Recommendations to improve communication effectiveness in social marketing campaigns: Boosting behavior change to foster a circular economy

Abstract

The efficiency of communication campaigns that seek to boost a circular economy, leaving behind the traditional linear economy model, and corresponding behavior change is uncertain, although significant resources are being invested by the European Union and other organizations and institutions around the world. This study aims to identify barriers and enablers faced by the current communication model to generate a series of recommendations, targeted at communication practitioners, that ameliorate communication actions related to social behaviors change. A Grounded Theory process was used to analyze transcripts obtained through focus groups and semi-structured interviews with 22 biotechnology researchers and communication professionals. As a result, the identification of barriers and enablers that prevent or permit different actors to develop sustainable behaviors allowed us to conclude four recommendations aimed at improving the efficacy of communication actions that seek to boost a circular economy and sustainable behavior change: (1) raise awareness among politicians to reduce the barriers that prevent consumers from developing sustainable behavior, (2) involve companies in communication campaign actions as a point of leverage, (3) prioritize long-term interaction over short-term actions, and (4) take advantage of young students (and teachers), who are powerful transmission vectors for promoting sustainable habits among their elders.

Keywords

• circular economy
• behavior change
• social communication
• grounded theory
• science communication