Using social marketing to Reduce Your Juice

Using social marketing to Reduce Your Juice

Authors:

Rebekah Russell-Bennett, Neil Horrocks and Tim Swinton

Organisation of Presenter:

Queensland University of Technology, Australia

Abstract:

Reduce Your Juice (RYJ) has transformed traditional energy efficiency programs into a model that effectively connects with today’s digitally connected consumer. Reduce Your Juice was a project funded by the Low Income Energy Efficiency Program (LIEEP) which reimagines traditional energy efficiency approaches in a digital world. The Reduce Your Juice project sought to trial and demonstrate the use of a social marketing digital approach to energy efficiency engagement combined with the provision of energy efficiency rewards to assist low income households who rent to be more energy efficient. Incorporating an evolutionary recipe that embraces design thinking, integrated digital channels and a participant-focused experience the program has shown impressive results for a part of the market that is growing rapidly – mobile connected consumers.

Underlying the program is a custom behaviour change model drawn from social marketing which flips traditional approaches to behaviour change on their head by immersing participants in a continuous, experiential learning experience. Rather than traditional single element interventions such as once-off in-home consultations or informational flyers, RYJ is delivered in over 300 bite-sized digital interactions across multiple channels, allowing participants to digest small portions of information through a continuous approach to learning which easily melds into their digital lifestyle.

This paper will outline the results from 1000 low-income households who participated in the RYJ social marketing program. The data includes self-report surveys (pre and post program), control group self-report surveys, electricity data and digital analytics. The outcomes were; a 12.3% improvement in energy consumption on previous year, $54.82 average saving on quarterly electricity bills ($219.28 annual saving), a 22.5% improvement in energy habits, 78% of starters completed the program, 97.2% recommended RYJ to friends/family and significant improvement in attitudes, bill control, self-efficacy.