Rule breakers get what they want

The ‘must-have’ ticket this festival season in our house wasn’t so much front row as lav bowl-related. The somewhat enigmatically named Seat of Luxury on offer at Reading and Leeds festivals got a lot of airtime. Claiming to ‘transport you from muddy field to Mayfair hotel with its fresh water vacuum loo technology, attendants, mirrors, dryers and straighteners’ it offered VIP bathroom access. For those without the foresight to invest in the ablutional side of the festival experience beforehand, it was deeply attractive yet sadly out of reach. I’m not sure what lengths hygiene-deprived campers will go to access such perks but I am pretty sure that peeing in a small shiny pot when the alternative is a foul pongy pit would be judged reasonable.

And that’s why I love what NSW Government did this Summer at Australia’s Splendour in the Grass festival. They said, ‘you get tested for chlamydia (by peeing in a small shiny pot) and we’ll give you VIP bathroom access and free phone charging’. A wonderful win:win – the Government folks made progress in tackling rising STI rates and the festival-goers got sanitation sanity. It feels so simple but the NSW government had to break the norms of who does what and where to get to that festival tent. What are the rules you could break to nudge behaviours in the direction of new win:wins? What trade-off would make saying yes to your brand a no brainer?