Changing consumer behaviour - a review of comms from around the globe

Overflowing water glass (Credit: Jacek Dylag; Unsplash)

As part of their People and Environment Programme, the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) committed to leading a campaign to raise awareness among people and businesses of the value of water in society and how people's water using behaviours affect the water environment. They commissioned Community Research to undertake an independent desktop review of behaviour change campaigns conducted in the UK and abroad. CCW recognised that the water sector faces some big challenges, not least climate change and population growth, and that changing peoples’ habits around their water use, what they flush down the toilet and rinse down their sink is not easy. They wish to use the research findings to help galvanise action and foster collaborative working in the sector. They are open to approaching things differently and taking some risks to try to get peoples’ attention.

The desktop review identifies campaigns that have been effective, sets out some best practice principles to consider and highlights a number of potential opportunities for future campaigns. Eight case studies were selected to showcase an interesting or innovative approach to a long-standing issue. And, more importantly they have had impressive results in terms of addressing challenges that the water sector tends to struggle with or going well above the norm in terms of reach or impact.

The review was focussed on water-related issues but the best practice principles are relevant more generally; as are some of the associated debates. For example, how can emotion best be used in comms campaigns? Is the use of humour or fear ever counter-productive? Should resources be devoted to national or local campaigns? Who are trusted messengers in this space?

CCW has since published the desktop review of behaviour change campaigns. If you don’t have a chance to read the whole thing, some of these campaigns using unusual and eye-catching formats and tapping into different emotional responses are worth a quick look…

Yorkshire Tea’s Look! A tiny kettle! and Manchester City/ Xylem’s The End of Football films have had a big reach (at over 3 million and nearly 2 million views respectively). Water-filled suitcases on an airport luggage reclaim in the Balearics, were used to draw attention to low rainfall; Affinity Water had a well-known comedian telling chalk-stream related jokes while standing in a chalk stream; and the Be a good a**hole - City to Sea campaign had people sitting on toilets in public to engage people in conversations about wet wipe disposal. 

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