Page 115 - Social Norms Survey

unit will also permeate the targeted communities with peace-building messages, images

and initiatives in order to actualise the objectives of this pillar. The Media messages must be
supported by targeted interventions in the selected settings to re-enforce the messages

and to move individuals through to meaningful change in their attitudes and behaviours.

A successful media campaign will depend on the social marketers having a good sense
of the following in relation to the target audience:

1. Who constitutes the target audience
2. Location of the audience (urban, rural, school, work etc.)

3. Knowing what is important to them
4. How segments of the audience receive their information (media, through

individuals, etc.)
5. When they are most likely to receive information (holidays, weekends, mornings,

evenings etc.).

The VPA suggests that in order to achieve the objectives of each of the pillars indicated
above, time and resources will be required over a period of years. Importantly, the strategy

must be flexible, acknowledging that it will need to be adjusted periodically, tweaking the
activities for better results. Clarity and familiarity with the audiences, their environments,

their needs, their preferences are important and will change over time as individuals
mature and encounter their environments, relationships, life challenges (family, school,

friends, associates, work, or the lack thereof) and other social factors.

As per the stages of Change Model, the CSJP should be prepared to address activities
52
in phases, with some level of overlap. As previously shared, the theory illustrates six phases

individuals go through as they work to change their behaviour. Many clinical programmes
for behaviour change, such as smoking cessation and addiction recovery use these steps:

1. Pre-Contemplation—people are not considering a change. People in this stage
are often described as “in denial” due to claims that their behaviour is not a

problem (Cherry, K).
2. Contemplation—people become more and more aware of the potential benefits

of making a change, but the costs tend to stand out even more. This conflict
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52 Kendra Cherry, The 6 Stages of Behavior Change: The Transtheoretical or Stages of Change Model, July 2018
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