In 2022 Dóchas’ carried out a social media experimental campaign to field test a number of low production videos about the importance of Ireland’s overseas aid budget to measure the impact the videos have on audiences in different constituencies. The messages were delivered by “people like me” aka people living in a particular location within Ireland talking to others who also live there.
The videos were then tested against videos with similar messages (unbranded INGO video) to understand what best resonates with the Irish pubic. The theory that people are more open to receiving messages from “people like them” was tested to gain a greater understanding of what engages/resonates well with the middle segments identified by the Worldview Research.
Participants were recruited and filmed in different locations throughout Ireland. A total number of 3 “people like me” videos were advertised on Facebook and Instagram during the month of September 2022. These ads were set to target those in the moveable middle segments identified by the Worldview Research – including the European Multilateralists, National Pragmatist and the Empathic Reactionaries.
The public’s engagement with and perceptions of the video were analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively, through focus group discussions and social media metrics.