A campaign developed for the Red Cross Netherlands, which allows them to make use of 1-to-1 communication to reach vulnerable elderly people in times of crisis. Especially focussing on heatwaves, and 65-80 year olds that are physically fit, and experience the so called ‘optimism bias’ which makes them overestimate themselves.

Scope - Who is not listening? And why?

After analysing how most people know and see the Red Cross Netherlands (‘that organisation that is always in the news to warn you’), I became interested in who was actually listening to these warnings. And mostly; who is not while they probably should? That brought me to researching the ‘optimism bias’, the psychological effect that makes people overestimate themselves all the time. Example from my cultural probes and interviews: the neighbour was called ‘a little bit stupid’ for sunbathing during a heatwave. But people did not see how ‘stupid’ they were themselves for gardening during a heatwave! You will always think that your neighbour is more likely to suffer, also if your conditions are identical. A group that is especially vulnerable to the effects of optimism bias are fit 65-80 year olds. According to CBS, elderly people are staying fit longer. However this group should still stay careful during crises, for example during heatwaves.