This thesis will explore how social marketing principles can be applied to address challenges facing citizens in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs), answering the call for more studies to integrate the perspectives of LMIC citizens into social marketing theory and practice (Gordon et al., 2016). Despite social marketing’s history and increasing use to improving societal problems (Glanz, 1997), a research agenda integrating voices of LMIC citizens into social marketing theory and practice is needed (Gordon et al., 2016). The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Report (2020) outlined 17 SDGs to be achieved by 2030, which aim to improve social, economic, and environmental outcomes globally. While concerted efforts are needed both within and across all countries for the SDGs to be achieved, developing countries now classified as LMICs by the World Bank (2020) are faced with more pressing challenges (SDGs Report, 2020). This thesis follow’s the Brown (2008) design thinking framework. Lefebvre and Kotler (2011) argued that design thinking is one way more innovation can be integrated into social marketing. According to Brown’s (2008) framework design thinking occurs across a three-stage approach: inspiration, ideation, and implementation. There are two studies included in this thesis. First, study 1 collected primary data through four months of community fieldwork in a single lowincome community in South Africa. This study consists of a three-study mixed method research design. Study 1a, consists of an ethnography, that relates to step 1: inspiration in the Brown (2008) framework. Study 1b and 1c, consists of a co-design session study and expert evaluation session study respectively and relates to step 2: ideation in the Brown (2008) framework. Study 2 utilises secondary data through reviewing all social marketing programs implemented in LMICs from 2010-2019. Study 2 marks the first step in the final design thinking stage: implementation in the Brown (2008) framework and aims to fill the research gap relating to a lack of synthesis of literature documenting social marketing programs implemented in LMICs. Study 1 co-designed a social marketing program (an afterschool program) that addresses antecedents (such as, children being left idle, absent parental support and insufficient support programs) of a key challenge facing children in a single community in South Africa. The key challenge this study sought to address was children dropping out of school before completing their final year of schooling. Currently, over 60% of children in the community drop out of school (Cape Town Census, 2011). Data collection included semi-structured interviews, focus groups, co-design sessions, an expert evaluation session, conversations, and observations, where over 100 community members participated in a 4-month study. Key activities involved living and interacting with a host family, visiting and volunteering at community organisations, running co-design workshops and working as an assistant teacher at a primary and high school. This study contributes to understanding by offering a process to demonstrate how three studies used an extended co-design framework to provide a solution in the targeted community in South Africa. Additionally, this paper outlines how co-design challenges can be overcome at the front-end through the addition of ethnography. Finally, the paper outlines how the involvement of experts at the back-end of the co-design process can be effective in examining program implementation feasibility. Study 2 located a total of 17 programs, discussed in 31 papers in a systematic literature review. These programs were delivered in 17 countries, including: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, China, Croatia, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, Kenya, Kosovo, Malawi, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, Thailand, and Zimbabwe. Evidence in this review found that most programs yielded positive outcomes. This supports social marketing’s efficacy in addressing the SDGs within social policy development and implementation in LMIC contexts. The study found that there was limited use of insight, competition and segmentation principles followed in social marketing programs in LMICs. Furthermore, theory and customer orientation were not integrated to the full extent needed. Collectively, this thesis provides an important progression to incorporating perspectives from LMIC citizens from 18 countries (including a single country from study 1 and 17 countries in study 2) into social marketing theory and practice.