Intervention.
When you're aiming to enhance customer engagement, improve employee performance, or drive public health initiatives.
SoMoCo’s intervention design service exists to help you achieve meaningful, lasting behavioural change.
The following case study is a great example of this.
Case Study :
Marine Lake Health & Wellbeing Centre : Using Gain-Framed Messaging to Build Trust and Overcome Resistance.
Wirral Community Health Care NHS Trust (WCHCT).
Summary
This case study highlights how SoMoCo applied behavioural insights to build public trust and overcome identified resistance to the development of a new health and wellbeing centre, which had experienced a seven-year delay.
Context
WCHCT planned to submit a proposal for a state-of-the-art health and wellbeing centre in West Kirby.
However, the project faced challenges, including potential public objections to the removal of a mature tree, a Stopping Up Order that would remove a public right of way, and the closure of an existing medical centre.
These issues could lead to further delays, jeopardising the project's viability.
Behavioural Analysis
SoMoCo identified several behavioural challenges:
Low Trust: The lengthy delay had eroded public confidence in WCHCT.
Loss Aversion: Residents were concerned about the closure of the existing medical centre, the loss of green space, and the removal of the public right of way.
Diverse Audiences: Different community segments had varying needs and expectations, making it challenging to craft a message that would resonate with all groups.
Strategy
SoMoCo implemented a strategy that employed key behavioural levers:
Anchoring to Positive Emotions: The campaign used a colour palette referencing the NHS rainbow to evoke positive emotions associated with the NHS's role during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gain Framing: The messaging focused on the benefits of the new centre, such as improved health services and reduced travel times, diverting attention from perceived losses.
Visualisation: A walk-through social video provided a tangible representation of the centre's benefits.
Tailoring: The campaign used imagery featuring people representative of the local demographic to increase empathy, engagement, and ownership.
Implementation
The campaign delivered clever targeting of social media ads, direct engagement which leveraged influence strategies in engagement with communities and media together with the strategic placement of messaging on site hoardings.
The approach ensured that messaging resonated with different audience segments, addressing specific concerns while building overall support for the project.
Results & Impact :
Reach
19,000 Residents
(89% of target demographic)
Engagement
8,490
Landing Page visits
Impact
The campaign successfully achieved all the objectives set by WCHCT. It generated significant support for the project, leading to 100% positive media coverage.
Reception
100% Positive
Media Coverage
Result
Zero Objections
to Stopping Up Order
Impact
The insights gained from this campaign have informed all future phases of communication as the project progressed until completion.
Result
Community mobilisation and hoardings vandalism averted
Legacy
Behavioural insights guide engagement on all subsequent phases of development
Impact
This case study underscores the effectiveness of applying behavioural insights to complex public engagement challenges.
Testimonial :
“Working with SoMoCo brought an entirely new dimension to our communications and public engagement strategy. The behavioural science-based approach allowed us to understand the underlying concerns and motivations of our community in ways a traditional community insight never could. Their ability to frame messages positively, tap into local emotions, and tailor communications to our diverse audience segments proved invaluable.
Thanks to SoMoCo's insights and strategies, we overcame potential resistance to disruptions caused by groundwork and achieved zero objections to a Stopping Up Order. Most importantly this positive, insight led approach helped us to regain trust and support for a project that had faced delays for seven years. The impact was profound: our community is now fully behind the new Marine Lake Health and Wellbeing Centre, and we have set a new standard for public engagement moving forward.”
DAWN WILLIAMS, HEAD OF CAPITAL PROJECTS, WIRRAL COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE NHS TRUST (WCHCT)
