The inevitable

We are all going to die – but it’s how we frame this fact that makes us who we are, and framing is also integral in an effective campaign that requires people to change their behaviour.

You can either live dying or die living

Framing can either focus on what we gain if we listen to advice or what we could lose if we don’t listen to advice. A gain frame presents the information with a focus on the potential gains – such as saving 40 out of 60 cute fluffy rabbits. A loss frame focuses on the potential losses – such as losing 20 out of 60 cute fluffy rabbits.

Three phases of change

For a successful campaign, we need to understand where our viewer is within their journey. In their Comprehensive Messaging Strategy for Sustained Behavior Change, Pelletier and colleagues argue that messages need to be tailored to the stage of change that people are in (see Pope et al., 2018). Further research has confirmed that people change their behaviour more rapidly when information is tailored to suit this stage (Velicer et al., 2006).

The three different phases of behaviour change are the detection phase, the decision phase, and the implementation phase:

• During the detection phase we assume that the viewer has no prior knowledge of the problem, so is unaware of the impact that changing their behaviour will have on their life.
• In the decision phase the viewer has prior knowledge of the problem. However, they are undecided as to whether they want to take action or what action to take.
• In the implementation phase the viewer has a strong involvement with the problem and needs more confidence to take action.

Make it personal

More importantly, your messages should promote self-determined, intrinsic motivations for changing behaviour. Your viewer will be less likely to take on and maintain new behaviour if they are motivated extrinsically – by things like money and status.

Detection phase

If your demographic have no prior knowledge of the problem, then during the detection phase they may not recognise the personal relevance of the problem. So you need to highlight the problems using a loss frame.

This phase is all about becoming aware of the problem, and it is important to emphasise self-determined motivations for behaviour change. This will bring people into the right frame of mind to personally care about the problem.

Decision phase

During the decision phase people are aware of the problem but now need to decide whether to take action and which actions are most appropriate. In this phase, use gain frames about certain behaviours, so that people can understand the benefits of changing their behaviour.

When a behaviour is perceived as relatively safe (such as getting vaccinated), people respond better to a gain frame than to a loss frame (e.g., gain frame – getting vaccinated will protect you against flu).

Implementation phase

During the implementation phase, people have already made a decision to change their behaviour, but now we need them to spring into action. In this phase, people might have good intentions but often lack the confidence, skills or knowledge about how to make the change.

Therefore, messages should be tailored towards increasing people’s confidence in how to succeed in their behavioural change. In this phase, neither gain nor loss frames are effective – people need solid and specific strategies to help them make a change.

The takeaway

To conclude – if you want to save the world, work out who you want to save it for, where they are in their journey and how it will affect them personally. Then frame the message.