Authored by: Monica Akinyi Kay and David Muruaru

Communication shapes ideas and the flow of information and primarily involves two things, sending a message and receiving one. Effective communication takes both into consideration. When crafting a message to connect with audiences it is vital to have the right strategy to achieve your intended impact.  In the words of Thomas Erickson, “Communication happens on the listener’s terms”. This means that communication – just like behaviour – is very contextual. It means messages are filtered by audiences through a listener’s lens, and biases. With that in mind, it is important for people who work with communities either through research, communications, and intervention programs to frame our messages in a way that connects with the people and communities we serve.

The Low Cost Message and Testing guidebook was born of this need to help civil society organizations access simple ways to test their messages before deploying their communications campaigns. Today’s communication landscape is the fastest it has ever been, meaning the competition for the ever-decreasing attention of audiences is stiff. For organisations working with communities, and multiple stakeholders (all of whom have competing interests) the process of crafting an advocacy campaign is more important than deciding the specific messages. This is because, in social and behaviour change communication (SBCC), the goal of the messaging  is to influence behaviour change or nudge for some sort of action. But what makes some advocacy messages more effective than others? Why do certain communication campaigns resonate more deeply with the audiences while others are soon forgotten? In Kenya for example, advocacy campaigns such as the 2006 Nimechill Campaign have stood the test of time and the core messaging about sexual abstinence still stands out. The answer to effective messaging that influences behaviour change lies in understanding human behaviour and context and this is where behavioural science comes in.

Behavioural science provides insights into how people make decisions, how they process information, and how they respond to internal and external stimuli. The Low Cost Messaging Testing guidebook leverages these insights, enabling civil society organizations to craft messages that are not only persuasive but also more likely to drive the desired action. It helps communications and development practitioners and implementers  of social programs identify and address specific behavioural gaps in the contexts that they serve, understand the decision making environment, and who the target audience is before determining which messaging tools will work.

The listener’s bias, as coined by Thomas Erickson, makes this guidebook a vital tool for any social change communicator. These mental shortcuts impact how people make judgments by influencing the way we perceive information, make decisions, and interpret the world around us. For communication, uptake and processing of advocacy messages, it is crucial to understand these biases. In the context of advocacy messaging, it is important that we understand how these biases can influence the target audience from making optimal decisions. This will help tailor messages that resonate more effectively with target audiences, partners and other stakeholders.

For instance, evidence has shown that people tend to seek out information that confirms their existing beliefs while ignoring contradictory information. Confirmation bias can cause poor decision making, as individuals can focus on information that affirms their original belief instead of embracing new ideas that may lead to improved outcomes. In the context of sexual and reproductive health for instance, some people may engage in unprotected sex due to the perception that condoms significantly reduce sexual pleasure. Such individuals are ultimately unable to practise safe sex due to their innate beliefs which override scientific information on the importance of condom use. When we as practitioners are able to identify these biases and understand how they can affect people’s approach to issues, then we are able to craft advocacy campaigns that connect with the people and communities we serve. Using the above example, suppose your organisation is working on a health campaign to encourage condom use among young people. The campaign would be more successful if it paid attention to the feelings of these young people – such as showing them how using condoms allows them to enjoy sex while protecting their health.

Other biases in communication can include information avoidance that can negatively impact the uptake of messages and result in suboptimal decision making. Information avoidance in this case refers to situations where individuals intentionally choose not to obtain information that is readily available. This can manifest in various forms such as physical avoidance – such as not watching news, inattention and biased interpretation of information. 

Understanding context matters a great deal. Adapting messaging to the different information systems will be the difference between the success or the failure of a campaign. In Kenya for instance, the events leading to the rejection of the 2024 Finance Bill in Kenya evoked varied emotions in different population segments. These groups access and interpret information differently. Younger populations for instance had stronger feelings about the impact of the finance bill as they had access to varied viewpoints presented in digital platforms. These young populations eventually took to the streets  to express their dissatisfaction while older populations largely kept off the protests. If a CSO was working to drive civic engagement to mount pressure on politicians to reject the finance bill, the advocacy tools would be more effective if the CSO understood how information ecosystems worked with different groups and consequently design their campaign in a way that responds and enhances informed decision making.

At Busara, we have been trying to understand what makes advocacy successful by unpacking information ecosystems through research. Our interactions with our partners have shown that advocacy is complex and requires a targeted approach, commitment, broad partnerships and time. Our CSO partners have in the past mentioned challenges nudging people and communities to care about issues that should ordinarily be of concern to them. From these challenges, we have found that effective advocacy messaging including civic engagement and behaviour change interventions have to be backed by strategies that tailor messages to different sections of the society. We have also found that refocusing advocacy and community engagement beyond issues that would be considered as ‘political’ to encourage participation. This can be done through campaigns that talk about the social, economic and environmental concerns of individuals and communities. Further, we believe that successful advocacy means connecting issues of self-interest to the community’s interest. This would encourage collective action and message retention as people feel they belong to networks that address their core issues.

Undeniably, human behaviour is complex. We have seen that communication is largely contextual with behavioural biases impacting how audiences interpret messages. Advocacy campaigns therefore have to take into consideration these behavioural biases, and context without which behaviour change will be almost impossible to achieve. Behavioural science can support organisations to adapt their messaging to fit into the context in which they serve their key audiences. The Low-Cost Message Testing guidebook was developed in collaboration with CSOs to enhance messaging strategies for increased engagement with the communities they serve. We hope that this tool will support nascent and established CSOs to easily develop their campaigns using behavioural methods and in the process connect their values with those of the people and communities they serve. This will, in our view, enhance citizen engagement, influence behaviour change through messaging and help in creating awareness on social, economic and political issues that affect communities. Ultimately, we will all enjoy improved governance systems, build stronger institutions and more resilient communities.

References 

Alam, N., & Alldred, P. (2021). Condoms, Trust and Stealthing: The Meanings Attributed to Unprotected Hetero-Sex. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(8), 4257. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084257

Erikson, T. (2019). Surrounded by idiots: The four types of human behavior and how to effectively communicate with each in business (and in life). St. Martin’s Essentials. 

Chilling in Kenya: Media Campaign Linked to Greater Intention to Abstain. (2006, June). PSI/Kenya. https://media.psi.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/31004031/kenya-abstinence.pdf

Lynch, G.. (2024, July). “Kenya has changed”: The Gen-Z protests and what they mean. Democracy in Africa. https://democracyinafrica.org/kenya-has-changed-the-gen-z-protests-and-what-they-mean/

Mills, K. (2023, February). Speaking of Psychology: Why our attention spans are shrinking, with Gloria Mark, PhD (No. 225) [Audio Podcast]. Retrieved August 28, 2024, from https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/attention-spans

Pilat D., & Sekoul D. (2021). Confirmation Bias. The Decision Lab. Retrieved August 28, 2024, from https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/confirmation-bias 

Too, G. (2024, July 7). Unpacking political protest: Q&A with Busara’s Gideon Too on Kenya’s #RejectFinanceBill2024. Busara. https://www.busara.global/blog/rejectfinancebill-unpacking-political-protest-qa/