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Introduction
The specific
behavior that is being influenced in DontBeIdle is to turn cars off and not be
idling when in park or not driving. This behavior change is critical for a
sustainable economy and excessive idling presents many negatives which is
mainly on the pollutants being expelled on the environment. As well as the harm
it presents on car engines that lead to overall inefficiency and excessive
carbon buildups in the intake system. Which over time will eventually
contribute to poor gas mileage for the engine to compensate and put more fuel
in the clogged cylinders (
In Social
Marketing: A Pathway to Consumption Reduction by Ken Peattie and Sue
Peattie the critical analysis of consumption reduction is analyzed from a
social marketing perspective. In the Brundtland Report "Our Common
Future" the idea of sustainable development was first publicized,
and environmental economists believed this would be the contributing factor for
a sustainable and circular economy (Peattie Ken & Peattie Sue, 2009). Which was brought in due
to examples of unsustainable business practices such as no environmental
scrubbers implemented into companies that manufacture and have a high carbon
footprint (1987: Brundtland Report, n.d). Thus, the re tooling criticism became
relevant and supports this campaign well as originally it was targeted uniquely
to a small town but moved to a city to gain awareness to eventually reduce
consumption (Peattie Ken & Peattie Sue, 2009). This led to more
consumer interactions and consumption started dwindling regarding idling. Thus,
the proactiveness of council leaders in Westminster created a positive
solution. Which since the launch of the campaign has led to citizens reporting
idling cars to issue them a citation to prevent them from doing so in the
future. DontBeIdle has also kicked off an air quality champion movement that
has led to passionate individuals informing others about detrimental effects of
idling and educating. Since the launch in June of 2017 there have been 10
lobbying and information sessions that have each accounted for a 20% growth in
attendees. Thus, the word is remarkably spreading well (
There are also behaviors that
are explained that are targeting driving electric or hybrid vehicles that can
develop a change in a lifestyle for the overall benefit of human health, the
atmosphere, and society (
Attached below is the campaign
from the Westminster government site.
Barriers and
Benefits to Influencing a Particular Behaviour
The barriers to adopting this
behavior change of turning cars off when not idling is the lack of social
support as throughout this campaign there is not much of a societal impact that
covers the philanthropic view of and concern of excessive idling (Olson, 1992).
As a supportive social environment is a crucial element in allowing for the
long-term success in behavior change (Olson, 1992). This thereby inhibits
citizens of Westminster to not have a support system in place and thus
convinces them that the issue is not as large as it seems. There needs to be
more of a support and mentorship program in this campaign to allow for more
success as this is the weak spot of it.
Another barrier is the lack of
rewards, as consumers are trait species whom tend to do better and support a
cause if there is some extrinsic reward (Olson, 1992). This campaign does not
possess that and allows for less of the consumers to participate in rallying
events and getting behind shutting their vehicles off.
There is also a barrier that
relates to lack of time, as consumers lead remarkably busy lives and cannot be
bothered to partake in rallying events that are of little motivation and goal
achieving to them (Olson, 1992). These rallying events take a lot of time out
of a typical individual’s day and society tends to choose things that bring
them the most benefit in a short span of time.
Lastly social proofing is
another barrier, as individuals look at others on how to behave (Olson, 1992).
For example, if they are seeing young teenagers and adults idling their cars in
drive thru's then the behavior is segmented and can be passed down to other
members in the community. Another example is how driving electric and hybrid
vehicles can become an important competitive advantage for the city of
Westminster to reduce emissions. However, with only 5% of the population
driving electric or hybrid vehicles social proofing comes into effect again and
goes with the notion of how the community is behaving.
The benefits to adopting this
behavior are increased autonomy, environmental degradation is decreased, and
the individual acts as a leader to create and mitigate change. There is also
the notion to act as a responsible corporate citizen and to be labelled as a
green air quality champion which is a reward of distinction given in the city
of Westminster that makes yourself stand out from the crowd and can be useful
for employment to get your next big job in an environmental sector. Another
benefit is that there is increased awareness on the topic and people could
follow in regard to your forthcoming along with the benefit to human and animal
health with lessened carbon emissions. Lastly, if this behavior change is
adopted then an automatic behavior can be instilled which is the push towards
driving vehicles with electric or hybrid systems as well as automobiles with
auto start systems to conserve fuel. These vehicles are becoming more popular
and with more charging stations to be implemented they can truly become a game
changer and phase out standard gasoline and diesel vehicles.
Strategies
Chosen by the Campaign Organizers to Influence the Behaviour
This campaign utilizes many social norms in that engine idling is
perceived as an unacceptable societal behavior and must be stopped (Prompts:
Remembering to Act, n.d). This is demonstrated through visuals and videos
that are a unique way to put a perspective on the situation. Incentives are
observed as you can become "an air quality champion" this puts
yourself at a competitive advantage than other individuals if you partake in
reducing idling emissions. This incentive comes in regard to attending
conferences and gives you a badge of honour that can allow individuals to
become more aligned to the behavior change. Commitments are also used by the
organization that says spreading the word will allow for a healthier future and
less health risks. This is utilized and spread via leaflet's and postcard's the
organization makes available for printing and further use (Prompts: Remembering
to Act, n.d).
Presentation,
Content and Framing of Messages
The
presentation in this campaign is not as aesthetically appealing as there are
lots of black and white colour schemes used. However, with the videos they
portray the message well with real life actors and celebrities to create more
of a positive and demanding influence. There could be more incorporation of
coloured visuals to make it easy on the reader to follow along and gain
valuable information. This campaign is clear, vivid, and personal towards
the reader by utilizing heart string elements and targets a specific age group
including children and adults. Heart strings are used via children actively
volunteering in the campaign to set an example. The campaign also understands
and empowers the target audience by constantly mentioning "you are the
sole responsibility for the environment and can create change by a simple
task". The emotional aspect is well demonstrated via humans
spreading the word and getting passionate about the conferences. This campaign
makes use of reliable and credible sources which further encompasses a trusted
message for the viewer to abide by (Mckenzie-Mohr & Smith, 1999). A
thoughtful fear-based appeal is used in one video where a car is filled up with
balloons that equate to the amount residents in Westminster are wasting by
idling each year, and ultimately the car blows up (Mckenzie-Mohr &
Smith, 1999). This is insightful and demonstrates how large the issue is. Lastly this campaign could be more effective by transmitting the message
through effective channels which involve social media (Facebook, Twitter). As
social media holds strong value and can reach a large amount of the population
in a matter of seconds. This campaign does however use good advertising methods
via leaflets and postcards that are available for printout and are easily
accessible in section 4 of the campaign. The campaign is also well structured
in 5 simple steps to get the message across via different segments (Mckenzie-Mohr
& Smith, 1999). Due to these reasons this campaign has excellent
messages that will allow for individuals to adopt the behavior (Mckenzie-Mohr
& Smith, 1999).
As for the
comparison this campaign is a little vague than the Take the No Idling
Challenge, as the focus on that campaign is for polar bears and the
ever-lasting impacts on climate change and melting polar ice caps. There are
more stakeholders involved as environmentalists are at the scope and the social
media aspect has more of a deeper market audience especially with marketing
placements of advertisements based on search behaviors.
References
1987:
Brundtland Report. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2019, from
https://www.are.admin.ch/are/en/home/sustainable-development/international-cooperation/2030agenda/un-_-milestones-in-sustainable-development/1987--brundtland-report.html
Engine
idling - #DontBeIdle. (2019, January 23). Retrieved February 2, 2019, from https://www.westminster.gov.uk/dont-be-idle
McKenzie-Mohr,
D., & Smith, W. A. (1999). Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An
Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing (3rd edition). Gabriola
Island, BC: New Society Publishers.
Olson,
J. M. (1992, February). Psychological Barriers to Behavior Change. Retrieved
March 18, 2019, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2145450/
Peattie, Ken & Peattie, Sue. (2009). Social Marketing: A
Pathway to Consumption Reduction?. Journal of Business Research. 62.
260-268. Retrieved February 2, 2019,
from 10.1016/j.jbusres.2008.01.033.
Prompts:
Remembering to Act. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2019, from http://www.cbsm.com/pages/guide/prompts:-remembering-to-act/
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