Impact Data - Yes...Because I can
This social marketing campaign was conducted in the Republic of Maldives in an effort to shift young people's negative mindsets about skill-based training and occupations. These attitudes have, according to organisers, resulted in employers preferring an expatriate workforce, leaving large numbers of Maldivian youth unemployed. Drawing on the attention, interest, desire, and action (AIDA) model of communication, "Yes... Because I can" used a variety of communication tools and strategies, such as television and radio spots, printed materials and newspaper features, a toll-free telephone hotline, an informational website, youth-friendly events, and career counselling to valorise the notion of work and career.
Data is presented from 2 separate samples. The first sample is drawn from a survey conducted to understand young people's attitudes toward work and career as a part of the government of Maldives' Integrated Human Development programme (IHDP) executed in 2004. This project provided career guidance, but it did not include any social marketing inputs. The "Yes" campaign was implemented 2 years later (2006–2007) through the Employment Skills Training programme (ESTP); the second sample group was drawn from the ESTP. Researchers carried out a series of studies with grade 10 students.
To measure behavioural changes effected by the campaign, namely, the "target" groups' engagement with the "Yes" website and the toll-free phone service, the website was designed to record hits on the website and a system of recording toll-free calls was formulated. To examine changes in career beliefs, a pretest post-test, quasi-experimental design was used to compare changes in attitudes toward work and career.
Selected findings from Study 2: The impact of career guidance and social marketing: Study 2 considered the group that received the social marketing inputs (SM group) only as compared with those who received both the social marketing and careers interventions (SMCG group). While both groups showed significant changes in career beliefs at T2, researchers found that "the extent of change in career beliefs is greater in the combined SMCG group when compared to the SM only group". Based on specific figures included in the report, they assert that "the "Yes" social marketing campaign by itself did have a statistically significant impact on career beliefs and contributed to the reduction of negative career beliefs...[and that] the combined impact of the "Yes" social marketing campaign and the career guidance intervention had a statistically significant impact on the reduction of negative career beliefs."
Selected findings from Study 3: Effect size: Researchers used the Glassian effect size (click here for further information about this methodology) to examine the extent to which each of the conditions - the career guidance and social marketing interventions - contributed to the samples' change in work attitudes. As Table 3 in the report shows, the maximum effect size for an intervention is seen when social marketing is combined with career guidance.
Since a toll-free service dedicated to employment and career development does not exist in the Maldives, researchers were unable to provide a comparative analysis. An examination of the log sheets, however, indicated that the toll-free number received a total of 2,251 calls in the first month after the campaign was launched. Of these, 93% of the calls were unique, first-time calls that were motivated by the "Yes" campaign.
Comments
The project description provides a good overview of the project and the impact of the project and the value added by the YES campaign. For comparative purposes it would be useful to receive additional information on any other case studies/similar type projects that you are aware of and some quotes from the stakeholders that the project has benefited. - Heidi Agbenyo, Stakeholder Communications, City & Guilds Centre for Skills Development
- Log in to post comments