Introduction and Objectives: Cultural policy is commonly understood as a set of measures, institutions, and programs designed to govern cultural affairs. However, beneath these measures lies a more fundamental objective: influencing citizens' beliefs, attitudes, values, and ultimately their behavior. From this perspective, cultural policy can be interpreted as a deliberate intervention aimed at shaping or transforming the cognitive and behavioral patterns of individuals and social groups. Such an understanding brings cultural policy closer to the field of behavior change and highlights the importance of systematically designing interventions that can effectively influence human behavior.

The significance of this perspective extends beyond the cultural sector itself. In many areas of public policy, including health, environmental protection, and social welfare, policy success depends on achieving cultural and behavioral change. Accordingly, culture may function either as the direct object of policy or as an instrument for realizing objectives in other governance domains.

Method: This study is theoretical and employs a descriptive-analytical approach based on conceptual analysis. The literature on cultural policy and social marketing was systematically reviewed and reinterpreted to clarify their conceptual relationship. Furthermore, by distinguishing between the intra-sectoral and extra-sectoral dimensions of cultural policy, the paper analyzes the potential contribution of social marketing to both cultural development and broader governance objectives.

Findings: The findings indicate that despite the diversity of definitions and approaches to cultural policy, they share a common underlying objective: influencing the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of individuals and communities. Many cultural goals ultimately depend on behavioral and cognitive change rather than on the mere implementation of cultural programs or the expansion of cultural institutions. Consequently, cultural policy can be understood as a process of managing behavioral change through persuasive, communicative, and educational interventions.

This behavior-oriented logic applies to two complementary domains. In the intra-sectoral domain, cultural policy seeks to shape values, attitudes, and cultural behaviors as ends in themselves. In the extra-sectoral domain, cultural and behavioral change serves as a means of achieving policy goals in areas such as health, environmental protection, economic development, and social well-being. Within this framework, social marketing provides practical tools for audience analysis, behavioral segmentation, identification of barriers and motivations, and the design of integrated policy interventions.

Conclusion: This study argues that cultural policy should fundamentally be understood as a process of influencing beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. From this perspective, desired behavior becomes the starting point of policy design, while other policy instruments are organized around achieving that objective. Social marketing, with its audience-centered and evidence-based approach, offers an effective framework for designing more coherent, participatory, and behavior-oriented cultural policies. By shifting attention from fragmented cultural activities to integrated policy packages focused on measurable behavioral outcomes, this perspective enhances both the effectiveness of cultural policy and its contribution to addressing broader public policy challenges.

Conclusion: This study argues that cultural policy should fundamentally be understood as a process of influencing beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. From this perspective, desired behavior becomes the starting point of policy design, while other policy instruments are organized around achieving that objective. Social marketing, with its audience-centered and evidence-based approach, offers an effective framework for designing more coherent, participatory, and behavior-oriented cultural policies. By shifting attention from fragmented cultural activities to integrated policy packages focused on measurable behavioral outcomes, this perspective enhances both the effectiveness of cultural policy and its contribution to addressing broader public policy challenges.