Insights and Takeaways from the “Let’s A.C.T. Saint Lucia” Communication Campaign

Introduction

The UN Development Programme’s Japan-Caribbean Climate Change Partnership (UNDP J-CCCP) is an initiative designed to strengthen the capacity of countries in the Caribbean to invest in climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies. Climate change is recognised as a threat to the Caribbean and this partnership seeks to develop initiatives, including campaigns, to educate, inform, and create opportunities for climate change adaptation and awareness.

As part of this partnership, a multi-tiered campaign was developed. This case study* describes the methodology behind this multi-tiered campaign.

Related to this content: Strategic Communications for the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Process in Saint Lucia (NAP Global Network).

*Access the full case study from the right-hand column.

Methods and Tools

‘Let’s A.C.T. Saint Lucia’ was designed to appeal to a broad demographic of Saint Lucians. Many of the initiatives and media products were developed particularly with the country’s future decision makers in mind, hence why there was a deliberate outreach toward schools. As the campaign strategy and goals became more clearly defined, the list of campaign deliverables was adapted and adjusted as necessary for greatest impact. The main items produced during this campaign are as follows:

• A calypso
• 8 radio Public Service Announcements (4 in English; 4 in Kwéyòl)
• 7 digital posters
• A sixty-second bilingual video
• School outreach activities
• A social media video competition for primary schools (including a digital media training workshop for students)

The multi-tiered campaign was developed based on the results of a Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices and Behaviour KAP/B Survey carried out across the island. The 2016 KAP/B study targeted a representative cross section of the Saint Lucian population through a general household survey and focus groups targeting decision makers from the commercial sector, the building and construction sector, secondary school students and interview-administered questionnaires with farmers from each of Saint Lucia’s eight agricultural districts.

Key findings

Revise and Refine

• Campaign materials were developed and implemented through a fully participatory process.
• Guided by the results of the KAP/B study, materials were produced and subsequently reviewed by technical officers within Saint Lucia’s Department of Sustainable Development and UNDP to ensure accuracy.
• Later, materials were returned to the communities for pre-testing via focus group discussions in the North, South and West of the island.
  • These focus groups, comprised of various homogeneous audiences, served to confirm guidance received from the KAP/B study.
  • For example, KAP/B results indicated that print news was no longer an effective means of disseminating messages.
  • This was confirmed during pre-testing and print news outlets were forgone in favour of digital media.
  • The social media posts developed in their place were boosted online at a fraction of the cost, ensuring greater reach.

​Use of Local Influencers and Approaches

• The Government of Saint Lucia, through the Department of Sustainable Development, hosted a climate change workshop for members of the local entertainment industry, including artistes, writers, producers and other ‘creatives’.
• The workshop proved very effective, not only in terms of educating public figures on climate change but also transforming them into effective climate change and adaptation ‘ambassadors’ of sorts.
• The resultant calypso and music video (see above) benefitted from the creativity, experience and expertise of the attendees, ensuring that it was an instant success.
  • It is important to note that the artistes who developed the calypso were not scripted.
  • The content was produced based on their understanding of the challenges Saint Lucia faced and guidance from the KAP/B report.

​Multi-Platform Reach

• The communication channels utilised in this campaign included radio, TV, social media and community outreach.
• Radio ads and video content were incredibly effective due to their relatable content, as outlined above.
• The campaign messaging was then reinforced by the social media content.

Repetition for Reinforcement

• The campaign greatly benefitted from a strong key message, encouraging Saint Lucians to ‘act’ while succinctly outlining what it means to ‘act’, in the acronym.
• The campaign slogan, “Let’s A.C.T. Now Saint Lucia” was derived from the campaign’s title, ensuring message consistency.
• Similarly, the jingle, adapted from the calypso, allowed for more streamlined campaign messaging and greater audience recall as the same messaging would have been reinforced.

Lessons Learnt

• The participatory approach, especially for the calypso and the youth competitions, was essential to the success of this campaign.
• Involving community members, gate keepers and key personnel in all stages of planning and implementation secured buy-in for all involved.
• Further, the development of campaign materials, driven by data and later tested with various groups, led to greater buy-in from Saint Lucians.
• The level of participation and input from stakeholders and targeted communities during the vetting process was commendable and embodied the concept of communication for development and social change. This is worth replicating.