Our Healthy Environment and Economy Advertising Campaign (Advertising Campaign Evaluation Tool)

Executive Summary

Prepared for Environment and Climate Change Canada

Supplier: Narrative Research

Contract number: K0A37-220205/001/CY

Contract value: CAD $34,979.15 (including HST)

Award date: March 21, 2021

Delivery date: July 8, 2022

Registration number: POR 020-21

For more information on this report, please contact Environment and Climate Change Canada at: POR-ROP@ec.gc.ca

Ce rapport est aussi disponible en français

Cat. No. : En4-443/2-2022E-PFD

ISBN : 978-0-660-45148-0

EC22057

Unless otherwise specified, you may not reproduce materials in this publication, in whole or in part, for the purposes of commercial redistribution without prior written permission from Environment and Climate Change Canada’s copyright administrator. To obtain permission to reproduce Government of Canada materials for commercial purposes, apply for Crown Copyright Clearance by contacting:

Environment and Climate Change Canada

Public Inquiries Centre

12th Floor, Fontaine Building

200 Sacré-Coeur Boulevard

Gatineau QC K1A 0H3

Telephone: 819-938-3860

Toll Free: 1-800-668-6767 (in Canada only)

Email: enviroinfo@ec.gc.ca

Executive Summary

Narrative Research Inc.

Contract Number: K0A37-220205/001/CY

POR Registration Number: POR 020-21

Contract Award Date: 2021-06-24

Contracted Cost: $34,979.15 (tax included)

Background

It is the mission of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) to ensure a clean and healthy environment and economy for present and future generations. To uphold this mission, ECCC launched its new Our Healthy Environment and Economy advertising campaign.

ECCC has developed this communications campaign to both inform Canadians of existing efforts underway concerning climate change, as well as of Government of Canada (GC) programs, incentives and efforts vis-à-vis climate change. The first phase of the campaign, which ran in July 2021, consisted of informational text-based ads through search engine marketing (for example, Google Adwords and Bing Search). In the second phase, advertising consisted of a mix of placements designed to increase the reach and breadth of messaging to the campaign’s target audience across multiple touchpoints, including but not limited to: television, video, web, mobile apps, music and podcast streaming services, trade publications and social media. This phase ran from mid-February until mid-June 2022.

ECCC’s advertising campaign focused on three areas: nature conservation, zero emissions vehicles and transportation future, and energy efficiency. This campaign clusters environmental themes stemming from a number of GC institutions under a single banner, thereby representing a “whole of government” approach to communicating information to Canadians. ECCC’s communication efforts seek to demonstrate the action that governments, Canadians and businesses are already taking in terms of climate change, and encourage Canadians and businesses to, among other things, further accelerate momentum and encourage progress in this domain. Emphasis is placed on demonstrating a shared effort between and among governments, people, and businesses, in an attempt to empower and engage the country. Thus, ECCC’s Our Healthy Environment and Economy advertising campaign supports the following key campaign objectives:

· Raise awareness and uptake of Canada's environmental programs and incentives

· Increase use of the new Website portal

Research Objectives

The purpose of this research evaluation is to measure the success of the advertisement campaign through a before/after measure of the campaign’s objectives and awareness/recall of the advertisements amongst Canadians, particularly the campaign’s target audience.

The research was conducted using the Government of Canada’s Advertising Campaign Evaluation Tool (ACET). ACET evaluations are required to help improve the Government of Canada’s ability to consistently evaluate major advertising campaigns, and to assist departments in complying with a key requirement in the Communications Directive.

The following criteria will be used to qualify the effectiveness of the Our Healthy Economy and Environment advertising campaign:

1. Pre-Campaign Evaluation using the standardized ACET Baseline online survey, with the objectives being to assess pre-campaign awareness of the subject matter, including:

· Recall of Government of Canada advertising on environmental initiatives

· Awareness of the Government of Canada’s environment and climate change programs/initiatives

· Interest in participating (uptake) in Government of Canada environmental programs/initiatives

· Motivation amongst Canadians related to conserving and protecting nature/fighting climate change

· Behaviour amongst Canadians related to conserving and protecting nature/fighting climate change

2. Post-Campaign Evaluation using the standardized ACET Post-Campaign online survey, which will determine if:

· A 10% increase in recall of Government of Canada advertising on environmental initiatives relative to pre-campaign has been achieved

· There is strong aided recall of the campaign’s creatives (main measure of reach). This includes where Canadians saw the advertisements and whether they can identify them as from the Government of Canada (GC)

· There is an increased percentage of respondents among those who recall the ad who report knowledge of GC programs and incentives, over and above the baseline ACET measurement

· There is an increased percentage of respondents among those who recall the ad who report having looked for information about environmental programs and initiatives

· There is increased motivation amongst Canadians related to conserving and protecting nature/fighting climate change

· There is an increased percentage of respondents among those who recall the ad who report having taken action

Target Population

The Statement of Work identifies that the target population of the research includes Canadians 18 years and older including Indigenous Canadians, Canadian families (parents and youth), Canadian business leaders/owners and industry professionals, and Canadian homeowners and buyers.

A pre-campaign online survey of the Canadian general public was undertaken in July 2021 while a post-campaign online survey was undertaken in June/July 2022. The pre-wave survey required an average of approximately eight minutes to administer (combined English and French), while the post-wave survey required a mean average of approximately 13 minutes to administer (combined English and French). This 13-minute figure, however, likely was influenced greatly by a small number of respondents who perhaps left their browser open to the study for an extended period of time while undertaking non-survey-related activities, as it is found that the median post-wave average was 9.9 minutes, likely a more telling indicator of the true ‘average’ length of time required to complete the post-wave survey. The participation rate was 27.6 percent for the pre-campaign wave and 30.5 percent for the post-campaign wave. The email contact records for the research were drawn from panelists administered by The Logit Group of Toronto, Ontario. There was a total of 2,010 useable surveys completed in the pre-wave, and 2,004 useable surveys completed in the post-wave.

Research Usage

As articulated in the Statement of Work, the proposed research activity entailed pre- and post-ad campaign evaluations, exploring the impact of advertising on public attitudes, beliefs and behaviours. This evaluation will take the form of measuring (and comparing) awareness of the subject matter with the audiences in question. ECCC’s principal goal is to increase recall of Government of Canada advertising on environmental initiatives.

Advertising campaign evaluation is mandatory under the guidelines of the Government of Canada, in situations such as is currently the case, in which a media buy exceeds $1 million. The sought-after pre-and post-campaign ACET-related data collections are used for all major Government of Canada advertising campaigns in order to consistently evaluate these campaigns, as a means of complying with key requirements in the Government of Canada Communications Policy.

Expenditure

The survey entailed an expenditure of $34,979.15, including HST.

Consent

Narrative Research offers this written consent allowing the Librarian and Archivist of Canada to post, in both official languages, this Methodological Report.

Political Neutrality Statement and Contact Information

I hereby certify as a Senior Officer of Narrative Research that the deliverables fully comply with the Government of Canada political neutrality requirements outlined in the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada and Procedures for Planning and Contracting Public Opinion Research. Specifically, the deliverables do not contain any reference to electoral voting intentions, political party preferences, standings with the electorate, or ratings of the performance of a political party or its leader.

Peter MacIntosh

Chief Research Officer & Partner

Narrative Research

pmacintosh@narrativeresearch.ca