'Strength to change' - male perpetrators of domestic violence: Evaluation report
Summary of findings
Campaign Reach
60% of men aged 18-50 years in Hull have been exposed to at least some element of the campaign in its first burst.
- 36% had heard one or more of the radio adverts
- 43% had seen one or more of the print adverts
These figures, especially for print, are ahead of benchmark levels for comparative UK government-based campaigns.
Message Takeout
On strategy, with no unintended messages being communicated and no evidence of any ‘backlash’ effect from men.
Credibility
All of the ads were rated as believable by men in general and more importantly by the primary target group of perpetrators/ men at risk.
Perceived Impact
In possibly the most encouraging result from this Wave 1 evaluation, 30% of men who had been exposed to the campaign said that it had changed the way they thought about domestic violence.
- Even more importantly, a similar proportion of perpetrators/at risk men (37%) said they had changed the way they thought about domestic violence as a result of seeing or hearing these adverts.
To put this result into some perspective, in answer to the identical question after the first wave of the award-winning Freedom from Fear campaign, 23% of men said that seeing or hearing an ad had changed the way they thought about domestic violence……and Freedom from Fear went on to achieve considerable success in attracting violent men into treatment.
Thus, this early result is a very encouraging sign for the Strength to Change campaign.
Recommendations for the next phase of the campaign
Creative strategy
The overall creative approach appears to be very much on track, and the existing strategy should be continued with some relatively minor tweaking as suggested below. In particular, the dual theme of ‘Impact on Children’ and ‘Self Reflection’ seems to be working and needs to be continued and further developed.
Media strategy
The media selection and placement has also been very effective in reaching men in general, including the primary target audience of perpetrators/men at risk.
Research objectives
The main objectives of this evaluation were to ensure that the advertising strategy was on track and make recommendations to fine-tune either the creative strategy or media strategy, if required.
Background
Strength to Change is the integrated social marketing programme targeting male perpetrators of domestic violence in Hull.
A communications campaign, based on mass media advertising, is one component of this overall social marketing programme.
The communication campaign was formally launched on April 6, 2009 as part of the Hull derby rugby league fixture, and the first burst of media activity ran from April 6 until May 15, 2009.
Quick summary
Quantitative evaluation research of Wave 1 of a communications campaign targeting male perpetrators of domestic violence.
Audience Summary
Gender
Ethnicity
Available on request
Age
18-50 years
Methodology
Methodology
The interviews for both the Baseline and Wave 1 surveys were conducted face to face in the street via Computer Aided Personal Interviews (CAPI).
The interviewing was split equally across three key target areas in Hull:
- Bransholme and Orchard Park
- Preston Road and Holderness Road
- City Centre
Baseline Survey
The baseline survey provided the benchmark measures against which future evaluation surveys will be compared, and the performance of the advertising campaign will be judged.
In the baseline survey 304 men in Hull aged 18-50 years were asked about their beliefs, attitudes and behaviours concerning domestic violence.
Evaluation Survey
The Wave 1 evaluation fieldwork commenced immediately the burst of advertising activity had finished, and ran from 16th May until 28th May.
In this wave 306 men in Hull aged 18-50 were interviewed. The survey asked the same key belief/attitudes/behavioural intention questions that were included as at baseline, as well as further questions designed to gauge the reach, message takeout and credibility of the advertising campaign.
Data collection methodology
Sample size
In the baseline survey 304 men in Hull aged 18-50 years were interviewed.
In the evaluation survey 306 men in Hull aged 18-50 were interviewed.
Detailed region
Hull
Fieldwork dates
Baseline Survey: Fieldwork ran between 14th March and 2nd April 2009 – ie just prior to the launch of the campaign on 6th April 2009. Evaluation Survey: The Wave 1 evaluation fieldwork commenced immediately the burst of advertising activity had finished, and ran from 16th May until 28th May 2009.