Recently, we conducted research on the moments that matter. The findings identified the micro-moments where brands and organisations can show up to inspire action through a technique called piggybacking – the practice of establishing a new behaviour, a healthy habit, by attaching it to an existing one.  

In this article, we outline how to harness behavioural science to make the most of these opportunities.  

The results show that moments such as family time, managing to pay the bills, getting tasks done, getting a good sleep and eating healthy are significant moments that happen a lot more frequently than the big milestones.  

So, how can brands and organisations successfully piggyback off the findings?

Moments made real

To understand the opportunity here, let’s look at one behaviour in particular – encouraging people to cycle, instead of drive, to a destination. We can use the two of the top results from the findings to demonstrate how a ‘piggy backing’ intervention could be applied.

We’ll start with ‘family time’, 59% of people have experienced this life event in the past year. For some groups, family time happens regularly during weekday evenings and on the weekends. An example of piggybacking of this moment could be showing up while planning a Saturday afternoon activity with a reminder about the benefits of cycling.

Another frequent life event is ‘a good sleep’, which could be an opportunity to piggyback off positive momentum to demonstrate how cycling and walking is a great flow-on health habit.  

Getting the message across  

When it comes behavioural change, there's another factor at play. It’s not just the message that matters – but who it’s from. 

Sometimes, organisations and brands are simply not the right messenger to inspire change. There are some topics, in particular, where people don’t want to be told what to do by an authority. Think of sensitive or nuanced themes such as mental health, quitting smoking, or anti-discriminatory behaviour.    

So, who can if organisations or brands can't do it themselves? The answer could be tapping into your audience's supporters, such as friends, family, or trusted advisors.  

While people might not want to hear a message from an organisation, they may be more open to hearing it from their peer group or someone they admire. This is often called someone’s ‘reference group’ or ‘reference network’. These supporters are usually more trusted and better at striking the right tone and normalising behaviours.  

Preparing the messenger 

For the message to land, your messengers must be prepared with everything they need to inspire and prompt desired action in others. This might sometimes mean choosing messengers with related knowledge or expertise. For example, Colgate features dentists who recommend toothpaste in their ads. Or, it could mean an influencer or celebrity that your audience relates to.   

Sometimes these messengers or supporters need a helping hand when it comes to prompting the desired action in others. To arm them with what they need to inspire others, provide supporters with the specific language or action. Then, strike the right tone using humour, positive framing and dialling up the trusted dynamic between the messenger and the target audience. Be sure to include referral information for deeper engagement with experts. 

Successful examples 

So behavioural science teaches us that, if we want to encourage a new action, we know that the moment matters, who says it and how they say it. But what does this look like in practice?  

The New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs recently ran an internet safety campaign called ‘Keep It Real Online’ targeted at young people and their parents. The campaign’s objective was to keep kids safe by informing them of the potential of online harm and providing them with the support they needed to stay safe. To do this, the campaign tapped into a frequent moment, family time, and identified parents and caregivers as the key messenger.  

Using playful, emotive and memorable ads, the campaign sparked a conversation and drew attention to the issue of online safety. Then, the campaign equipped the messengers with the material to have casual conversations with their kids at home, through resources on a dedicated website: keepitrealonline.govt.nz. It armed parents and caregivers with language and prompts on how to stay safe online i.e. “Alright Matty, it’s time to have a talk about the difference of what you see online and real-life relationships. No judgement!”

Using humour to introduce the concept, the campaign made the topic more approachable for parents and caregivers. It also showed them how to approach the conversation with a calm tone such as using video that depicted the messengers taking a deep breath and staying level-headed when talking to children.  

‘Keep It Real Online’ was an effective campaign because it chose the right message, the right messengers and the right time to deliver a difficult message. By arming parents with the resources required to have a calm conversation, the campaign is likely to have a longer-term impact – setting up the potential further ongoing behaviour change through the parent-child dynamic that would have been much more difficult for a Government organisation to achieve alone.  

Ultimately, even when we are equipped with a perfectly crafted message, our audiences might not be ready to hear it – especially from us. By re-thinking who the messenger is, brands and organisations can better connect with their audience and drive action. 

‍