One problem with rounding up risk communication case studies is that when programs are effective, risk is kept to a minimum, and so you don’t often hear about them. Sadly, most academic research shows that standard risk communication tactics do not have the desired impact on the target audience. While they may increase awareness, they seldom move people to actually do the desired behavior.
Nonetheless, we’ve found some exceptionally effective risk communication programs that not only motivate people to learn or undertake desired behaviors, but do a nice job of measuring the results as well. Here are three of them.
1. A Turtle Makes Kids Wise About Chemical Risks
The best example of the impact of a long-term commitment to risk communication is Wally Wise Guy. Robert L. Heath and Jaesub Lee, of the University of Houston, and Michael J. Palenchar and Laura Lemon, of the University of Tennessee, investigated the impact of the 18-year industry-based campaign designed to instruct community members on how to respond in case of a chemical spill or other emergency.
For the campaign a cartoon turtle—that’s Wally Wise Guy over to the right—is the symbol of what to do in a chemical emergency. At the start of the program few people knew what “shelter in place” meant. But by using a turtle, which by its nature shelters in place when facing risk, and targeting young children who responded well to the engaging character, the program was able to educate potentially affected publics in the vicinity of chemical plants. The program was launched by the City of Deer Park, Texas, home to a number of large chemical companies. Since then it has been adopted by 119 member organizations in 28 states in the U.S.
The authors measured the effectiveness of the program by conducing regular community surveys for the past 20+ years. The surveys were designed to track not just awareness but knowledge of what the desired actions should be. Their findings yielded insights on several levels:
- The researchers learned that while the program was initially targeted at kids, sustained communications enabled it to reach secondary target audiences as well, including teachers and their families, as well as the children’s parents and other adults.
- Results showed that the program increased the likelihood that community members would actually shelter in place and follow instructions in a crisis.
- Even more interesting, they analyzed the data to determine which of several tactics worked best. They found that the sheer number of different tactics contributed to the success of the program. A calendar that kept the Wally image in front of the whole family all year long was particularly memorable and effective.
- Additionally, they found that the program increased trust in the chemical industry as well as in the stores that participated in the program, including Walmart.
- Key to the research was that the the authors compared their results to communities that did not participate in the program. Findings include a 30% decline in parents who would want to leave their shelter to go pick up their kids or are likely to flee, behaviors that the campaign was intended to discouraged.
2. Dumb Ways to Die Is a Smart Way to Communicate
Another campaign intended to reduce risky behavior is Dumb Ways to Die, conducted by Melbourne Australia’s Metro Train authority and created by McCann Melbourne. Young people in the city had exhibited absent-minded and foolish behavior around trains, resulting in injury and death. The authority wanted a public service safety message that wouldn’t be ignored by the tough-to-crack younger demographic.
The campaign uses simple cartoon figures (see some of them in the image up top) to get the message across that there are a lot of dumb ways to die, but the dumbest of all is to fall onto the railroad tracks. A local musician was recruited to write a catchy tune. Warning: Don’t click on the video below unless you want “Dumb Ways to Die” to be stuck in your head for the next 24 hours.
The campaign, which cost about $20,000, is now the world’s most-shared public service announcement. It’s won awards at Cannes and generated unprecedented levels of exposure, awareness, and engagement, as evidenced by hundreds of parodies, translations, and spin-offs. Its popularity enabled Metro Train to merchandise the characters and bring in far more than the campaign cost. They also created a game which got 14 million people to pledge to be safer around trains.
But the ultimate goal was to reduce railroad accidents. According to Metro Train there was a 21% reduction in accidents and deaths following the campaign. Read more about Dumb Ways to Die here.
3. Social Media Injects British Columbians with the Urge for a Flu Shot
Back in 2009, social and digital media were just beginning to be seen as useful tools for getting messages out. Immunize BC decided to add social media to its tool kit for communicating to the public about flu season and the need for vaccinations. Because it was a very new idea—and because Canadians are fanatics about measurement—their social team was under a great deal of pressure to show that social media could be an effective tool.
Like a lot of us back in those early social media days, their first metrics were mostly likes and shares, which didn’t cut it with the health authorities. So they turned to their annual survey to figure out who had received their messages. They segmented the data by those who had gotten the messages via social media, and those who had not. Turns out that social media savvy people were significantly more likely to say that they intended to get a flu shot.
Of course, the road to the flu is paved with good intentions, and the authorities weren’t satisfied that people had actually gotten shots. But soon the province was able to provide data on the actual number of flu shots delivered, and that number had jumped dramatically.
Given that the only change in tactics and strategy was the addition of social media, it was clear that this newfangled medium was an effective way to communicate risk. Ahh. The good old days. ∞
