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