Citizen Marketing | LittleGreyMatters

The recently established University College London Centre for Behavioural Change is an exciting new area to explore for marketers – and more specifically pro-social marketers.

Experts from NHS Health and the UK’s Behaviour Change research funding bodies agree that the worlds between private and public sectors need to converge to make the urgent and eagerly-awaited Behavioural Change research applied, relevant and scalable.

Cue UCL, whose Centre for Behavioural Change could provide a perfect nexus for big brands to source an academic rigour to campaigns that help drive social change across important social areas such as sustainable environment (for example by encouraging recycling), preventative healthcare (such as encouraging exercise and health screening checks), and responsible financial behaviour (for example contributing to your pension), preventing domestic violence and more.

Think of the benefits that might be reached more quickly in these important areas if the money (and reach) of big brands got involved to consistently bring that message to consumers’ front of mind in the ad-breaks between their favourite shows, or even during the Super Bowl.

It seems a ripe opportunity for forward-thinking people in business and academia to stay close to.

Watch this space and this UCL presentation on Delivering Change for Society here.

Ultraviolet’s Super Bowl ad. ‘Credit to Fortune.com for the image.

In what seems like a tirade of response, big brands are rising to call attention to a long-stifled problem in human rights; domestic violence.

Domestic violence is estimated to affect 30% of women globally, with 2 women killed every week in the UK by an intimate partner. In Australia, it’s 1 woman every week – a statistic that has led domestic violence campaigner Rosie Beatty (2015’s Australian of the Year) – to draw attention to this urgent and disturbing issue.

In Turkey, it’s estimated a shocking 50% of women experience domestic abuse. So in response, Vodafone Turkey, with their local agency Y&R Team Red, developed an innovative way to reach at-risk female domestic violence victims. At times of threat, women can shake the Vodafone “Red Light” app alerting three contacts for help, and hopefully saving their lives. The most creative part was to reveal this aid to women only via heated Veet wax strips and YouTube female targeted ads to ensure usage quickly spread to the most at-risk groups.

And then last week, at the annual ad-binge that is the US Super Bowl, audiences weren’t talking about the plays, but instead about the team’s recent issues with domestic violence. In a hefty statement equal rights group Ultraviolet and Sports Illustrated launched the #GoodellMustGo campaign showing a violently crash-tackled woman. Not bad for an ad that was originally rejected.

But nothing could prepare the tuned-in crowds for the NFL’s own ‘No More’ official Super Bowl ad which aired during the game on YouTube. It’s been picked up globally by titles like The Economist, the Guardian, CNN, Fortune, Rolling Stone and many more, highlighting the disturbing content, which more shockingly is based on a real life story. Watch it here.

All this media attention makes us more aware. More awareness leads to more conversation. And talking about issues like domestic violence helps to break the awful silence for victims that allows it to continue.

To the credit of brands like Vodafone, Sports Illustrated and NFL, it shows that brands have a powerful opportunity to make a long-lasting impression on millions of people who care about things that last longer than the final play of the ball.

Who will be the next brand to be brave enough to step up to the plate?

How Big Brains + Big Brands Can Help Drive Behaviour Change

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How Big Brands Are Changing Attitudes Towards Domestic Violence

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