influencing attitudinal and behavioural shifts david amers: planning director at the leith agency
TRANSCRIPT
Influencing attitudinal and behavioural shifts
David Amers: Planning Director at The Leith Agency
The Leith Agency
• Largest advertising communications agency in Scotland
• 25 years old
• 122 staff
• Brands and social issue marketing
Prompting attitudinal and behavioural shifts in brands
Clear objective
Key audience segments
Insight into the audience/brand relationship
Motivating message
Tone of voice
TV
Shift attitudes in line with objective
Some Leith Agency Scottish Government Campaigns:
• The Smoking Ban• Drug Dealer’s Don’t Care• Knife Crime• Hand Hygiene• Sexual Health• Alcohol Misuse• Fire Safety• Cocaine• Flu• Drugs/Know the Score
What have we learned about influencing attitudes and behaviours?
Everything starts with a clear, focussed objective
‘On the cusp’ of Knife Crime
Anti Impressionable Vulnerable Hardened
Be clear who your priority audience is
“On the Cusp”
“Anti” “Impressionable” “Vulnerable” Hardened
Knife carrying attitudes and behaviours
Committed to not carrying. Distance themselves from the problem
Unlikely not to carry but its close to their world
Reluctant to carry but may be (or have been) tempted
Regular carriers
General attitudes and ambitions
Relatively high hopes. College etc. Participatory interests (football music etc.)
Low key ambitions A trade
Enjoy playing football
Fatalistic. Defeatist.
‘Hanging around’
Drugs
Alcohol
Troublesome intent
Lack consequential thinking
Reactions to our initiatives
Welcome participatory aspects. Could get involved.
See role for participation.
Involvement unlikely.
Consistent intervention required
Likely to be ‘gang membership related’
Thought provocation
More accessible, meaningful participation
Age for intervention S3 S1 – S3 P7 – S1
Gather insight by exploring the relationship between the priority
audience and the issue
What are the challenges and barriers?
What message is likely to meet our objective and why?
Core Message
“There is so much to lose if you carry a knife”
A message needs to be supported
Why should I believe that?
Communications don’t take place in a vacuum
Communications are catalytic
People can influence each other more than we can influence them
How do we spark peer to peer dialogue?
Summary
1. Clear focussed objective (which community safety issue do you want to shift young people’s views on and, specifically, what do you want to achieve?)
2. Know your audience (which type of young person is your primary target?)
3. Explore the audiences relationship with the issue• The challenges you face in changing attitudes and behaviours
• The best possible message to achieve your objective
4. Support your message (why should they believe it?)
5. Channels (how best to get your message to the audience)
6. Be a catalyst and conversation starter