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Social marketing is the application of methods traditionally used for commercial purposes in order to achieve public health goals. In a public health context, social marketing can involve an array of approaches and methods depending on sociodemographic factors, cultural beliefs or values, psychosocial determinants or geographic location. Since the 1960s, such campaigns have tackled issues as diverse as smoking, HIV, alcohol consumption, vaccines and breastfeeding. In the past, social marketing methods have largely comprised of blanket mass media or segmented campaigns with predetermined stages of planning and implementation. In the age of digital communication, and with the emergence of personalised forms of medicine, there is an increasing opportunity for tailored, highly responsive campaigns in primary care involving health promotion and lifestyle modification of individuals. As the Internet and smartphones are becoming ubiquitous and indispensable in people’s daily lives, particularly in highly developed urban areas, behavioural change efforts have increasingly shifted towards these platforms. The technological era allows campaigns to be created with much more creativity than ever, disseminating key messages for improving health-related knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviour at both the population and personal levels. However modern technology can also exacerbate divides, making it even more important that public health groups consider neglected communities with less access to advanced modern communication methods. Although it remains a challenge to influence behaviour and lifestyle change across demographics, the history of successful campaigns reveals some of the important factors for successful social marketing.