The art of applying gamification
Gamification is MUCH more than badges, points, and leaderboards. Learn how to apply an audience-first gamified program....
04 December, 2024
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The art of crafting scarcity
When items or experiences are scarce, people desire them more. This post covers ethical ways to use this B.S. tool in our work....
19 November, 2024
The art of shaping choice architecture
Choice architecture influences our choices, and there is no such thing as neutral design! Learn how to use this tool for sustainability....
30 October, 2024
The art of designing feedback loops
Feedback loops give audiences real-time information about their behaviors and what to do next. Learn how to design them for your project....
16 October, 2024
ON THE BIAS: Pluralistic Ignorance
Why do we believe that our personal views differ from everyone else? Pluralistic ignorance shows us that we think more alike than we think....
21 August, 2024
ON THE BIAS: Authority Bias
Why do we listen to doctors, bosses, officers, and teachers when they tell us to do things? We're socially wired to do so!...
07 August, 2024
ON THE BIAS: Endowed Progress Effect
When we're feeling stuck, maybe we just need a head start. Endowed progress uses freebies and bonuses to jumpstart action....
24 July, 2024
ON THE BIAS: Priming Effect
Why do some smells, sights, and stimuli influence our decisions and dispositions? Well, it may be because they primed us to act in a certain way....
10 July, 2024
Workin’ it From Home: Chopping food waste.
Reducing food waste is one of the most impactful climate actions we can take at home, but it's not easy to do. Start chopping here....
12 June, 2024
Workin’ it From Home: Conserving your energy.
"Let's be honest. We all want to be comfortable in our homes." - Larissa Johnson. But can we be comfy AND sustainable? Let's find out!...
29 May, 2024
Workin’ it From Home: Buzz-worthy Backyards
Our yards can work harder to protect the planet. Learn how we can protect the Spring "B"s: birds, bees, butterflies, and bugs....
15 May, 2024
Workin’ it From Home: Hosting Zero-waste Events
Hear from a sustainability specialist about how we can host fun parties at home while also reducing the amount of waste we produce. ...
01 May, 2024
Terms of Engagement: The Reward
Yay, the audience has taken action! So, we're done, right??? Not so fast. Providing a post-action reward keeps the audience engaged and doing more....
20 March, 2024
Terms of Engagement: The Ask
We've extended an invitation to join our efforts and engaged the audience in a deeper conversation. Now, it's time to make the ask!...
06 March, 2024
Terms of Engagement: The Conversation
Now that you have your audience's attention, how will you keep them engaged? It's time to start the conversation....
21 February, 2024
Terms of Engagement: The Invitation
Let's explore how we can engage our audience through a series of stages. First up, the invitation to join our movement!...
07 February, 2024
ON THE BIAS: Fresh Start Effect
Why do we wait until the start of a new week, month, or year to create new habits? Because it gives us a fresh start! ...
28 November, 2023
ON THE BIAS: Choice Overload
Providing too many options to choose from overwhelms the audience and leads to indecision and inaction. Learn how to simplify the choice....
15 November, 2023
ON THE BIAS: Sunk Cost Fallacy
Why do we let past investments in time and effort (a.k.a. sunk costs) cloud our decisions to press forward with a behavior or project? ...
31 October, 2023
ON THE BIAS: Fluency Shortcut
Fluency shortcuts are statements that are easier to understand and sound pleasing to the ear, which increases trust, affinity & confidence....
18 October, 2023
ON THE BIAS: Reactance Effect
People react negatively to being told what they must or can't do, which is called the reactance effect. Preventing this from happening is key....
03 October, 2023
Smokey Bear. Where are they now?
Smokey Bear first came on the scene in 1944 to remind us that "Only YOU can prevent forest fires." Where are they now?...
05 September, 2023
D.A.R.E. Where are they now?
D.A.R.E. officers first entered classrooms in 1983 to prevent kids from doing drugs and joining gangs. Where are they now?...
21 August, 2023
Don’t mess with Texas. Where are they now?
"Don't mess with Texas" is a slogan and campaign that has been running for nearly four decades. Where are they now?...
09 August, 2023
Got Milk? Where are they now?
The Got Milk? milk-mustache campaign ran for 20 years and is widely known and loved. But where are they now? Read on to find out....
25 July, 2023
Ahead of the Curve: Low-cost Sustainability
With rising prices happening everywhere, how can we afford to buy and live sustainably? Low-cost sustainability options are here to help! ...
14 June, 2023
Ahead of the Curve: Growth of Gaming
The gaming industry is growing rapidly, and so is the intersection between gaming and environmentalism. See how you can stay ahead of the curve....
30 May, 2023
Ahead of the Curve: Age of Action
Gen Z is turning their anxiety into action, pressuring and influencing all of us to do more and do better. Here is how we can meet their rising expect...
17 May, 2023
Ahead of the Curve: The Great Outdoors
More people are heading outdoors to reduce anxiety, stress, and burnout. Here's how we can meet this need and foster sustainability....
02 May, 2023
Ahead of the Curve: The Joy Imperative
More people will ditch the doom scrolling and seek joy as an antidote to anxiety and burnout. Here's how we can meet this need....
15 April, 2023
The helpful behavior change guide is ready to download. What’s next?
The helpful behavior change guide you worked hard to create is now available. You check download metrics after a few weeks and... check this post to h...
14 March, 2023
The creative agency shared campaign concepts. What’s next?
The creative agency shares their campaign concepts, and... you love them! Or, you hate them. Or, they're ho-hum. What should you do next???...
28 February, 2023
The stakeholder meeting just ended. What’s next?
You wrap up a stakeholder meeting, and it was great! Or, maybe it was terrible. Or, maybe it was meh. See how to move the project forward in each scen...
13 February, 2023
The petition has launched. What’s next?
You successfully launched the petition. Maybe it meets the goal, maybe it doesn't. Either way, do you have a plan for what comes next? Use this post t...
01 February, 2023
ON THE BIAS: Picture Superiority Effect
We process pictures much faster than we process words, and we remember those images for far longer. Yet not all images produce the desired results....
29 November, 2022
ON THE BIAS: Present Bias
We make plenty of decisions today, in the present moment, but not all of them benefit our future selves. Learn how we can close that gap....
08 November, 2022
ON THE BIAS: Mere Exposure Effect
Explore why repeated exposure to concepts and behaviors increases our familiarity and comfort with adopting change....
26 October, 2022
ON THE BIAS: The IKEA Effect
Explore why we value items and projects more when we've helped build them and feel a sense of ownership over them....
12 October, 2022
This or That: Easy To Do or Impactful?
We want Californians to take shorter showers during times of drought. Which motivator works best: making it easy to do or impactful? Find out inside!...
14 September, 2022
This or That: Self-efficacy or Fun To Do?
We want younger generations to push their government representatives to take climate action. Which motivator works best: self-efficacy or making it fu...
09 August, 2022
This or That: Purpose or Tangible Benefits?
We want households to reduce food waste. Which motivator works best to get them going: purpose or tangible benefits? Head inside to find out!...
26 July, 2022
This or That: Intrinsic Benefits or Responsibility?
We want fishers to recycle broken fishing nets instead of tossing them overboard. Which motivator works best to get them started: intrinsic benefits o...
13 July, 2022
This or That: Social Proof or Influencers?
You want more people to participate in your annual No Mow May campaign. Should you use social proof or influencers to spark action? Head inside to fin...
29 June, 2022
Rethinking…the future
If fictional stories help us create the future, then what do we create when fiction doesn’t write a future for it? It's time to rewrite and retell b...
08 June, 2022
Rethinking…timelines
Once we're successful at changing behavior, we may still have work to do. Achieving lasting change means rethinking our timelines and planning to be i...
25 May, 2022
Rethinking…our starting point
Let's consider all the positive shifts that can happen if we change our starting point from "we need people to change" to "we need to HELP people chan...
11 May, 2022
Rethinking…Job Requirements
Do all jobs IN conservation and sustainability require a degree IN conservation or sustainability? It's time to rethink these job requirements....
27 April, 2022
Rethinking…Sacrifice
It's time to rethink our traditional ways of doing conservation and sustainability work and create change from within. This first post in the "Rethink...
13 April, 2022
Starting vs. sustaining a new behavior
What gets our audience started on adopting a new behavior will not be enough to sustain their momentum. We need to use different strategies for differ...
02 March, 2022
Leading with love (for our audiences)
Leading with love means we channel empathy for our audiences and design behavior change programs with them front-of-mind. This should impact everythin...
16 February, 2022
Our audiences don’t go from point A to point B
I know we wish our audiences would just JUMP from their current behavior to our desired behavior, but it doesn't happen that way. Instead, it's a seri...
02 February, 2022
The problem with problem trees
Problem trees can be incredibly useful and insightful, but beware of the trap of trying to match one solution for each problem! Not only will it overw...
19 January, 2022
When should we start something new?
Why is setting goals in January so popular to do? One reason is because these milestones in time make it easier to commit to doing something new. Anot...
05 January, 2022
Give yourself permission to have fun
Get audiences more engaged and excited about sustainability by infusing fun into what you're asking them to do. I share two ways of making actions mor...
24 November, 2021
Getting people to show up to your event
In many of our programs we host online and in-person events to engage and expand our audiences. But now it's time for the hard part: getting people to...
10 November, 2021
Turning your brand inside out
Audiences expect greater transparency and real-ness from the brands they support and follow. It's time to turn your brand inside-out by showcasing pas...
27 October, 2021
Persuasion versus Manipulation
"Isn't this manipulating the audience??" Many of us receive this question after explaining how behavioral science and psychology can help motivate peo...
13 October, 2021
Motivating Action & Change for the Environment
All behavior change approaches should be tailored to reflect the local context of the community, yet I have identified several key ingredients that in...
29 September, 2021
When your leader is a laggard
Laggards are the hardest segment to reach and its typically not worth the effort. But what if your leader sits in the laggard category??? Then it's ti...
01 September, 2021
What tone are you going for?
While it's important to spend time making our messages clear, actionable, and motivating, we can't forget to consider how we want those messages to so...
21 July, 2021
“Lazy” is lazy
When we claim that people don't take action because they're "lazy", then we dismiss their ability to change. Which is a disservice to our audience, ou...
07 July, 2021
My “it’s all about the people” moment
Reflecting on my career journey, there are a few "a-ha" moments that really stand out, like realizing that conservation is really all about the people...
09 June, 2021
Preventing uncertainty from preventing action
Uncertainty is a feeling that humans hate and we work hard to avoid it, which means if our communication isn't clear or helpful, then our audience may...
28 May, 2021
Is the Press on our side???
I'm beginning to feel like the press isn't on our side in preventing conservation misinformation. In fact, they're likely a big contributor to our cha...
12 May, 2021
A better way to battle misinformation
Instead of chasing down misinformation, try using alternative narratives to present a different path forward....
28 April, 2021
No cookies for me, thank you!
A data privacy movement is underway and I'm opting in by turning cookies off. Will you and your organization join me? ...
14 April, 2021
Using descriptive norms in messaging
Using social norm messages, like descriptive norms, can provide behavioral cues for our audience. But, it's not as simple as just telling our audience...
17 March, 2021
Pandemic Musings (part 2 of 2)
This is my second installment of pandemic musings, or "pandemusings", with a set of reflections on what it takes to create and communicate change. ...
03 March, 2021
Pandemic Musings (part 1 of 2)
This past year left me with a set of reflections on what it takes to create and communicate change. This is what I'm calling my pandemic musings, or m...
17 February, 2021
The need for agility
It was challenging for a lot of orgs to quickly pivot when the pandemic hit, yet we don't have to get caught off-guard by new trends. Here are ways to...
03 February, 2021
Demographics tell an incomplete story
With demographics becoming more fluid and less indicative of behavior patterns, it's important to lead with psychographics when segmenting audiences. ...
11 November, 2020
Don’t forget about the after-action moment
Does your behavior journey end once the audience takes an action or adopts a new behavior? If so, then it's worth exploring how can you make that mome...
14 October, 2020
Your why isn’t their why
We could spend all our time convincing our audiences to take action for the reasons WE think they should. But that's the long route and it's an ineffe...
25 September, 2020
Fads versus Trends
The Diffusion of Innovation Theory sparks many questions about the world around us. One of those being: how do we know if an idea will become a trend ...
05 August, 2020
There’s no SHAME in my game
Rather than spend our efforts making our audience feel shame, let's use those resources to direct them towards choices, habits and actions that will h...
22 July, 2020
There is no formula for changing behaviors
The goal of designing a tailored strategy isn't to find the one right answer that will create change. That doesn't exist! The goal is to put the most ...
08 July, 2020
The anti-racism movement is growing & we ALL need to join
Many organizations put out statements standing in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and with commitments to combat racism. Which is awes...
09 June, 2020
Should we use fear in our messages?
Beyond the question of whether fear works or not to motivate action, I wonder if it's an approach we SHOULD use. Head inside for thoughts on how using...
27 May, 2020
Balancing short-term & long-term results
Veruca Salt wants to see results now! When this happens, we have to resist the pressure to produce short-term results that don't deliver on our long-t...
29 April, 2020
How to avoid, and recover from, audience fatigue
Is your audience engagement plateauing, or worse, petering out? It could be a sign of audience fatigue, which means more communication won't produce m...
15 April, 2020
Ways to reach that ever-moving transient audience of tourists
They come, they destroy, they leave. That won't be the mantra of future tourists and visitors who seek more sustainable and awe-inspiring experiences....
04 March, 2020
How to overcome conflict when engaging audiences
Conflict between practitioners and communities can prevent important projects from moving forward. Responding to two reader's challenges, this article...
19 February, 2020
What does it mean when business takes the lead?
More businesses are going zero-waste, net zero emissions and 100% renewable electricity. They do it to protect the planet, sure - but mainly to recrui...
05 February, 2020
What ever happened to good old pollution?
Clean air, clean water, healthy soil that produces healthy foods. These are things we can ALL get behind, even climate skeptics. It's time to move bey...
22 January, 2020
Why it’s important to focus on the desired behavior
Our traditional messaging approaches focus too heavily on why the current behavior isn't a good choice, yet that's not producing the results we want t...
13 November, 2019
Your audience isn’t “everyone”
I know it feels like it's our audience. Because we need everyone to adopt more sustainable behaviors right away. But can YOUR organization create chan...
30 October, 2019
What are you asking people to do?
What are you asking people to do? While this may sounds simple, it can be surprisingly difficult to answer in a way that is clear, specific and action...
17 October, 2019
Let’s talk about: RESILIENCE
Working on environmental and social issues requires optimism, believing in change, persistence and determination. And it can be f'ing exhausting! Buil...
21 August, 2019
Let’s talk about: PURPOSE
Purpose is everywhere these days. But what does it mean for conservation organizations who are already doing good in the world? Well, it doesn't mean ...
07 August, 2019
Let’s talk about: RIHANNA
Rihanna and the Fenty Effect are setting new standards for diversity & inclusion, which WILL impact consumer expectations of conservation & environmen...
24 July, 2019
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