Lesson 2: Planning a Campaign

Supporters of the Big Energy Efficiency Project

Lesson objectives By the end of the lesson students will be able to: 1. Identify the ways in which energy is wasted at home 2. Explain how to use a campaign to change behaviour 3. Be able to produce their own campaign outline

The Challenge Students will create a campaign to persuade people to be more energy efficient. You have the opportunity to enter the best campaign from your school into The Challenge The best campaign submitted by Year 7s or S1 students and the best campaign submitted by Year 8/9s or S2/3 students will win: £1000 worth of science equipment vouchers for their school £50 personal vouchers to be given to each team member* * Please refer to terms and conditions, which can be downloaded from the Pod ( With thanks to The Royal Institution

ACTIVITY 1 The Guzzlers: Wasting Energy Read the story of the Guzzler family on the worksheet. 1.Underline sentences in the text related to wastefulness. 2.Can you identify the energy that is being wasted by the Guzzler family? 3.How could they waste less energy? 4.Are there any other ways in which your household wastes energy at home? Optional Activity - Decide the best ways the family could improve the efficiency and write an energy plan to help them. Homework feedback discussion – What have you learned about how energy is used/wasted at home? What examples do you have?

Thinking About Campaigns What types of campaigns can you think of? (marketing, political, environmental, public awareness etc) Can you think of any examples of campaigns? (road safety, anti-smoking, election, animal rights etc) How do campaigns communicate their message? (poster campaigns, social media, TV, lobbying, news stories etc) Define ‘Campaign’ An organised course of action to achieve a goal. An organised effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group.

Campaign case study Pre-Campaign Situation: Wildlife populations worldwide have declined by 52% since We need 1.5 Earths to meet the demands we currently make on nature. Desired Situation: Younger people becoming more aware of declining numbers of wildlife Younger people taking action now and in the future to prevent this “The upcoming generation must seize the opportunity to close this destructive chapter in our history, and build a future in which people live and prosper in harmony with nature” – Director General of WWF International The solution: A successful social media campaign to spread awareness of endangered species was run by WWF in 2015.

1. Who do you think the video and the snaps from Snapchat are aimed at? How do they capture people’s attention? What important information is included? 2. What do you think people may do as a result of seeing the videos or snaps? ACTIVITY 2: #LastSelfie

How was the message shared? Snapchat Other social media sites incl. Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook YouTube channel This is a social media campaign – why did they choose this method to reach young people? How would you share a message about endangered species with older people?

Key messages & results The campaign had clear messages: A variety of animals are endangered, and their existence could be over as quickly as a snap on Snapchat. You can help by visiting the WWF website or texting. Results: 40,000 shares on Twitter in the first day Translation into languages across the WWF network within a week (100 different countries)

What made this campaign successful? A Clear Aim: To raise awareness of endangered species with young people and encourage them to help the situation. Campaign Identity Social media, powerful images Awareness Raising Making people aware that a huge problem is facing these animals Information Where to go to get more information and how to donate money Encouraged young people and many social network users to share the images and raise awareness Range of Options There were different social media channels used, and money could be donated via text, phone, or the internet.

Identify the main ways in which energy is wasted at home Work in teams to develop your own campaign to encourage people to change and become more energy efficient. Your Challenge! Encourage people to make positive changes to the way they use energy, and explain the environmental and cost benefits. Teams will present their campaign and results at the end of the project. Students will be asked to record how many people they reach. The best school campaign team could be entered into The Challenge to win vouchers for the team members and for the school.* *Please refer to terms and conditions, which can be downloaded from the Pod (

Judging the campaigns As a group you will work together to judge the best campaign in your school, using the following criteria: Identification and understanding of the energy saving issue Explaining the benefits of change (science understanding) The Campaign Results including extent of community outreach (number of people and who they were) and evidence of positive change Judging Criteria

Switch Off Fortnight – encouraging people to switch off lights and electrical items when not in use. Waste Week – encouraging people to reduce waste associated with food. Examples of energy efficiency campaigns:

ACTIVITY 3 Step 1: Develop Your campaign ideas Work in teams to record your ideas on the worksheet. 1.Campaign name. 2.Description of the problem you wish to change – explain how energy is currently being wasted in the home. 3.Campaign aim - what changes will your campaign aim to deliver and how will this help people? 4.Target audience – who will your campaign be aimed at? 5.Campaign plan – including the activities you will deliver. 6.Results -How many people you reached. -Who you reached. -Evidence that people have made changes In the final session we will judge the best campaign!

Some ideas for your campaign activities: Outreach Survey To raise awareness and persuade people to change. Pester Power! A 20 min session to present and persuade others to change. Poster Campaign/Exhibition E ncourage people to consider how they can be more energy efficient and why. The Challenge Video/Pod Cast E xplain the issue, why it is important and how easy it is to make changes. Photo Diary Using before and after pictures and words show how your family or community have made positive changes. Energy Performers Devise a theatrical piece on the theme and perform it to an audience of visitors to the school. Digital Campaign Use social media and your school website to persuade visitors to make changes. Press/Radio Campaign Sharing your campaign messages to persuade others to change.

1.Visit and read about the campaign activity. Pick one campaign (such as Waste Week or Switch-Off Fortnight). a.What do you think the campaign aims to achieve? b.What will the campaign encourage people to do differently? 2.Visit Find and write down 1 tip for each of the following: a.To save money on lighting b.To save money on hot water c.To insulate your home d.Save money on heating bills Next lesson you will be moving onto Step 2 - Organising and running your campaigns! Homework