Awareness to action - the gap.

‘Awareness’ is having knowledge or consciousness about a topic. In sociology and the business world, awareness is considered a prerequisite to motivation and action.

However, it is very simplistic to assume that if more and more people know about a problem, then they would alter their behaviour and beliefs in accordance with the newly acquired knowledge or information in order to solve it. This kind of thinking results in awareness campaigns that are information-centric but barely take reception into consideration. 

A Stanford article talks about the need for awareness campaigns to be solution-oriented while giving a clear call-to-action in order to inspire change. It begins by making the rather profane call to ‘stop raising awareness already’ if it is not done properly, and goes on to sketch the anatomy of a successful awareness campaign.

We have been so bombarded with the word ‘awareness’ that now it almost sounds mundane and banal. There are so many calls for ‘awareness’ and it’s everywhere; from Facebook display pictures to TV commercials. There’s no part of human life that ‘awareness’ information has not invaded. Despite that, it is safe to say that the purpose behind most of our understanding of issues is lost. The consequent discourse is mere lip-service. There is negligible effective action. ‘Awareness’ has been reduced to pious comments on social media.

Some awareness campaigns do manage to create a buzz (like the ALS ice-bucket challenge) before fading into oblivion, while others barely hit a chord – mostly because they are either unimaginative or seen as irrelevant. Yet other awareness campaigns, yielding little or no subsequent concrete action, are just a tick on the checkbox for the stakeholders involved.

What makes certain campaigns more impactful and action-oriented?