An examination of community based social marketing strategies to increase water conservation practices by homeowners with automated irrigation systems in central Florida

The purpose of the study was to examine the perceptions of homeowners in Orange County, Florida who have automated irrigation systems concerning Community Based Social Marketing (CBSM) strategies that could be employed to reduce water used for lawn care. Specifically, the study utilized the theory of planned behavior and the theory of diffusion of innovations to understand what influenced homeowners to increase water conservation behaviors. The study also looked at the pragmatic approach of social marketing and the effectiveness of CBSM to bring about behavior change. The practical strategies used by CBSM seek to determine the barriers to behavior change and to understand the accepted societal behaviors, also known as norms. Once barriers and norms are established, the use of CBSM has a greater opportunity to be successful.;This study used qualitative research methods through the use of focus groups to determine whether a CBSM approach would be a successful method to increase water conservation practices. The focus group participants consisted of residents from Orange County, Florida who were determined by the water utility company to be high water users. A total of four focus groups were conducted which included 32 participants, and represented 20 different homeowner associations (HOA's).;Emerging themes for barriers revealed pressure from the HOAs to have perfect grass, lack of knowledge about proper lawn care, confusion over when to water per week and the inability to use the irrigation timer correctly. Participants indicated that the norm was to abide by the water restrictions and have a nice lawn. The responses also indicated that following water restrictions was their primary means of conservation.;The following recommendation was made for practitioners to use CBSM to create a program for the HOA board members to reduce water usage and eliminate wasteful practices. Using CBSM strategies, a program tailored to the target audience (HOAs) should be created to encourage pro-environmental behavior change. Future research would include replicating this study in similar urban areas. Additionally, a comparison study of HOA practices between HOA's in sustainable communities and HOA's with a more traditional approach would be appropriate.