Can official advice improve mortgage-holders’ perceptions of switching? An experimental investigation. ESRI WP612, February 2019

Encouraging consumers to seek out and switch to lower-rate mortgages is important both for the individual consumer’s finances and for functioning competitive markets, but switching rates are low. We conducted an experiment with mortgage-holders to test whether official advice on how to select good mortgage products and how to navigate the switching process alters perceptions of switching. The experiment shows that the advice made consumers more sensitive to interest rate decreases and more favourable towards switching at longer terms. It also increased consumers’ confidence in their ability to select good offers. The findings imply that advice from policymakers can change perceptions and increase switching rates

Online disclosures fail to make consumers aware of personalised pricing. ESRI Research Bulletin 202106 March 2021.

Online disclosures fail to make consumers aware of personalised pricing or protect them from paying more than they otherwise might, according to results from experiments conducted by the ESRI’s Behavioural Research Unit in Ireland and Chile

CCPC advice helps consumers judge mortgage offers, but potentially serious misunderstandings remain1. ESRI Research Bulletin January 2020/02

Although many mortgage-holders stand to make substantial savings by refinancing or “switching” their mortgage, very few do so. In collaboration with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), the ESRI’s Behavioural Research Unit undertook a controlled behavioural experiment with a sample of mortgage-holders. The experiment was designed to test whether reading independent advice on how to evaluate mortgages and navigate the switching process can help consumers to make better choices. The study also assessed how well mortgage-holders understand the basic features of mortgages

How much do survey estimates of compliance with COVID-19 advice depend on how the question is asked? ESRI Research Bulletin 202027 November 2020.

The ESRI’s Behavioural Research Unit undertook two controlled experiments to test whether survey estimates of public compliance with COVID-19 vary depending on how the survey questions are asked

Public understanding and perceptions of the COVID-19 Test-and-Trace system. ESRI Survey and Statistical Report Series 96 August 2021.

Almost half of people do not know that calling their GP to discuss symptoms of COVID-19 is free, according to new ESRI research, and over one third think they could be charged for a test. These wrongly perceived costs could deter or delay people from arranging a test if they experience symptoms

Behavioural pre-testing of COVID Tracker, Ireland’s contact-tracing app. ESRI Working Paper 687 December 2020.

Contact-tracing mobile phone apps have the potential to play a role in controlling the spread of COVID-19, but their success hinges on widespread uptake by the public. We report a study that behaviourally pre-tested COVID Tracker, Ireland’s contact-tracing app, prior to its launch with a large sample of smartphone users. The study was funded by the Department of Health and run in co-operation with the app’s developers, NearForm. Participants were randomised to receive different versions of a trial app. They responded to an online survey while downloading and using the app on their phones in real-time. The experimental manipulations focused on three broad areas: (i) the level of privacy assurance provided in the app, (ii) the goal-framing of the purpose of the app, and (iii) the structuring of the exposure notification received by users if they are recorded as a close contact. Almost one in five participants mentioned privacy concerns in relation to their likelihood of downloading the app. Including additional assurances regarding the privacy of users’ data in the app successfully lowered participants’ privacy concerns and boosted engagement. This finding fed into the final version of the app released in July 2020. We also found minor beneficial effects of restructuring the exposure notification but did not find any significant differences between two different types of goal-framing, other than a subtle effect on how the exposure notification is interpreted. Overall, our results demonstrate the value of pre-testing contact-tracing apps from a behavioural perspective to boost uptake, trust, and participation

Using decision aids to support self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. ESRI Working Paper 664 May 2020.

Self-isolation is a vital element of efforts to contain COVID-19. We report an online experiment with a nationally representative sample (N=500) that tested behaviourally informed decision aids to support self-isolation. The experiment had three stages that tested interventions designed to help individuals to: (i) decide whether they need to self-isolate; (ii) be confident in their ability to self-isolate should they need to; and (iii) manage a household in which an individual needs to selfisolate. Relative to prevailing public health advice, displaying decision trees improved participants’ decisions about when selfisolation was necessary, although they systematically underestimated the need to self-isolate in the presence of less common COVID-19 symptoms (e.g. sore throat, fatigue). Interaction with an online planning tool increased confidence about coping with self-isolation among adults aged under 40. Presenting advice in the form of infographics improved recall and comprehension of how to manage self-isolation. The study demonstrates how public health policy can benefit from behavioural pre-testing of interventions

Is it riskier to meet 100 people outdoors or 14 people indoors? Comparing public and expert perceptions of COVID-19 risk. ESRI Working Paper 689 December 2020.

How do people perceive and integrate multiple contextual risk factors for COVID-19 infection? We elicited risk perceptions from a nationally representative sample of the public (N = 800) using three psychologically-distinct tasks. Responses were compared to a sample of medical experts who completed the same tasks. The public underestimated the risk associated with environmental factors (such as whether a gathering takes place indoors or outdoors) and the implications when multiple risk factors are present. Our results are consistent with a heuristic simply to ‘avoid people’ and with a coarse (e.g. ‘safe or unsafe’) classification of social settings. A further task, completed only by the general public sample, generated novel evidence that when the risk of infection competes against a risk in another domain (e.g. a different medical risk), people perceive a lower likelihood of contracting the virus. The results have implications for public health communications and psychological theory

Public expectations for lifting COVID-19 restrictions. ESRI Survey and Statistical Report Series 88 May 2020.

People expect the lifting of social distancing restrictions to be slow and gradual, with most indoor social activities not possible until at least September, according to new ESRI research. Most also believe that the lifting of restrictions should prioritise necessities ahead of leisure activities. The findings are based on data collected the week before the Taoiseach’s May 1st announcement of the Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business. The study found no evidence that a substantial proportion of the public expected a more rapid lifting of restrictions. All phases of the roadmap are subject to review based on public health data. However, if it proves possible to meet the timetable outlined in the roadmap, this would amount to a substantially more rapid lifting of restrictions than the public expected before the roadmap was published

Communication strategies of the Family brewery BERNARD a.s.

This thesis is about communication strategies of the Family brewery BERNARD a.s. It is focused on the communication of the brewery with its clients in the Czech Republic and also abroad. The first chapter serves as a theoretical basis for the next parts. It describes beer, its characteristics and types, the Czech beer market and the position of the aforementioned brewery on the market. The second chapter is dedicated to a description of major communication tools used by the brewery. The last part analyses these tools and proposes some new communication models for the company. This thesis could inspire the brewery and eventually some other companies to improve their communication strategies in order to reach their targets within a shorter period of time