Consumer campaigns must be simple and deliver…

What makes you want to join in a consumer campaign?

And have you got the time to be involved?

The answer to any, or all of these questions determines whether a campaign is successful.

In Ireland, campaigners on consumer issues have had mixed results – and for a variety of reasons.

One of the most successful must surely have been the “Buy Irish” campaign pioneered by Vivian Murray of the Irish Goods Council.

Murray’s “Buy Irish” was based on his own beliefs that quality was more important in Irish products than merely purchasing an item because it was made in Ireland.

He believed that the “Buy Irish” should focus on the Irish consumer market and over thirty years ago explained : “What the Irish Goods Council does is to create the selling environment, develop new patterns of consumer desire, build up goodwill and favourable attitudes.”

The campaign was a major success and was credited with saving thousands of domestic manufacturing jobs.

More recently, the Government’s Power of One campaign ran for two years at a cost of€10.75 million with the aim of  achieving a “sea change” in the behaviour of Irish consumers in relation to their use of energy.

Adverts reminded us throughout the campaign that there were financial and environmental benefits in switching off lights, turning televisions off at the source and unplugging mobile phone chargers.

The Economic and Social Research Institute dismissed the campaign’s effectiveness, as it recently found that while the campaign “increased consumers’ awareness of the potential savings” it did not “translate into persistent changes in behaviour”.

The ESRI says in the first year of the campaign, fliers included with customers’ gas bills made people   more aware of possible savings, “no further effects were identified for the second year of the campaign”.

In One Big Switch we believe there is a need for a movement dedicated to having the consumer voice heard and campaigning for better deals on big household bills.

But we believe in keeping it simple to be effective.

People are busy, so we’ll do the work for you.

Registering takes only seconds and is easy.  More importantly it’s also free and there’s no obligation once you have joined One Big Switch.

We’ll keep you informed throughout the campaign – and we’ll give you details of the campaign’s drive to reduce gas and electricity bills.

So, share with us what motivates you to demand a change – and tell us what’s your consumer change priority.