2013 Bronze Public sector

Client Department for Communities and Local Government

How did the campaign make a difference? Tenants eligible for Right to Buy are hard to identify. Door drops conveyed messages about an emotive and complex policy in a targeted but non-intrusive way, generating excellent responses. High volume, good quality leads performed 12 times better than the normal Government range.

What details of the strategy make this a winning entry? At its core, Right to Buy is a behaviour-change campaign, involving a life-changing decision. This activity needed to tap into the emotional aspect, creating interest and a desire to act among eligible tenants, while ensuring they understood the responsibilities of home ownership, and making the process seem less daunting. Additionally, it had to avoid additional burdens on local authorities and adhere to FCA guidelines. Highly targeted media was based on planning and data analysis to minimise wastage and cross-referenced Mosaic profiling against social housing density data to decide the most effective areas. The material was friendly and warm. Behavioural economics prompts such as 'chunking' helped people through eligibility criteria, detailed information and the stages involved, with social norms quoted to show that many people were considering buying their council homes. Numerous tests included testing housing penetration levels and creative formats, as well as emotive vs rational messaging.

How did creativity bring the strategy to life? There was a split test between a traditional 'official' information communication, which acted as control, and a more consumer-focused friendly approach. Both were designed to work hard, one having a rational proposition ('Are you eligible for a £75,000 discount?'), the other emotive ('Want to make your home your own?'). Simple mechanisms such as an eligibility quiz infographic proved popular, enabling tenants to self-select for the first time, helping to reduce basic enquiries normally directed to landlords. Before, tenants had to go through the application process. This also benefits landlords (for whom abortive applications are costly and resource-intensive). A coupon response mechanism was also included to enable responders to order information packs. The flow of information led down to the coupon to encourage informed response. Content and techniques were replicated across other channels such as an eligibility quiz microsite and fulfilment materials.

Results Executions performed six to 12 times better than the normal range for government door drops. The 'official' format has more immediate response, suggesting recipients engage more when they feel they are being sent legitimate, correct information. But the other format shows good retention and longevity, creating a second response peak, and has sparked a high level of positive response with responders wanting to find out more about the scheme.