Liverpool John Moores University

Student Sustainable Travel Marketing Campaign

To design and launch a social marketing campaign to influence student mode choice behaviour

Complement and raise awareness of existing LJMU student travel plan interventions

Targeted at first year students, who are most susceptible to behaviour change

Student engagement and involvement essential

Improve the sustainable travel choices that LJMU offers to both current and prospective students, adding value to the student experience

Campaign goals

‘Preferred’ student commuting behaviour:

Kick-start a sustainable travel culture and mentality among students at LJMU

‘Competitive’ student commuting behaviour:Habitual single occupancy car use and dependency

Phased approach

Phase 1: market research and insight

Focus groups and online student travel behaviour survey

To better understand the key issues that influence student commuting habits

Phase 2: brand development

Design an exciting and engaging brand identity

To accompany the campaign and all future LJMU student travel plan communications

Phase 3: pre-testing and campaign launch

Ensure both the brand and campaign resonate with students

Create social networking sites, merchandise and viral video campaign

Student engagement

Communication channels

Flyers distributed across campus

QR code on flyers for

smartphones

Adverts on LJMU

student homepage

LJMU student

news bulletin

LJMU Faceboo

k & Twitter posts

Announcements on LJMU

student blackboard

Plasma screen adverts across

campus

LJMU student

work placement

Promotional stands at key

university sites

Presence at LJMU ‘Getting

Greener’ campaign event

Generate behavioural insight into student attitudes, perceived social norms, barriers and motivations to sustainable travel

Actionable insights and opportunities for behaviour change

Need to target and tailor interventions

to different audiences

Significant market of potential ‘mode switchers’ currently driving less than 5

miles (‘cycleable’ distance)

Transition from first to second

year – an opportunity to

establish lasting sustainable travel

habits

Greater propensity to

cycle in warm, dry summer months

Currently low student

uptake of cycling to

LJMU

Interest in online student car-sharing tool,

particularly for those travelling

more than 5 miles

Largely female demographic of

single occupancy car

users

Brand development

Informed by sound market research and student engagement as well as learnings from other university sustainable travel campaigns

Brand identity

components

Resonate strongly

with studentsComplement

existing LJMU

student travel plan

interventions

Simple and

memorable

Suitable for use on

a wide-range of media

Recognisable as an

LJMU sub-brand

Engage students and

convey a strong sense

of student ownership

Represent a wider social

movement and

culture

Avoid being too

‘preachy’ or ‘corporate’

Instantly stand-

out

Something

different

Brand development

Pre-testing

Ensure the brand, campaign merchandise and social networking sites resonate with students

Elicit student attitudes and opinion to brand names, taglines, images, colours, language etc

Use traditional in-depth focus groups as well as Facebook ‘Like’ voting competition

Next steps

Create social networking sites and produce campaign merchandise

Launch student script writing competition as part of a viral video campaign in collaboration with LJMU Screen School

Campaign launch in time for 2012 student intake

1. Know your target audience

2. Engagement and communications

3. Target and tailor interventions to different subgroups

3 key take-home messages

Think of a barrier or problem to increasing uptake of sustainable transport among students and/or staff…

How would you overcome this barrier?

Who is your target audience?

How would you engage with and generate insight into your audience?

What communication channels would you use?

What interventions would you design and implement?

How would you raise awareness and promote your interventions?

How would you monitor the effectiveness of your interventions?

Exercise

12

Your next steps – making the most of your EAUC Membership…

1. Resources - visit the dedicated behaviour change EAUC resource bank section

1. Networks - Join our Transport Planning Network Community of Practice - for College and University travel planning professionals• Visit the EAUC stand for more information on this group

2. Networks - Join our Embedding Positive Attitudes and Behaviours Community of Practice - for those wanting to identify with the challenges of changing the behaviour of staff and students• Find out more about this group at 5pm today – see programme for details

3. Recognition - want recognition for your behaviour change initiatives – enter the 2012 Green Gown Awards behaviour change category. Entries open summer 2012

4. Measure and improve - sign up to LiFE – www.thelifeindex.org.uk. EAUC Members receive a significant discount

• LiFE offers a dedicated ‘travel and transport’ framework for implementation

Membership matters at www.eauc.org.uk