Testing New Marketing Models for Improved Cookstoves - Uganda

February 25, 2020 updated by: Theresa Beltramo, University of California, Berkeley

Behavior Change Interventions to Improve the Acquisition and Correct Use of Improved Cookstoves

The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of different sales offers and different marketing messages to increase the uptake of energy efficient cookstoves.

This research will address the following major barriers to the acquisition and correct use of improved cookstoves into four main categories:

  • Inappropriate product or marketing for intended users
  • Lack of consumer trust in new products
  • Failure to address consumers' financial constraints
  • Failure to achieve behavioral change

To do so this research includes 3 Randomized Controlled Trials including:RCT 1- Testing the Effectiveness of Marketing Messages in Increasing Willingness to Pay; RCT 2- Testing the Effectiveness of the Novel Sales Offer and its ability to Increase Uptake of Purchasing Energy Efficient Cookstoves; and RCT 3-Measure the Effects of Fuel Efficient Cookstoves on Health, Fuel Use and Time Spent Collecting Fuel.

RCT 1 studies the price women are willing to pay for the improved stove. It will also test the effects of the two most effective marketing messages identified during the Phase 1 Feasibility stage (e.g., improved health, saves time, and has high status) on increasing willingness to pay. RCT 1 will run second price auctions in 36 parishes with an average of 60 participants per meeting.

From RCT 1, RCT 2 tests the effect of a Novel Sales Offer- which includes a free trial, and time payments- on purchasing decisions of participants versus those that receive the Traditional Offer- a cash and carry offer. Based on a pilot in urban Kampala conducted by Dr. David I. Levine (co-P.I. on this project) results show a 44% uptake for households offered the novel offer vs. a 4% uptake for those offered the traditional offer. The hypothesis is a novel offer will significantly increase uptake of fuel efficient cookstoves in rural Uganda when compared to a traditional offer.

RCT 3 measures the impacts of fuel efficient cookstoves on health, fuel usage, and time spent collecting fuel. For RCT 3 we will randomize those who accept the Novel Offer into early and late groups. To measure the impacts of improved stoves on health, fuel use, time spent collecting fuel, etc., there will be a baseline and follow-up survey and associated quantitative measures on our full sample and a small endline on select quantitative measures for a sub-sample.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Given that 95% of Ugandans rely on solid fuel for cooking, and the vast majority use unimproved wood stoves in rural areas, replacing dirty and inefficient household wood stoves in Uganda provides a tremendous opportunity to improve health. Impact Carbon has been implementing an improved cookstove program in Uganda since 2005 which has now commercially sold more than 80,000 stoves. However, the program has not been successful in selling clean burning household wood stoves due to challenges related to the four categories of major barriers discussed above. Targeted research addressing these barriers will allow the team to test new sales and marketing methods to increase uptake of fuel efficient cookstoves. This has the potential to significantly reduce indoor air pollution as more households adopt fuel efficient cookstoves.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

3500

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Uganda
      • Mbarara, Uganda
        • Mbarara District
  • United States
    • California
      • Berkeley, California, United States, 94720
        • Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

16 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

All households are eligible to purchase a stove.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Sequential Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Health Marketing Message
Marketing message focused on health effects of cooking with wood on a three stone fire.
Other: RCT 1- Testing the Effectiveness of Marketing Messages in Increasing Willingness to Pay
We are testing whether any marketing messages effect participants willingness to pay for the fuel efficient cookstoves. All marketing messages are true.
Experimental: Savings Marketing Message
Marketing message focused on savings (both time and money) related to using an energy efficient cookstove.
Other: RCT 1- Testing the Effectiveness of Marketing Messages in Increasing Willingness to Pay
We are testing whether any marketing messages effect participants willingness to pay for the fuel efficient cookstoves. All marketing messages are true.
Experimental: Savings and Health Marketing Messages Combined
One group will receive both the savings and health marketing messages.
Other: RCT 1- Testing the Effectiveness of Marketing Messages in Increasing Willingness to Pay
We are testing whether any marketing messages effect participants willingness to pay for the fuel efficient cookstoves. All marketing messages are true.
Experimental: Novel Sales Offer
This group will receive a free trial and time payments when purchasing an energy efficient cookstove.
Other: RCT 2- Testing the Effectiveness of the Novel Sales Offer and its ability to Increase Uptake of Purchasing Energy Efficient Cookstoves
We are testing whether households who receive the Novel Sales Offer have higher uptake than those households who receive the Traditional Sales Offer.
Experimental: Early vs. Late Buyers
Of those who accept the Novel Sales Offer, half the buyers will randomly be selected to start their free trial within a few weeks of the sales meeting, while the other half- the late buyers- will start their free trial a within 2 months of the sales meeting.
Other: RCT 3-Measure the Effects of Fuel Efficient Cookstoves on Health, Fuel Use and Time Spent Collecting Fuel
Of those who accept the Novel Sales Offer, half the group will be randomly selected to start their free trial early while the other half will receive their free trial late. Those who receive their free trial late will serve as a control group for fuel consumption and Particulate Matter exposure in kitchens.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Effectiveness of Marketing Messages in Increasing Willingness to Pay
Time Frame: During February 2012 we will assess whether or not different marketing messages increase willingness to pay.
We will test whether or not certain marketing messages increase willingness to pay through a secondary price auction.
During February 2012 we will assess whether or not different marketing messages increase willingness to pay.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Test the Effectiveness of the Novel Sales Offer to Increase Uptake of Purchasing Energy Efficient Cookstoves
Time Frame: This will be assessed from March 2012 to July 2012
We will randomly select some parishes to receive the Novel Sales Offer which includes a free trial and time payments and some parishes to receive the Traditional Offer, which is the offer to pay full price immediately. The outcome will be the percentage of both groups which accept the Novel Offer vs. those that accept the Traditional Offer.
This will be assessed from March 2012 to July 2012
Measure the Effects of Fuel Efficient Cookstoves on Health, Fuel Use and Time Spent Collecting Fuel
Time Frame: Will be assessed between April 2012 and August 2012

We will measure wood use by weighing wood before without fuel efficient stove and after with fuel efficient stove.

To monitor effects on health we will measure Particulate Matter via. UCB PATS monitors. We will measure PM before without the fuel efficient stove and after with the fuel efficient stove.

We will measure time spent collecting fuel by self reporting survey questions from a baseline, follow-up and endline survey.
Will be assessed between April 2012 and August 2012

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of California, Berkeley

Collaborators

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Impact Carbon, 501c3
Centre for Integrated Research and Community Development Uganda (CIRCODU)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Theresa Beltramo, PhD, University of California, Berkeley

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

February 1, 2012

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2015

Study Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 8, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 2, 2012

First Posted (Estimate)

June 5, 2012

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 28, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 25, 2020

Last Verified

February 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • TRA001

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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