector Condoms of Zimbabwe. The pricing strategies of distributors after graduation revealed that condom cost and market distribution increased in Turkey and Mexico while an increase in advertising expenditures was noted in Turkey. Program revamp was observed in Barbados with emphasis on a dual message of family planning and HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted disease prevention. On the other hand, competitors invested more in advertising, which resulted to a higher percentage of the market share. There have been a continuous increase in the size of the market and the trends in knowledge, attitudes and practices towards contraceptive use during and after SOMARC assistance.