Barriers
There is a story that says that the Chevy Nova, a wildly successful automobile in North America, was a complete flop when introduced in spanish speaking countries. The reason? “No va” is spanish for “Doesn’t go.” Quite a barrier to sales. Whether true or not, the story illustrates the importance of identifying barriers to adopting […]
Relax, Compost Happens
I am currently working on a great backyard composting project with the wonderful people at the Township of Langley, BC (http://www NULL.tol NULL.ca). We are using Community-based Social Marketing to promote backyard composting. I have been involved in backyard composting for over 20 years, and I believe it to be a solid waste management solution […]
Planning for Behaviour
We are frequently hired to develop CBSM strategies to improve participation in existing programs. The client wants those who are not participating to begin, or wants to get people who are using the program to participate properly (for instance, to reduce contamination in the recycling stream). Unfortunately, we often find that the barriers to participation […]
Biggest Avoidable Mistake
The most frequent mistake made by new CBSM strategy designers is assuming that they know everything about their target audiences. They believe that they already know the motivators, barriers, and attitudes of their target audience. They then design a strategy based on their own beliefs rather than those of the people they are trying to […]