UNMASKING THE UN-MASKERS: HOW TO GET ‘NEVER MASK WEARERS’ TO RECONSIDER
The research is in: Masks DO help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Yes, there were mixed messages from the government at the beginning which did not help with adoption by the public. But the message is now clear: wear masks and we will beat this thing. In fact, both New York and Italy started to see infection rates flatten only after mandatory face mask measures were put in place.
“Wearing of face masks in public corresponds to the most effective means to prevent interhuman transmission,” writes the team at the National Academy of Sciences and Cambridge University.
Even a modest, 5% increase in mask-wearing will equate to a reduction in transmissions in the tens of thousands. In short: it’s worth the effort. So then the question is this:
FOR THOSE WHO DON’T WEAR MASKS, WHAT ARE THEY THINKING? HOW DO WE CONVINCE THEM OTHERWISE? HOW DO WE NUDGE THEIR BEHAVIOR?
WE JUST COMPLETED PHASE 1: TESTING MASK WEARING MESSAGES
Our goal was to home-in on messages that persuade, particularly for those who don’t consistently wear masks already.
What we did:
We crafted two messages around mask usage and dial tested these against mask wearers and mask ‘I don’t wanna wear-ers.’
How the Messages Differed:
The first message (“ASSERTIVE”) was around the science of transmitting Covid: “Thousands of people are dying; Masks decrease the risk that you will become infected or will infect your family. Do the right thing.” (paraphrasing)
The second message (“GENTLE”) was the ‘soft-sell’ approach: “I don’t like being told what to do, and they are uncomfortable to wear, but if it protects me from you and you from me, then I’m in.” (paraphrasing)
THE RESULTS:
We uncovered 2 key things that the NEVER MASK WEARER group believes that the other groups don’t:
- They think the risk is exaggerated; some even distrust the science: As an Epidemiologist at U. of California so elegantly puts it, “People just think this is a nothing-burger. So they think the risk is exaggerated.”
- Never-wearers were more likely to be willing to get back to their normal activities faster (this supports the idea that they think the risk is over-blown) They are simply tired of it all.
“I understand how people must be very tired of this at this point. But the virus doesn’t care that we’re tired.” – Director of NIH
LET’S GET TO THE GOODS:
HOW THE MESSAGES PERFORMED WITH THE NEVER WEAR GROUP
- Both videos were effective in persuading people to wear masks more often. Even among the NEVER WEARER group, the assertive argument persuaded 28% to wear a mask more often, and the gentle approach persuaded 35%, which is a significant impact.
- However, the SOMETIMES and NEVER groups differed in their perceptions of each video. SOMETIMES people thought the assertive argument was informative; The NEVER group were 3X more likely to find it arrogant or negative.
WHICH MESSAGES RESONATED WITH THE TOUGHEST CROWD?
The NEVER WEARER group consistently reacted favorably to 3 sentiments:
- Americans resist being told what to do
- Masks don’t prevent the wearer from getting infected by the virus
- Masks don’t need to be worn outside, when 6 feet away from someone, or while jogging
So we can use these learnings in Phase 2 of our study. We know from Phase 1 that this group is not ‘unreachable’; a full 35% said they would wear a mask more often. We can quickly see how a different messaging approach toward a specific group can move the needle—get them to do something they otherwise would not. This is how progress happens: test, refine, retest.
WHAT’S NEXT:
While both videos were effective in persuading people to wear masks more often, we can do better.
Now that we know what resonated, for Phase 2, we’re taking the sentiments that worked and refining and re-testing to improve the message further.
Why Us? This is what we do: we take sticky topics, test messages around them, and refine them for the better. Because the right words can move mountains.
To discuss the data behind this project or how we may be of help with your messaging, please give me a shout.
