European community for mobility management

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SEGMENT - segmented marketing for energy efficient transport

Description:

SEGMENT is a 3 year IEE STEER funded project which will test the use of consumer market segmentation techniques in persuading people to change their travel behaviour and adopt more energy efficient forms of transport.

This project will seek to maximise the impact of the campaigns through the use of two segmentation techniques:

1. Targeting consumers undergoing ‘life change moments’ which cause them to question and reconsider their travel habits.
2. Clustering these consumers (through the use of detailed questionnaires) into relatively homogenous groups (in terms of their attitudes towards car use, cycling, electric vehicles or wider issues such as climate change and health etc) and then devising bespoke campaigns which are informed by these findings.

SEGMENT will therefore help build capacity in local authorities across Europe to implement resource-efficient and effective behaviour change campaigns increasing the uptake of sustainable transport methods.

Background to the Project

SEGMENT seeks to employ consumer segmentation techniques to overcome perceptual or attitudinal barriers to the uptake of sustainable and energy-efficient mobility by EU citizens. Research suggests that ‘life change moments’ offer some of the best opportunities for fostering behaviour change. As people change jobs, move home or undergo other major change, they reflect on their habits and often make significant changes. It is at these points that marketing campaigns may be particularly effective in promoting more sustainable travel habits. However, it is appreciated that even within these ‘segments’ there will be a variety of attitudes towards the use of sustainable transport. Through the use of detailed attitudinal surveys our understanding of what motivates these groups will be improved. This will allow for the development of bespoke marketing campaigns and initiatives which will have a greater chance of success then traditional ‘one-size-fits-all’ approaches.

Outputs and results

• A transferable market segmentation model and methodology: data collection & analysis will maximise likely campaign impact through the integration of consumer attitude data and the opportunity to break travel habits afforded by targeting those people experiencing ‘change moments. It will be replicable and transferable to all EU27 Member states, tested and implemented in seven partner cities.

• Successful targeted marketing campaigns implemented in seven partner cities, leading to change in public attitudes (perception, satisfaction, familiarity, favourability, aspirations, values) and behaviour towards sustainable transport modes ( as measured by monitoring surveys against collected baseline data in each city)
• Building up competence and capacity in transport in Europe, to increase and accelerate take up and transfer of best practice in sustainable travel marketing campaign design, implementation and monitoring.

Brief description: SEGMENT is a 3 year IEE STEER funded project which will test the use of consumer market segmentation techniques in persuading people to change their travel behaviour and adopt more energy efficient forms of transport.

Tags: segmented marketing mobility management

Website: www.segmentproject.eu