Awareness Raising Campaign in Kenya Set to Launch this Fall
Household air pollution is often referred to as a “silent killer” given that many of those affected by it do not recognize the severe impacts it has on health, including premature death and morbidity. This lack of awareness remains a key barrier in driving demand and sustained adoption of cleaner cooking technologies.
The Alliance recognizes it is critical to overcome this barrier. Building from the solid foundation of its Phase I efforts to further establish the evidence base for the need for cleaner cooking and ensure increased supply of suitable technologies. The Alliance will place an increasing emphasis on demand generation as it transitions into Phase II. A key element of this effort will be awareness-raising campaigns in each of its focus countries that spread the message about the benefits of cleaner stoves and fuels and showcase available technologies.
These campaigns will evolve and grow over time, with initial piloting activities set to launch over the next few months. These pilots will build from consumer level research commissioned by the Alliance over the last year that identified early adopter segments who will be the initial targets of the campaigns in their respective country. The research gathered key insights on demand-related drivers for these segments, including effective messaging and marketing techniques, stove and fuel preferences, and desired features and price points that will be translated into communication and tested in initial piloting.
Pilot efforts will kick off this fall in Kenya, with an initial campaign running for three months from October to December. This first phase will focus in Central, North Rift and Western Kenya. The Alliance recognizes that a multi-faceted approach will be required and therefore has plans to roll out both “above the line” and “below the line” activities, including radio messages, wall branding, printed materials and SMS texts, as well as engagement of community health workers and road shows with music, entertainment and live cookstove demonstrations.
The campaign will be organized by a local media firm with decades of experience in public education and promotion activities in Kenya. Members of the Clean Cookstoves Association of Kenya are working closely with the Alliance and the firm on planning and execution. A campaign logo and set of taglines will be used to tie the different aspects of the campaign together. The various techniques and messaging used will be monitored closely to capture those most effective in reaching scale and conversion into clean stove and fuel sales.
The Alliance is also exploring partnerships with fast moving consumer goods companies in spreading messaging, and will of course utilize its in-country champions to get the word out and motivate and inspire people to take action. Given that awareness alone is often not enough to generate demand, the Alliance will also be ramping up efforts to ensure cleaner cookstoves and fuels are affordable and accessible to our target consumers.