Testing to see if an awareness messaging campaign about ‘social bads’ will actually work: why experimental techniques are best

February 2024

Briefing Note 26

Dr Caryn Peiffer, University of Bristol

Professor Nic Cheeseman, University of Birmingham

SOC ACE Project: Fighting serious organised crime and corruption in Albania: testing messaging approaches

---

PUBLICATION SUMMARY

Policy strategies aimed at controlling or fighting so-called ‘social bads’ like corruption and organised crime often contain an awareness raising or strategic communications element. These generally aim to inform the public about the issue in the hope of changing how people think and hence how they act. A growing body of evidence demonstrates that these campaigns often have little effect and, in some cases, may even backfire, making the situation worse.

This Briefing Note explains why this is the case and what can be done about it in order to enable policy makers to maximise impact and value for money. It argues that the disappointing performance of many awareness raising messages means that policy makers should follow the “three T’s” before launching any public relations campaigns in this area, carefully tailoring, targeting and testing messages using experimental techniques.

---