Motivating New Zealand landlords to insulate properties with tailor-made behavioural messaging via digital campaigns
What unsustainable behavior needs to change:
A significant number of landlords delay the decision to insulate their properties. Why is this? Hesitation can be attributed to several cognitive barriers such as “hyperbolic discounting,” where there seems to be no immediate reward for insulating. The need for positive reinforcement due to “confirmation bias,” the requirement for clearer framing of potential insulation savings, and the urgency of limited availability of subsidies are other contributing factors.
The Green Nudge:
A digital campaign with the headline: “What kind of landlord are you?” spread across banner ads on property websites and native videos on channels such as YouTube, was created to provoke specific attention from landlords. The EAST framework – making actions Easy, Attractive, Social, and Timely – was used to craft these landlord tailored messages. The messages emphasised getting help from experts (Easy), highlighted attractive savings (Attractive), underlined that other caring landlords provide healthy homes by insulating their properties (Social) and underscored the necessity of acting swiftly to capitalise on limited available subsidies (Timely).
The result: The “Attractive” message, highlighting savings resonated most, leading to a 315% increase in banner ad clicks and a 162% rise in video ad clicks. It was evident that landlords were particularly motivated by the attractively framed subsidy („Getting 50% towards the cost of insulating your rental is the astute kind“). Achievements didn’t stop there: the behavioural-driven messaging reeled in 8,283 referral leads, surpassing the 6,000 target. More impressively, 1,888 insulations were installed, outdoing the 1,200 goal.
Has anyone encountered other behavioural strategies driving positive action? We’d love to hear more or connect at: hello@green-nudges.com
From Vishal George who has been Head of Behavioural Science at Ogilvy NZ. This project is a result of the collaborative efforts of the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority (EECA) and the behavioural science team at Ogilvy. Their mission: to motivate New Zealand landlords to insulate their properties.
An 11ft behavioural experiment turned mundane waste disposal into visible social proof—tripling ashtray use from 27.6% to 67.3%