If you are launching a new brand of baked beans, it makes sense to target your advertising at people who like baked beans. But what if the product is a new brand of government? The question is exercising a number of bright minds as public bodies ponder how to promote online services.
Promotion is sorely needed. Councils and Whitehall departments have spent billions on making government services available via the web or other electronic channels. But hopes of getting a return on that investment are doomed unless large numbers of people go online to government. At the moment, e-government is a minority sport, mainly because few people know that it is there.
The obvious solution is to advertise. Some councils are tentatively beginning to do this. A conference organised last week by e-Citizen, a Whitehall-funded programme to promote the take-up of local e-government, heard evidence that advertising can work. In one authority, the number of online payments made each rose tenfold after a four-week promotional campaign.
However, picking which audience to target is not straightforward.
According to market research, 46% of the population are ready to use e-channels. People most likely to be up for it are affluent male "e-amenable progressives". Those least likely to try e-government are the elderly, the poor, or people who dislike or are suspicious of their council.
In the commercial world, the next step would be obvious. Target your advertising at ABC1 males, with ironic ads featuring half-naked women and nudge-nudge slogans.
However, ABC1 males are the segment least likely to use public services. An affluent young man's regular dealings with his council are likely to consist of paying parking tickets by credit card over the phone and council tax by standing order. From the council's point of view, there is little point in switching these transactions to the web.
On the other hand, promoting e-services to the less digitally aware could be a long slog. There will be much sniping if take-up is slow, and the momentum could easily be lost.
Another complication is that councils must be aware of the consequences of making access to services easier. For example, allowing residents to report abandoned cars by text message is a brilliant idea. Residents like the anonymity of the medium, and are more likely to get the details right if they are on the spot. Gravesham borough council in Kent found that the number of reports soared when it publicised its text service. Any council doing this had better be ready to deal with the demand.
Finally, any council spending money on promotional campaigns must be ready to deal with flak from residents who would prefer lower council taxes or more public lavatories (or both). The obvious answer to promoting e-services is a nationally funded campaign, but the timing and targeting are bound to upset someone.
These are not easy decisions. If we want people to use e-government, we are going to have to sell it. But public services are not baked beans.
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