Following the energy crisis of 1973/74 many countries mounted campaigns attempting to encourage people to use less energy. These campaigns were frequently carried out by government departments, with varying degrees of contribution from private and voluntary organizations. The most common audience towards which campaigns were directed was the householder, though attempts were also made to reach other audiences such as motorists and industrial and commercial managers. The strategies used to induce people to change their energy usage patterns were very similar across all campaigns, relying mainly on appeals to people's logic as a means of persuasion. A wide variety of media and methods were used to communicate the campaign messages. Little evaluation of the effectivene of the campaigns seems to have been attempted, perhaps because of the difficulties inherent in carrying out an evaluation of this type. © 1979.
