Government
Why Most Government Awareness Campaigns Don't Change Behaviour
Published 12 March 2025·Last reviewed 19 September 2026
Government awareness campaigns fail to change behaviour because awareness was rarely the thing stopping people from acting in the first place.Awareness is easy to measure. You can count impressions, reach, recall, and prove people saw the thing. What you usually can't prove is that anything changed because of it.
- Decades of behavioural research say awareness rarely drives behaviour on its own
- People respond to social norms, identity, friction and emotion before facts
- Let's Get It Sorted hit 18.5 million impressions in six weeks and 37% brand recall against a 25% target
- 67% of viewers reported taking action after seeing that campaign, and 71% felt more confident about recycling
The awareness trap
Awareness is easy to measure. You can count impressions, reach, recall. You can prove people saw the thing. What you usually can't prove is that anything changed because of it. The assumption underneath most awareness campaigns is that if people know about something, they'll act on it. Decades of behavioural research says that's wrong, almost across the board. Awareness is rarely the thing standing between people and the behaviour. People already know floods cause damage. They know smoking causes cancer. They know recycling matters. They still don't always do it. Run an information campaign that doesn't touch the actual drivers of behaviour and the result is a great-looking report and nothing else. Reach, recall, impressions, all there. Behaviour change, not there.
What drives behaviour instead
People do what they think the people around them are doing. If the social norm in someone's community already runs against the behaviour being sought, telling them about the issue changes nothing. The norm wins. People also act in ways that match how they see themselves. Behaviour that fits someone's identity sticks. Behaviour that doesn't requires real motivation and rarely lasts. People take the easy option. If the behaviour wanted is harder than the one they're already doing, most people won't switch, regardless of how important they're told it is. Removing friction often does more than any amount of messaging. People feel before they think, too. A campaign that makes someone feel something, recognised, amused, gently called out, sticks harder than one that just lays out the facts. The feeling opens the door. The information walks through it.
What good behaviour change campaigns do differently
They start with research into what's actually driving the behaviour, not assumptions about what the audience needs to hear. They set a specific behaviour objective, not a communication message. They build the creative around the real psychological and social barriers in the way. They measure what people actually did, not just who saw it. Let's Get It Sorted, a recycling campaign, hit 18.5 million impressions in six weeks and 37% brand recall against a 25% target. Among 18 to 24 year olds it reached 54%. The number that actually matters is the next one: 67% of viewers said they'd taken action after seeing it, and 71% felt more confident about recycling properly. It worked because it was built around what was stopping people, not because more people happened to see it.
What to check before commissioning an awareness campaign
- Does the audience already have the information, or is genuine awareness the gap
- Has the campaign identified the specific social, identity or friction barrier in the way
- Is there a stated behaviour objective, not just a reach or recall target
- Will success be measured by what people did, not only who saw the campaign
- Does the creative team include a behavioural science or research capability
Where Welcome to the Fold sits
One of Welcome to the Fold's directors holds a PhD in psychology and more than twenty years of applied behavioural science experience, and it shows up in how every brief gets approached from the first conversation. We're appointed to the Queensland Government Creative Advertising Preferred Supplier Panel (GGS0120-25) and six other government panels.
For how this actually gets built into a campaign, see how behaviour change campaigns work in Queensland Government.
Questions people ask about awareness versus behaviour change
Why does measuring awareness not tell you whether a campaign worked?
Because awareness is easy to prove and behaviour change usually isn't. You can count impressions, reach and recall, and prove people saw the thing. What you usually can't prove is that anything changed because of it.
Do people already know about most of the issues government campaigns cover?
In most cases, yes. People already know floods cause damage, that smoking causes cancer, that recycling matters. They still don't always act on it, because awareness was rarely the thing standing between them and the behaviour in the first place.
What actually changes behaviour if information doesn't?
Social norms, identity, friction and emotion. People do what they think the people around them are doing, act in ways that match how they see themselves, take the easier option when one exists, and feel before they think. Campaigns that ignore all four get reach without behaviour change.
What did Let's Get It Sorted actually achieve?
18.5 million impressions across Queensland within six weeks, 37% brand recall against a 25% target, 54% among 18 to 24 year olds. More importantly, 67% of viewers reported taking action after seeing it and 71% felt more confident about their recycling practices. Those are the numbers that actually matter, not just reach.
What do good behaviour change campaigns do differently from awareness campaigns?
They start with research into what's actually driving the behaviour, set a specific behaviour objective rather than a communication message, build the creative around real psychological and social barriers, and measure what people actually did rather than who saw it.
Jason Henry
Director, Welcome to the Fold
Jason has been leading commercial photography, video and strategy production from Brisbane since 2001. Welcome to the Fold is an approved supplier on seven federal and state government creative services panels, including the Queensland Government Creative Advertising Panel (GGS0120-25).
