Introduction
Clean up Australia is a non-governmental organization which is at the fore-front of environmental conservation. The organization uses community based events as its main tool in environmental conservation. The organization was founded by Ian Kiernan in 1989(Clean Up Australia, 2012).
This was after he had witnessed the level of pollution in various oceans around the world. In 1989, he organized the clean up Sydney Harbour which got an overwhelming response. The first Clean up Australia day was organized in 1990. Clean up Australia has internationalized its operations. Through UNEP, a Clean up the World day was introduced in 1993.
Clean Up Australia has launched a campaign through which it intends to raise funds from individual sponsors. Clean Up Australia day has enjoyed support from both individual and corporate sponsors. The campaign is dubbed ‘We Want You’ is a request to Australians to contribute $ 2 Australian dollars (Clean Up Australia day, 2012).
Also, businesses can contribute towards the course. They are several incentives that have been set up to ensure that individuals and businesses contribute towards the course. A role of honour has been established for individuals and businesses that contribute towards the course.
Businesses that contribute more than $ 5000, a company is given a special honour where they will be featured in by Clean Up Australia as a case study which will be posted on the organization’s website.
High effort behaviour is characterised by several things. One of the aspects associated with high effort behaviour is increased personal cost (Barr et al., 2011). Personal cost can be incurred through direct monetary donations.
Secondly, an individual can invest time and thus forego income generating activities to engage in alternative activities. Low effort behaviour, on the hand, does not require huge monetary or time investments. The above advert involves low effort behaviour as the amount required is low. An individual is required to contribute only $ 2 only towards the initiative.
Clean Up Australia has shifted focus from big corporate donations to community donors. After the 2008 global financial, companies suffered a dip in their profits (IMF, 2009). This led to constrained resources thus reduced amount allocated for community service projects.
The above campaign is aimed to solicit funds from ordinary citizens. Citizens, also, incurred constrained resources after the global crisis in 2008. This was caused by escalating cost of living. Therefore $ 2 contribution is quite reasonable thus more people can afford to contribute. Also, individual including young person’s can contribute towards the course.
There leads to increased awareness on the environmental conservation when an individual contributes towards the course. The individual is keen on initiatives introduced by Clean Up Australia for the utilisation of the funds.
The campaign has set up a role of honour where individuals who contribute towards the campaign are recognized (Clean Up Australia Day, 2012).
Recognition acts as an important reinforcement tool. Individuals feel appreciated for the contribution that they make towards the course. The campaign is also an alternative for individuals for individual who may not be in a position to participate in clean up events. By using the ‘We Want You initiative’, Clean Up Australia aims at increasing environmental awareness through donations.
Analysis
An advertisement is tool of communication used to encourage individuals to take up new products or services. AIDA theory outlines four critical aspects that are associated with an advertisement. They include attention, interest, desire and action (Stern, 2000).
In order for an advertisement to be successful, it must generate the above elements. The structure of ‘ Join?You’ advert is meant attracts ones attention. This is because the advert has question mark which is framed into word ‘you’.
Therefore, one is attracted to the advert due to the creativity exhibited on the presentation of the advert. The structure of the advert, also, arouses ones interest. The need to know what’s behind the question mark pushes one into opening the adverts’ slides.
The low amount of contribution is one incentive that arouses ones desire to contribute towards the project. Another incentive is the role of honour introduced by the organization for recognizing individuals who have contributed towards the course (Clean Up Australia Day, 2012).
The desire to participate in the project is fulfilled by one contributing towards the project. Success of an advert is linked to increase in sales in various firms. Therefore, success of the above advert can only be analysed by the amount of contribution received.
Theory of attention
Selective attention theories indicate that individuals choose to concentrate on specific characteristics of an object. Selective attention is divided into two main stages. The first stage encompasses attention to all characteristics of the object.
An individual focuses on the object as a whole. This is based on mental shortcut known as schemas. There are formed from encounters with similar objects in the past (Meyers-Levy & Tybout, 1989). The second stage encompasses focus on a specific characteristic of object.
Focus on the characteristic could be as a result of its uniqueness. Therefore, it is a source of new information which an individual tries to process and interpret the new information. Thereafter, the new information and thus is part a schema is constructed for perception of similar characteristics in future.
The above advert provokes interest where an individual is firstly drawn to structure of the advert. The imagery portrayed on the advert is quite unique and thus individual are drawn to it.
The creativity on the above advert provokes increased attention to specific characteristics including the intricacy of the artwork. Therefore, one is interest is drawn towards unravelling the initiative behind the advert. Thereafter, incentives arouse ones desire into participating in the initiative.
Cognitive based attitudes
An attitude encompasses an evaluation of an object. The evaluation is based on several aspects including the perceived conditions of excellence or quality of an object (Campbell & Kirmani, 2000). Where the object does not meet the conditions, a negative attitude is developed towards the object.
The multi-component theory of attitudes identifies three critical components of cognitive based attitudes. These components include judgements, thoughts and beliefs (Festinger, 1957). Understanding cognitive based attitudes is a basis from which advertising is premised.
An advert acts as persuasion tool used for development of a positive image about a product or service. Cognitive based attitudes, therefore, are based on information and consequent use of a company’s product or service. A cognitive based attitude is thereby developed through a continuous evaluation process.
Cognitive based attitudes are based on a multi-dimensional structure. Cognitive attitudes are based in specific attributes of a product or service. Attributes can be either positive or negative.
Therefore, they are quite distant from affective based attitudes which are more uni-dimensional thus specific attributes about a product are not observed. Specific attributes refer to specific characteristics about the product or service (Campbell & Kirmani, 2000). An evaluation based on preset standards forms the basis from where either positive or negative attitudes are formed.
There are two main factors that determine the level of persuasion of an advert in relation to cognitive based attitudes. Firstly, the strength of an attitude heavily influences consumers towards purchasing products from a particular company.
The strength of an attitude is based on the duration of evaluation of a brand (Alba & Hutchison,1987). Where an individual has used a company’s product or service, the attitude towards the brand is usually well-established.
On the other hand, first time buyers attitudes are not well established thus rely more on the information provided by the company. Information about the product can be contained in advert detailing use and benefits of product or service. Where a positive attitude towards the brand in well established, there is increased likelihood that the customer repurchases a product from the same brand.
Secondly, attachment generated towards a specific brand is also a critical component that influences success of adverts. Attachment to a brand arises when a customer can relate to directly to a brand. A positive attitude towards a brand results in increased loyalty from the customer (Alba & Hutchison,1987).
He or she, therefore, overlooks some of the faults that may be present in the company’s future products or services. Also, the customer markets the product through word of mouth. This is an important marketing tool where customers act as trusted sources for potential customers
The success of the ‘We want You’ campaign is premised on several aspects. One of the critical components is the image of the company. This is based on aspects as transparency in the organization’s financial policies.
Clean Up Australia has maintained prudent financial practices thus has continuously enjoyed support from individual and corporate sponsors alike. The role of honour is a tool that will be used to increase sponsor’s attachment to the initiative.
Increased attachment gives the initiative momentum by marketing through word of mouth. Businesses that contribute also get recognition by being featured in the Clean Up Australian’s website.
Individual contribution has been put at $ 2 Australian dollars. This is important as more individuals can take part in the initiative. Participation of young people is particularly imperative to the initiative.
This is because by encouraging positive environmental conservation behaviour in young people, young people will be conscious of environmental conservation (Whitmarsh, 2009). In the long term, this translates to reduced consumer waste thus reduced impact on the environment.
This is in line with Clean Up Australia’s long term objectives of reducing environmental pollution across Australia and the world.
Conclusion
The success of the ‘Join?You’ initiative is premised on the successful marketing of the campaign. Clean Up Australia has designed an advert and placed it on its website. Individuals visiting the website can see the advert and thus is bound to attract their attention.
The advert is a combination of a question mark and the word ‘you’. The aim of the initiative is to raise money towards Clean Up Australia day which is observed across Australia. Individual and business sponsors alike can contribute towards the initiative.
A role of honour has been established to recognize individual and business sponsors. Through encouraging individuals to make small contributions, Clean Up Australia can use the initiative as a tool of raising awareness on the importance of environmental conservation.
Reference List
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Campbell, M.C., & Kirmani, A. (2000). Consumers’ use of persuasion knowledge: The effects of accessibility and cognitive capacity on perceptions of an influence agent. Journal of Consumer Research,27, 69–83.
Clean Up Australia Day. (2012). Join? You – A Major Sponsor Of Clean Up Australia Day 2012. Web.
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