NHS Greater Manchester
Anti-Smoking Public Awareness Campaign
NHS Greater Manchester (NHS GM) is the Integrated Care Board for Greater Manchester, and is responsible for making decisions about health services across Greater Manchester and in the ten boroughs and cities.
The aim of this campaign was to collaborate with NHS GM to raise awareness and create engagement throughout the Greater Manchester borough. This included significantly increasing awareness of smoking cessation support, and inspiring individuals to quit for good and empowering long-term behavioural change.
By positioning NHS Greater Manchester as a thought leader in the tobacco control arena and encouraging relationships between NHS Greater Manchester and its people, the campaign created space to share authentic conversations and build a powerful and engaged community.
Our Solution
Challenging learned and habitual behaviours is essential for triggering change. If we understand the mechanisms behind habits, we can disrupt them, and introduce new, desired behaviours.
To begin with, a strategic social media audit was undertaken, providing a comprehensive framework for any future social activities. By exploring current trends, analysing the competitive landscape, this laid the groundwork for an innovative and impactful approach to social media content creation, growth and engagement.
Following this, an extended social campaign was developed incorporating static imagery and video content. Through impactful messaging and compelling storytelling, the aim was to create an emotional connection with audiences, communicating the irrefutable benefits of stopping smoking, and the impact it can have on an individual’s health, community and economy. NHS GM recognised that the existing brand needed refreshing to truly reconnect with the desired audience, so TMC strategically elevated the look and feel to ensure impact.
In addition to this, by providing accessible signposting to practical resources, tools, and guidance, we were able to encourage individuals to make sustainable lifestyle changes that contribute to quitting.
Filming on Location
To gather a range of perspectives from the Greater Manchester community and drive engagement, our team spent time within Manchester City Centre interviewing residents about their thoughts on the ‘Make Smoking History’ campaign and the introduction of smoke-free spaces within the area.
These vox pops were tailored to social media vertical aspect ratios, balancing the challenging conditions of a busy and disruptive environment with quality audio and lighting. Using real residents to illustrate the benefits of smoking cessation, linked back to the original strategic direction of ’emotional marketing’, understanding that trust is won far more easily, when those involved are. intrinsically linked.
What next?
Developing your omnichannel reach to better communicate with target audiences?
If you are interested in an obligation-free conversation about how we can build an communications strategy, please contact us on: +44 (0)1260 295700 or email hello@wearetmc.com.