Name: Donna
Bio: Donna is an internationally recognised social marketing expert passionate about working with government and NGO clients to develop sustainable behavior change campaigns and strategies. In 2001, Donna set up Canberra’s TNS Social Research office, which she headed up for 4 years until relocating back to Perth for the arrival of her first child. During her time in Canberra, she was awarded the 2002 Telstra Business Woman of the Year Award for the ACT. Donna uses her 15 years experience to provide strategic advice to develop and evaluate social marketing campaigns tackling health issues, parenting and child behaviours, social disadvantage and mental illness.
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- Recognition that the physical environment can have a key influence on human behaviour. Changes to the environment, often relatively small changes, can have a big effect on people’s behaviour. The role of the environment has been neglected in many of the traditional behaviour change models discussed earlier, as they have tended to focus on personal and social factors (such as beliefs, motivations, values, social norms, and so on).
- The concept of ‘Choice Architecture’. This is the notion, developed by the authors of Nudge, of reconfiguring the physical environment in a way that makes it more likely that people will choose a behaviour that is better for them and better for other people…..whilst fully preserving their freedom to choose alternative behaviours.
- The role of heuristics in human decision making. Heuristics are short cuts, or ‘rules of thumb’, that people use to help them make decisions and judgments. They can be very useful but they can also lead to systematic biases.
- Rates of smoking have declined from around 40% in the 1970s to around 20% today.
- Road deaths have declined from a peak of 30 per 100,000 in 1970 to around 10 per 100,000 today.
- Incidence of AIDS has declined from a peak of 953 cases in 1994 to 185 in 2007.
- extensive formative (developmental) research which identified the key message theme for message development and execution, and prioritised audiences for media engagement;
- extensive and thorough concept testing (qualitative) to select final message content and execution;
- quantitative ad testing of pre-finished ads to confirm advertising diagnostics, confirm message take out for intended and unintended audiences, predict behavioural intentions around the ad’s call to action, and determine lead ‘hero’ ad for campaign launch;
- baseline quantitative survey to establish benchmarks for key campaign performance indicators;
- two initial waves of post-campaign evaluation to enable tweaking of execution elements of the advertising that were interfering with optimised message take out and the call to action and three subsequent annual waves of post-campaign evaluation;
- an independent academic review of the campaign, conducted by the University of Western Australia, conducted after seven years of campaign activity.
- Campaign awareness (any component) was 91%
- Ads were rated as highly believable – 84%-96% (depending on the ad)
- Ads were judged as personally relevant by 50% of perpetrators or ‘at risk’ men
- Favourable changes to beliefs about the use of violence against women, which should precede changes in attitudes and behaviour
- 4,694 calls to the Men’s Domestic Violence Helpline (63% from ‘at risk’ men).
Social marketing in the digital world
July 18th, 2011
The ever present challenge for a government department of communicating with its public, has taken on new meaning in the digital age. Social media and other online mediums that enable brands and government alike to communicate more effectively with the public are being looked to as potential tactics for social marketing and other public sector initiatives.
Some departments are already using digital with success –Brisbane City Council used Facebook to reach flood-affected residents with immediate updates and the Defence Force runs live ‘chat to an Air Force Pilot’ discussions on Facebook to assist with recruiting.
These type of information- and service-based interactions dovetail with a digital approach and show high demand from the public. Around one in two Australians prefer to access government information and services via digital avenues. And there is strong interest in access via mobile avenues also, with 74% interested in interactive government information on the go. Public transport apps, payment services and claim forms are examples of how digital is making interacting with the government easier for Australians.
But for behaviour change campaigns, the tools of education and persuasion are less straightforward to deploy via digital means. When it comes to online behaviour, Australians vary greatly. With the diversity of people who now partake in online activity, there are a range of drivers and motivations as users seek to fulfill their needs and interests via the internet.
Before embarking on a digital social marketing campaign, you need to understand how and why Australians are using the internet and social media. Our recent Digital Life study found that in Australia, with our high internet penetration, the online population is one of the most diverse in the world – it is older, and consequently less sophisticated in how it uses online media. When looking at online behaviour, attitudes and, importantly, the drivers behind online behaviour, we discovered six different types of internet users in Australia. Out of these, the four key segments to note are:
1. Functionals: users who access the internet to perform tasks such as emailing, reading news, checking weather and personal administration. They are less interested in social networking, and are not driven by the need to express themselves.
2. Networkers: users who access the internet to build and maintain relationships, mostly via social networking sites, predominantly as a way to keep in touch rather than a means of self expression.
3. Knowledge Seekers: users who access the internet to gain knowledge, information and educate themselves about the world.
4. Influencers: users who access the internet for almost all parts of their lives, they are heavily involved in social networking, blogging, mobile internet and online shopping. They like to share opinions and will contribute to blogs and other user-generated content.
There is a natural hierarchy to these segments, as we’d expect, with digital proficiency increasing from Functional to Influencer. The more savvy segments are generally younger. In fact, only 16% of Functionals are under 35, compared to 79% of Influencers. This is important to remember, as many digital initiatives and campaigns are skewing towards the Influencer segment.
The implication of this array of distinct, different patterns of behaviour is that if you are targeting a mass audience, you need diversity your strategy. Or it may mean that you don’t even use digital strategies at all. If your target audience is made up of Functionals, there may be no gain in allocating budget to digital campaigns beyond ensuring you have a friendly, easy-to-use website. They’re simply not active enough online to warrant it. This is the case for many departments, especially for those communicating to an older, less digitally savvy group.
With all the focus on social media and apps, it is easy to lose sight on your website. One of the key findings from Digital Life was the importance of the organisation’s own website as a source of information and influence. After looking at the usage of different information sources during the interaction cycle, the official website emerged as the most important source of information in the decision contemplation process. Unfortunately for us in the public sector, Australian government websites are not always winning approval from the public.
With one in two of the opinion that government websites in general are confusing and difficult to navigate, there is some work to do for some departments to capitalise on the power of a website for delivering information. It is important to ensure that websites get the attention they deserve and are updated in line with campaign roll outs. It is a key tool for communicating with all digital user types, and the only tool that is effective for the less savvy digital users.
If the segment of the public you are seeking to influence sits within the Networker digital segment, then a social media campaign would be a useful way to connect with them. A social media presence aimed at achieving behaviour change may focus on engaging Networkers in a support group environment, creating discussion to educate the public about a topic or using video to convey information.
If the target audience of a campaign sits in the Influencer category, an app would be a good tactic. But make sure whatever you do in mobile is linked to the journey of behaviour change contemplation and trial. The current Federal Government Swap It campaign aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles is an example of an approach that successfully integrates both above and below the line approaches. The Swap It Don’t Stop It app enables users to select ideas for swapping unhealthy behaviours with healthy behaviours, set reminders and monitor progress.
When the early adopters of the behaviour change (first to contemplate, first to take action) are at the same time in the Influencer segment, then using social media and online communities can be a powerful and persuasive tool to include in the social marketing strategy.
The key to integrating digital into social marketing campaigns is to only do so if there is a clear reason for doing it. Don’t just have a Facebook page for the sake of it – the group you are targeting may not be active online or it may not be a relevant space to address the behaviour in question (for example, the national sexual health campaign targets a group active in social media but is not a suitable topic for Facebook engagement). To execute digital strategies effectively, the behaviour change journey and online behaviour of the target group across digital mediums needs to match. To leverage the advantages of digital, we need to look at the public through a digital lens in order to deliver campaigns to help effect behaviour change.
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From rational choice theory to behavioural economics and Nudge … my how far we’ve come!
June 15th, 2010
Although behavioural economics is not new, the way that we can apply our understanding of behavioural economics to the research and development of social marketing campaigns and behaviour change programs is still emerging in terms of good practice.
A combination of psychology and economics, behavioural economics challenges the basic tenets of rational economic theory on which much public policymaking has been based.
Standard economic theory assumes that if we give people the right information, they will use that information to maximise their individual benefit and minimise personal costs – a concept known as rational choice theory.
Based on this kind of standard economic theory, the basic behaviour change model would have looked like this:
Over the last three decades however, leading behavioural psychologists have developed over 60 behavioural theories that seek to explain and predict behaviour change. Their work was based on a hypothesis that providing people with information was not enough to lead to action. Almost all of the behavioural models that emerged in the 1970s, 80s and 90s focus on the importance of understanding beliefs and attitudes, as precursors to behaviour change. The basic behaviour change model consequently evolved to look more like this:
However, almost none of the models take into account behavioural economics, and this might explain why so many social marketing efforts have failed to achieve sustained behaviour change. Even when well researched and developed communication campaigns have resulted in the adoption of positive, desirable beliefs and attitudes (and even behavioural intentions), sustained behaviour change has not always occurred. Something has got in the way. Something has intervened, as a barrier, between the adoption of a desirable attitude and the bedding down of a new, socially desirable behaviour.
That something, I have begun to realise, is behavioural economics (heuristics and biases) as well as habit. Perhaps, the basic behaviour change model now looks something like this …
In recent years, behavioural economics has been the subject of increasing attention in the public policy arena – not so much in Australia but certainly in the UK and parts of Europe and the US. It has been popularised through several influential books such as Nudge[1], Influence[2], The Tipping Point[3], and others.
The main contribution of Behavioural Economics to the behaviour change debate has been three-fold:
What I am seeing in social marketing campaign and program design in recent times, is a greater appreciation of the need to take context, settings, and physical environment into account when doing good developmental behaviour change research. We often refer to this as the ‘design’ tool of behaviour change, and it needs to be considered as part of good developmental research, along with ‘control’ strategies and ‘educate’ / ‘persuade’ strategies.
Formative social marketing research needs to focus more on understanding the context in which the behaviour occurs, and draw in appropriate research methodologies to achieve this. Understanding the impact of behavioural economics on the behaviour in question is crucial in developing effective policy interventions, and appropriate communication strategies.
[1] Thaler, R. and Sunstein, C. (2008) Nudge. Penguin Books
[2] Cialdini, R (2007). Influence: The psychology of persuasion. New York: Harper Business
[3] Gladwell, M (20001). The Tipping Point. London: Abacus
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Why do some social marketing campaigns become household names while others fail to sustain support?
March 18th, 2010
Social marketing campaigns achieve longevity and success for some issues – think tobacco control, road safety, HIV AIDS – but not yet for other equally important issues, such as domestic violence, mental illness, or discrimination. The sad fact is, that regardless of the effectiveness of the campaign, or the quality of the development research and evaluation, many critical social issues fail to capture sustained government attention. Why is this? Why is it that a whole generation of Australians can recognise the Quit logo, and yet campaigners against child abuse and domestic violence continually fail to find a voice on the political stage?
In analysing ‘issues’ that have captured government support over time, both successful and unsuccessful, we can see that there are social and structural components that lead to campaigns being sustained. Tobacco control, road safety and HIV AIDS are issues that have successfully captured the attention of governments across the Western world (and powerful non-government partners) achieving long-term support, and substantial improvements in quality of life.
If we take a historical perspective in Australia, each of these campaigns has contributed to enormous behaviour change in their respective areas:
On the other hand, campaigns against child abuse, child sexual abuse and violence against women, apart from one or two exceptions, are typically of very limited duration or limited to one day or one week coinciding with some international event or landmark (e.g. White Ribbon Day in November). Usually they are operated by non government organisations (NGOs), rather than government agencies. Campaigns against racism, violence in general and stigmatisation of mental illness – all extremely important for health and wellbeing – rarely get a nod, and, if they do, it is usually temporary and transient. In contrast, behaviour change efforts in the areas of physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption/ obesity are only now starting to achieve nation-wide government attention throughout Australia and the developed world. The question is why now, and why these two issues and not others?
When reflecting on these questions it becomes clear that there are complex factors at play that influence political advocacy for behaviour change/ social marketing programs.
Lessons from Freedom From Fear
An issue that is close to my heart is domestic violence. I was involved in Western Australia’s Freedom From Fear campaign (FFF) – a first of its type in Australia, being a state government-funded, mass media-based campaign focusing primarily on perpetrators and men at risk of perpetrating domestic violence. Within the family and domestic violence sector, this represented a radical departure from victim-focused and tertiary interventions and services. Within public health, it represented a landmark application of health promotion and social marketing principles, models and strategies to a complex psycho-social and community issue.
It was a campaign that was underpinned by sound strategy, robust research that informed and evaluated the campaign, and successful execution. In terms of message strategy and content development, the campaign included:
The campaign was highly successful, achieving much in its first year:
But it was not enough. Two years after the campaign was launched there was a change in government which, along with other factors, prompted the abolishment of many programs of the previous government, regardless of their efficacy. Initially, FFF withstood such treatment, owed largely to very effective advocacy by non-government and academic supporters of the campaign’s achievements. However, over time the campaign budget was eroded to the extent that it is now a shadow of its former self.
FFF illustrates that social marketing practitioners can do everything right to successfully execute the marketing and education tools of social marketing, but the issue will only gather and maintain government support if it meets other conditions for sustainability.
I spent years pondering why, when it was initially so successful and the issue so clearly important, it was allowed to slow to a halt. It became clear that regardless of campaign efficacy a set of requisite factors are required for issues to sustain government attention beyond the election cycle.
Is there a model for success?
There appear to be two sets of interrelated factors that are necessary for sustainability: the attributes or nature of the issue per se – the ‘essential’ factors; and the additional socio-structural conditions. Whilst the socio-structural factors alone are not sufficient for sustainability, the interplay between them determines whether or not the interaction facilitates or inhibits adoption.
The ‘essential’ factors
1. Clearly established causal link and ‘death’ consequence
2. High and calculable medical costs
3. A clearly defined issue (behaviour), with a clearly identifiable victim, and clear measurable campaign outcomes in the short term
Additional socio-structural factors necessary for sustainability
1. The socio-cultural milieu – the potential to impact more broadly on the wider population, combined with the obvious visibility of the behaviours
2. Organised, self-funding NGOs that play a critical role in advocacy on behalf of victims and sufferers
3. A decades-long history that started at NGO level well before being taken up by state governments and finally the Commonwealth Government
4. Professional networks around the world uniting to advocate for legislation and structural change
5. Existence of a body or organisation to assume ‘ownership’ for finding solutions to change the behaviour or fix the problem.
The issue of domestic violence in Western Australia was not supported by all these factors; FFF was developed before its time. But there are many lessons we can learn from FFF, to inform best practice social marketing moving forward. Foremost among these are 1) holistic program design, connecting and coordinating the four key tools or social marketing (educate, persuade, control, design); 2) ‘upstream education’ (to politicians and senior bureaucrats), that for issues such as domestic violence behaviour change outcomes require sustained provision of treatment programs requiring budget commitment; 3) more accurate and informed best/ worst-case cost-scenario planning to ensure the campaign can continue as long as required; 4) better engagement with the non-government sector and identification of a lead NGO agency to champion the cause; and 5) and more systematic, coordinated collection of cost of harm (if not death consequence) data.
There are some encouraging indications that Freedom From Fear may well be the flame that sparks embers across the globe to ignite well-developed, well-researched, and equally successful domestic violence campaigns for future decades. The campaign’s framework, and research and development process, were imported by the UK National Health Service for the launch of a Yorkshire version in April last year. Consistent with our analysis above, recommendations under consideration in the UK include developing the non-government advocacy sector to strengthen the structural environment that will be needed to support the campaign’s longevity. Hopefully, lessons learned from Freedom From Fear will not only spark a bigger flame to combat domestic violence in the UK, but lead to more spot fires throughout the world that will one day unite to create a sustained front to address violence against women.
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