This summer we were delighted to work with Cityclean at Brighton & Hove Council to launch its new litter campaign #StreetsAhead. Here are our top highlights so far.
For many, Brighton & Hove is their playground of choice with a hugely diverse cultural offer and a buzzing seaside. But with 8.5 million visitors each year and 4 tonnes of rubbish being cleared from the beaches daily in the summer, the litter problem is unmissable.
Cityclean wanted to create a new movement to encourage Brighton’s residents, businesses and tourists to act together to litter.
If you’ve worked on campaigns before, you will know the changing people’s behaviour is incredible complex. At Hubbub, we’ve found that understanding routines (and how to disrupt them), creating a sense of community, and taking an aspirational approach to communications, are all key to a successful campaign. This is how we put it into practice in Brighton & Hove:
Gain Insights: We interviewed and observed over 1,300 people and did an online survey with 1,500 responses. We also spoke to local experts. From this we created an insights report on littering habits and perceptions in Brighton & Hove which fed into the development of the campaign brand and messaging framework for Streets Ahead.
Visualisation: People are more likely to change their behaviour if they can see the negative consequence of their actions on the environment. We created a huge giant fish installation made out of litter collected from the beach by local volunteers. This was put up in prime spot on Brighton’s busy promenade to shock passers-by and to provoke conversation.
Be Playful: The Trash Converters exchanged trash for treats including postcards of unusual litter designed by a local artists. We engaged over 1,200 people in just two weekends. The Litter Lifeguards also did awareness-raising on the beach, rescuing litter from the sea and performing CPR on it!
Build Community: From the outset, it was important to engage the community scene in Brighton & Hove. Local groups were invited put forward ideas including Pier2Pier, who went on to organise the UK’s first silent disco beach clean up to celebrate the Streets Ahead launch day. This engaged over 100 people who collected over ¼ tonne of litter.
Collaborate: 25 businesses attended a launch event for Streets Ahead and were provided with options to get involved. So far this has led to campaign activity on Brighton Pier, promotion of the campaign on social media and participation in beach clean-up including from British Airways.
So far over 1,500 people have been engaged in launch activities, with 250 partners and organisations promoting #StreetsAhead, and 20 pieces of positive press coverage. Changing behaviour takes time and requires a sustained effort, so the next phase of Streets Ahead will move into the city centre and then onto Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club in the new year.
If you would like to discuss how Hubbub can support your campaigns, please get in touch: rebecca@hubbub.org.uk / 020 3701 7544
