Jenn Alvarez, Green Campus Lead

How to Turn Attitudes Into Action!

Community Based Social Marketing

Traditional Marketing

• Information campaigns = education/advertising

• Education/advertising = change attitudes

• Information alone has little effect on changing

behaviors

Traditional Marketing

Why do some adopt behaviors and

others do not?

• People do not know about the activity or its benefits

• People who know about the activity may see barriers to

change

• People who may feel there are no significant behaviors to an

activity, may think current activity is more beneficial

To influence what people do…

Understand the barriers and benefits of an ACTION!

• High benefits, few barriers

• Perceived barriers and benefits vary dramatically among

individuals

• Behavior competes with behavior

What is CBSM?

Behavior change is most

effectively achieved

• Delivered at the community

level

• Focuses on removing barriers

• Enhances the activities benefits

Based on the book:

Fostering Sustainable

Behavior

4 Major Steps

1. Identify the barriers and benefits to an

activity

2. Use behavior change “tools” to design more

effective programs

3. Pilot test program

4. Evaluate the impact of broadly implemented

program

Step 1: Identifying barriers and

benefits

• Literature review

– Articles/reports

• Obtain qualitative info

– Focus groups

– Observation

– Survey

Do your homework…

RESEARCH

• Articles

• Reports

• Studies on similar

programs

Helps identify issues and

barriers

Obtain Qualitative Info

Focus groups

• Small group

• Random

• Focused questions

Observational studies

• Investigate actual

behavior

Qualitative Data

Survey1. Clarify the objective

2. List items to be

measured

3. Write the survey

4. Pilot survey

5. Select the sample

6. Conduct the survey

7. Analyze the data

Identify External Barriers

• Identify External Barriers

• How to Address Barriers?

• How have other programs

been successful?

• Realistic to overcome?

• If not, change your focus

Step 2: Use effective psychological

“tools”

Psychological “tools” of

behavior change

• Commitment – Agreement to a small

request

• Prompts – Consistent reminders

• Norms – Socially acceptable

behavior

• Communication – Publicity/Marketing

• Incentives - Any factor that enables

or motivates a particular course of

action

Tools of Behavior Change

Commitment• Emphasize Written over Verbal

• Ask for Public Commitments

• Seek Group Commitments

• Actively Involve the Person

• Consider Cost-Effective Ways

• Use Existing points of Contact

• Help People to View

Themselves as

Environmentally Concerned

• Don’t use coercion (commitments

must be freely volunteered)

“Tools” of Behavior Change

Examples: Commitment

Energy Conservation

• Invite community to participate – audit/replacing

incandescent with CFL

• Set deadline

• Follow-up, provide solutions

“Tools” of Behavior Change

Prompts• Noticeable

• Self-explanatory

• Close proximity

• Encourage positive behaviors

Examples: Prompts

Energy Conservation

• Light switch stickers

• On washing machines/dishwashers

use cold water setting and wash full

loads

• Post information about the amount

of energy an appliance uses

“Tools” of Behavior Change

Norms• Make the Norm Visible

– Provide ongoing

feedback

• Use Personal Contact

“Tools” of Behavior Change

Example: Norms

Energy Conservation

• Post-up energy savings results throughout a competition, and

provide tips for doing better

“Tools” of Behavior Change

Communication• Use captivating information

• Know your audience

• Use a credible source

• Frame your message

• Carefully consider threatening messages

• Make your message easy to remember

• Provide personal or community goals

• Emphasize Personal Contact

• Provide feedback

Examples: Communication

Energy Conservation

• Households were mailed monthly letters that indicated the

extent to which they had been able to reduce energy use over

the same month during the previous year. 5% reduced

increased their energy use

• Households who received daily feedback on the amount of

electricity they consumed, lowered energy use by 11%

relative to physically identical households who did not receive

feedback.

“Tools” of Behavior Change

Incentives• Pair the incentive with the

behavior

• Reward positive behavior

• Make it visible

• Be cautious about removing

incentives

• Prepare for people’s attempts to

avoid the incentive

• Non-monetary

Examples: Incentives

Energy Conservation

• Introduce electricity rates that increase with use.

• Charge variable rates based upon time of use.

• Provide loans, grants or rebates for home energy retrofits.

Step 3 & 4: Design and Evaluate

Design & Evaluation• Identify and Prioritize Barriers

• Select Tools that Match Identified Barriers

• Scrutinize your Design with Focus Groups

– Control/Test group

– Random Assignment

• Make further refinements

• Pilot the strategy

– Measure behavior change

• Introduce to larger community

• Evaluate the Community Implementation

– Measure your impact

Conclusion

1. Literature Review: Build your program on the

work of others

2. Focus groups/Survey: Determine barriers you

need to overcome

3. Pilot the Strategy: Test impact and further

refine effectiveness

4. Evaluation: Talk about impact and share

results

Adrienne SpitzerHSU Green Campus Program Coordinator

CBSM Techniques Case study: HSU Green Campus Projects

Tabling/Marketing Campaign

• Give away free CFLs and power strips

• Focus on educating people about the devices first

Simple and straightforward

Offer facts about them

Teach them how to use power strips properly

Tabling/Marketing Campaign

• Incentives for using them:

Simplicity

Monetary savings

Helping to conserve energy/protect

environment

Tabling/Marketing Campaign

• Students need to be reminded about energy efficiency

• Email contact list of people who receive CFLs used for:

Volunteer opportunities

Remind them about GC

Keep energy efficiency on their mind

Library Display

• Passive advertising to active marketing

• Every semester GC creates a display in the library for a week

• The fall display showed that HSU gets its electricity from both renewable and nonrenewable sources Pie chart showed percentage of a

certain type of energy production HSU uses

Library Display

• Showed why nonrenewable energy is bad and how it affects the earth

Power plants pollute air/water

Emphasize why using renewable energy is better

Highlighted direct correlation between energy production and its effect on our world

Library Display

• While the display was up:

Informal surveys

People were asked for their thoughts

Comments showed a positive response

• The display was effective because:

Educated about something not previously considered

Promoted an attitude change that could sponsor positive behavioral changes

Made passive publicity active

Future Applications

• A more formalized evaluation

More personal interactions

Interns ask and record questions

Leave a comment sheet

Compile and analyze data to improve future campaigns

Adrienne SpitzerHSU Green Campus Program Coordinator

ars72@humboldt.edu

Poly Canyon Energy Competition

Community Based Social Marketing

Ravi Sahai, Project Intern, Cal Poly SLO

Poly Canyon

• Apartment style

housing for 2nd, 3rd

and 4th year students

• 9 apartment buildings

• 2700 students

• Each building has 4-8

Community Advisors

(equivalent to RA’s in

residence halls)

• Greater potential for

savings

Poly Canyon Village

Energy Competition

Emphasize personal contact and accountability

• Competition between buildings

• Encourages people to change behavior, not

just attitude

• Offers incentives and rewards: Stainless Steel

Water Bottles for residents and sweatshirts for

CA’s

• Students able to see quantitative results of

behavior change

Energy Competition

Lessons learned?

Prizes

Embroidered

sweatshirts for CA’s

Stainless steel water

bottles for residents

Advertising

• Community Advisor meeting

• Tabling Events- handing out CFL’s

• Sandwich board

• Weekly update emails

• Mid competition activity (Dance in Dark)

• Fliers in target areas (laundry rooms)

• Website- tips for green living

Advertising

Fliers

Fliers and magnets handed out during tabling

Sandwich Board

After the Competition

• Survey:

Did you alter your behavior during the competition in order

to be more sustainable?

81% Yes

19% No

Will you continue your sustainable behavior patterns now

that the competition is over?

78% Yes

22% No

Send right after competition instead

• Meter readings- continue to track usage

• Interviewed residents, a CA, and learning community

coordinator for feedback

Post Competition

Strategies for a successful competition:• Begin advertising early

• Get RA’s/CA’s involved

• Make standings/data visible

• Offer incentives and rewards

• Keep students updated

• Tabling- face to face advertising

• Follow up after competition

Lessons Learned

Thank you

Contact Information

Ravi Sahai, Green Campus Intern

rsahai@calpoly.edu

Thank You!