Promotional Mix Strategies, Behaviour Change and Social Product Adoption among Rural Households in Kenya

1.Muteshi, K. Hilda, PhD 

ABSTRACT

Not for Profit organizations promote the change of behaviours that have a negative impact to the environment and to the community. Such behaviours are associated with causing diseases or environmental degradation. Various strategies have been used to help people quit smoking, prevent HIV-Aids, Prevent Malaria, improve dietary intake, reduce lifestyle diseases, improve sanitation, water purification, improve maternal health or even conserve forests. The choice of communication channels and tools is critical in behaviour change and adoption of social goods. The choice of information placement, ensuring that people are reached can also influence adoption. Most campaigns end without any change, or with minimal change that is not sustainable. The sustainability of this change in behaviour relies mostly on ability to recall the message, cues of action or adoption of products and services that facilitate or reinforce the behaviour change.  Social Marketing has been used to improve adoption of social products and services and ensure sustainability. This paper explores the various promotional strategies used in social marketing, how they link to theories of change and product adoption. The paper demonstrates the effectiveness of promotional channels, tools in initiating change, the mediating effect of awareness and knowledge and how it predicts adoption of new behaviour /social products. The next paper will demonstrate the moderating effect of product and service accessibility/availability in social behaviour change and sustainability. This is an applied research from program implemented between 2016-2018 in 4 counties in Kenya.  

Keywords: Improved sanitation, sustainable development goals, sanitation marketing, promotional mix, Social Behaviour Change Communication, CLTs, handwashing,

1.0  INTRODUCTION

The need to change behaviours has led to the use of various marketing and promotional strategies.   Information intensive campaigns are employed to encourage attitude change (Furxhiu et al., 2020). Kotler and Zaltman defined social marketing as the design and implementation of control programmes, with the aim of influencing social ideas, with the consideration of conducting market research, designing social products, pricing, communication and distribution for social impact (Lokhande & Ambedkar, 2003). Social marketing utilizes marketing theories and techniques to influence behaviour change and achieve a social goal, like provision of safe drinking water, adoption of sanitation and hygiene products, prevention road accidents, prevention of HIV infections, maternal health as well as helping people quit drug and substance abuse (Smith & Strand, 2008). The 4Ps of marketing mix, product, price, promotion and placement can be applied to social marketing for social impact (Dedman et al., 2006). The product refers to the social idea, being promoted in terms of behaviour change, promotion refers to channels of communication, placement refers to message accessibility to target audience, and price refers to the cost the individual must bear in the process of adopting new behaviours or rather the barriers to be overcome (Lefebvre, 2011). Besides the 4Ps, social marketing utilizes community mobilization, advocacy, strategic alliances with public sector, media, public health officers and community structures (Serrat, 2010). Communication and advertising play a critical role in informing the target audiences about the availability of a product or a service. The repetition of this information and the frequency acts as a reminder and reinforces information, with the intention that people don’t forget about a product or a service. This informs the use of different channels in order to strengthen information and recall (Chih-Chung et al., 2012). This paper integrates the 4Ps of marketing mix, with community mobilization strategies, and strategic alliances with public sector to achieve behaviour change in Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).

2.0  THERIOES AND MODELS APPLIED

William McGuire (1968) developed an approach to persuasion model with 6 steps. The first step is

exposure/presentation, the second step is attention/awareness, the third step is comprehension/ understanding, the fourth step is acceptance, the fifth step is retention/recall and the sixth and final stage is action/ behaviour change. This approach is also referred to as message learning approach/ ‘Yale Model of Persuasion’. This model indicates that, a receiver must pay attention to the message, must understand the message, must retain the message before change occurs. The model identifies the channel, the source and the message as independent variables, the awareness, knowledge, understanding, and ability to retain information as mediating processes (Cameron, 2009).

Conceptual framework

The study adapts. Yale Model of persuasion, to test the adoption of sanitation and hygiene behaviours and products. The study hypothesises that the choice of promotional channels, and information placement influences adoption of new behaviours, this is mediated by level of exposure to information (awareness) and ability to recall the message (retention). The ability to retain information is reinforced by the frequency of exposure to the information.

Hypothesis

Ho1:        Promotional Channels have no statistically significant influence on social product adoption among rural households in Kenya  

Ho2:        Information Placement has no statistically, significant influence on social product adoption among rural households in Kenya 

Ho3:        Awareness has no statistically, significant mediating effect on the relationship between promotional channels and social product adoption among rural households in Kenya 

Ho4:        Recall has no statistically, significant mediating effect on the relationship between promotional channels and social product adoption among rural households in Kenya 

Ho5:        Frequency of exposure has no statistically, significant moderating effect on the relationship between promotional channels and social product adoption among rural households in Kenya 

3.0  METHODOLOGY

This is an applied research that is cross sectional in nature.  A post project implementation survey was conducted, targeting 1,585 households in rural Kenya. The study utilized stratified random sampling, with county, sub-county, locations, and villages forming the strata. The number of households sampled per village were determined proportionately to project target population. The household heads formed the unit of analysis, every household in the target village had an equal opportunity of participating in the study.   This study was conducted in 4 counties, with a total of 11 sub-counties. The counties were restricted to areas with previous project implementation. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were analysed. The study adapts the general logistic regression model. Data is presented in charts, tables and figures.

4.0  FINDINGS

Gender of Respondents

The findings show that most of the respondents were female (58.9%) while the male respondents were 41.1%.

Type of promotional channel

Most households were reached with information through government health workers, 81.4%, radio reached 27.7% Neighbours, friends and relatives reached 4.4%, the brochure reached 4% drama, plays and public skits reached 3.2% of the population. The video show reached 0.1%.  This project was in rural areas, the access to TV set, electricity, DVD machines was a barrier to access to information through video. The strategic alliance with public sector i.e ministry of health and public health departments played a key role in outreach.

Information Placement

One of the ways to enhance outreach is by placing information in places where its easier to find the target audience, the research sought to find out which places can rural population be easily reached. Findings indicate that 61.8% of respondents were reached at home, 47.4% were reached through health facilities, 19.1% were reached through market places, 4.7% through schools, 3.6% through churches, 1.2% at work. Door to door/ personal selling is the most appropriate way to reach rural households, followed by health facilities, and market places.

 Awareness, and Recall

According to persuasion model, Action can only take place if people are exposed to information, and are able to retain the information passed. Majority of respondents 81% were exposed to information, while 19% were not reached with information. The rate of recall was high with 71% being able to recall, while 29% did not recall anything. 

Frequency of Exposure and Action taken

The frequency of outreach is used to reinforce exposure to information. People were reached severally, 27.9% were reached only once, 45% were reached 2-3 times, while, 26.2% were reached more than 4 times. While 68.4% took action and 31.6% did not

 Direct Relationship between Promotional Channel Type and Action Taken

The regression between different channels of communication and adoption indicate that Health worker, Radio, drama/public skit/plays, friends and neighbours have a statistically significant influence on behaviour change and adoption of social products, with P-Values less than 0.05. Video and brochure did not influence change. A unit increase in health worker outreach, increases the likelihood of adoption by 0.88, while a unit increase in use of radio, increases the likelihood of adoption by 0.87, similarly, a unit increase in use of dram/ plays/skits, increases the likelihood of adoption by 1.05. Despite its influence being insignificant, a unit increase in the use of video, increases the likelihood of adoption by 20.55. This implies that the video can be the most influential channel in behaviour change is the projects can overcome the barriers towards its use in rural areas.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This paper concludes that Promotional Channels, Information placement and frequency of exposure have a statistically significant effect on adoption and behaviour change in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene projects. Awareness and recall/retention have a statistically significant mediating effect on the relationship between promotional channels and adoption/behaviour change in sanitation and hygiene. Frequency of exposure has a statistically significant moderation effect on the relationship between promotional channels and adoption/ behaviour change in sanitation and hygiene. Strategic alliances with government and public agencies are key in social behaviour change communication, health care workers, play an important role in sanitation and hygiene behaviour change communication. Door to door, health facility and work place outreaches have a greater potential of influencing adoption and behaviour change in sanitation and hygiene Schools are not an ideal place to pass information on sanitation unless the project is targeting behaviour change among children.  The use of video in rural Kenya remains unsuitable until the barriers to access to TV set, DVDs machines is overcome. The use of brochures remains statistically insignificant to rural population, this can be attributed to literacy level of the target population, the language barrier on the brochures as well as the type of print and layout used.

This study recommends the following

·       Projects to consider using health facilities, work place and home outreach as key places of passing information

·       Projects to consider healthcare workers, radio and public skits/drama as key channels of communication

·       Projects should consider multiple channels in order to increase the adoption/behaviour change in sanitation and hygiene

·       Projects should consider running repeated campaigns in order to increase frequency of exposure hence an increase in adoption/behaviour change.

·       Projects should find a way to increase the use of video in rural communication in order to increase adoption/behaviour change.

·       Further analysis on the mediating effect of awareness and recall on the relationship between information placement and adoption/behaviour change

·       Further analysis on the moderating effect of frequency of exposure on the relationship between information placement and adoption

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