Simple line to 'public good'

Kiwis are happy to pitch in to avert a crisis. But the message must be uncomplicated, reports DITA DE BONI.

Which will be more effective in stopping excess electricity use - a $2.5 million advertising and publicity campaign or continued sightings of Pete Hodgson's furrowed, shiny noggin in the paper each morning?

Thanks to the minister's lined pate, the advertising campaign to stop Kiwis frittering away energy has had already had a fillip, even though it will not run for another two weeks.

Apparently, consumers have already cut power use by 5 per cent over the course of "crisis" media reports in the past few weeks.

But the Government feels the need to do a bit more to encourage urgent conservation.

It will launch its "Switch it off" campaign on August 12 on television, billboards and in community papers.

The television commercials take the form of one generic, 30-second ad pointing out that we may well be heading for a big power problem unless we act now. This will be accompanied by four, 15-second ads which will detail specific solutions, such as taking showers instead of baths, using cold water for washing clothes, and switching off towel rails.

The ads will be fronted by Dave Cull, the DIY man from Maggie's Garden Show, and are described as minimalist and simple by Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority communications manager Daniel Paul.

"I think it will be easy to get this message to sink in," he says. "What we have here is a situation where it's not a crisis, but it is getting to the point where the whole country will be affected, so the message is one of 'public good', or 'let's all pull together to help our community'."

Mr Paul says Kiwis are happy to pitch in, pointing to past crises such Auckland's water shortage in 1994 when a comprehensive public campaign averted a water crisis (although public sentiment was mixed with anger at what was seen as the authorities' mismanagement of supplies).

Asked why the campaign was not being aired until August 12, Mr Paul said he was given approval to spend $2.5 million only on late Monday afternoon and had to make the entire TV commercials portion of the campaign in 12 days.

TVNZ production company Fitting Images, Wellington media buying agency Total Media, and publicity agent Communication Trumps will work on the campaign.

The agency chose affable Dave Cull as front man. Mr Paul says: "We could have had an All Black or a Jude Dobson, for example, or even an actor, but we felt on reflection we should use someone who was recognised as knowing what he was talking about, was seen to be practical, and could make the tips sound sensible and easy."

The commercials are "direct response". An 0800 number will show at the end of each one and anyone who calls it will receive a short video based around the message and the tips.

A video for corporate customers has also been sent to about 5000 heavy users.

Mr Paul says the campaign message - "Switch it off"- will run in community papers rather than dailies because power companies have covered the dailies themselves.

The whole production will be judged successful if the public cuts its power use by 10 per cent in 10 weeks. Affected parties will have to take "more direct action in the marketplace" if the campaign does not succeed.

If the campaign is anything like previous exhortations, such as the fuel-saving carless days under then-Prime Minister Robert Muldoon in 1979, water saving in 1993, returning to Auckland's CBD after the blackout in early 1998, and the anti-drink driving campaigns, it will achieve its aim of winning public support - albeit grudgingly in some cases.

But what is the motivating factor in such campaigns? In the case of a looming electricity crisis, for example, does the public respond more to the idea of no hot showers, or is it really a case of working towards a collective good?

And what if the problem is considered to be the fault of the very people asking for a change in behaviour?

A quick survey suggests the carless days campaign in 1979 - which was a consequence of the 1978 Iranian revolution which subsequently threatened world oil supplies - succeeded because of its appeal to the "moral imperative" of ensuring we had enough petrol to go round.

But long queues and disputes at petrol stations are remembered, as well as a feeling in some quarters that the move was a "typical draconian Muldoon measure".

Kevin Stroud, group account director at Clemenger BBDO and one of the people behind the Y2K and Land Transport Safety Authority anti-drunk driving campaigns, says ads trying to mobilise the public must appeal to the "what's in it for me" factor.

"The communications must be interesting and involving. Too much public communication works on the assumption that people will go out of their way to receive and act on information," he says.

The campaign must tell people about the magnitude of the problem and how they personally can help.

Mr Stroud says the best campaigns offer five or six simple tips and ideas, putting "weight" behind them.

But the messages will not last forever. "It would be great to have an ongoing energy efficiency communications programme to try to reinforce good practice and habits, but it is worth remembering that once the crisis is over and prices drop, human nature will determine that many people will return to previous bad habits."

Neil Green, head of public relations company Porter Novelli, has also worked on several public message campaigns, such as preparing for retirement and census participation.

He agrees that while New Zealanders are great at all pulling together to help each other, "they have to have a good reason to do so".

"In this case, given the power crisis may continue for two to three months, it is important to keep people motivated so they don't lapse back into their normal behaviour. They also need to know they are making a difference," he says.

"The idea of providing incentives - like Mighty River Power is doing for its residential customers - for people reducing their usage is an excellent way to do this ...

"Consumers need to know that businesses are also taking the issue seriously. No one is going to wear an extra sweater for a month if they don't see neon lights turned off."

Mr Green says radio and newspapers are best for mass messaging.

Porter Novelli's most recent "public good" campaign involved working with the CBD Recovery Trust and advertising agency Grey Communication to encourage people back to central Auckland in autumn 1998. In a freak series of disasters, four cables supplying power to the district failed, bringing a commercial, retail and residential metropolis to a virtual standstill.

Porter Novelli worked with its partners to draw people back into the city after weeks of bars lit by candlelight and failed traffic lights.

The partners did promotions on television, radio, in shops and on lampposts.

Direct and simple messages led to businesses reporting a normal level of business or better than before the crisis, and CBD retail expenditure increased 5 per cent on the same period in the year before compared with a 4 per cent decrease in the rest of the country.