Taking the Charity/Not for Profit Award at the PRCA Dare Awards in June as well as silver at this week’s CIPR PRide Awards in the Low Budget Campaign category.
The campaign aims to raise the public’s awareness of the low-risk drinking guidelines of 14 units per week and provide some tools to help people consider their alcohol consumption.
Count 14 was developed by NHS Scotland and includes a range of tools, including a drinks calculator, to help people understand what 14 units looks like in alcohol servings.
The Health Improvement Commission partnered with Orchard to produce the double award winning campaign.
So far, the campaign has included coverage across local digital, broadcast and print media. Notably, Orchard ran the ‘Count 14 Challenge’ seeing a number of local ‘familiar faces’ being challenged to stick to the guidelines. Additionally, the team undertook public engagement activities in Guernsey’s Market Square, including taste tests and guessing games. The campaign also included distribution of over 1000 free unit calculators and measuring cups in partnership with all GP practices and community venues.
21 pieces of coverage (including four radio interviews) achieved a reach of 600,000. Nearly 20% of the island’s adult population have engaged with the campaign on social media.
Orchard also won the coveted PR Consultancy of the Year award at the CIPR PRide Awards and used Count 14 as their chosen case study in their submission.
The judges commented: “This entry showed strong strategic thinking around business growth, and an investment in staff through a strong commitment to continuous professional development, particularly Chartered PR. The use of the COM-B model in the campaign was excellent, the tactics were creative, and there was a good emphasis on measurement and evaluation.”
The COM-B model shapes much of the Health Improvement Commission’s work by focussing initiatives on changing behaviour (B) by enhancing people’s capability (C), opportunity (O) or motivation (M) or a combination of all three.
Dr Simon Sebire the Commission’s Chief Executive said: “The awards for the Count 14 campaign are testament to the hard work and creativity of the Commission’s team working in partnership with Orchard and a wide range of community ambassadors. Changing alcohol-related attitudes and behaviour is very challenging and will take time, so I’m particularly pleased that the judges recognised our use of behaviour change principles in the campaign. We’re very grateful to the Orchard team and everyone who has featured in or supported the campaign so far.”
Andrea Nightingale, Substance Use Lead at the Health Improvement Commission, oversees the project and is delighted with its ongoing success: “The campaign has reached thousands of people locally and we’re very pleased that Orchard were able to achieve this after we briefed their team. Winning these awards is fantastic news and we’d like to say a big thank you to Francesca Lewis and Megan Thoume at Orchard who have been invaluable, as well as all those who have joined us to support.
“Using the familiar faces to engage the community, people we respect and admire has really helped this project to do so well and we’re very grateful for their input. Local GP practices also supported us share this message by displaying resources including measuring cups and drinks calculators. This meant we reached even more people and made the campaign more accessible. Thank you to all who helped us achieve these results and win these two awards.
“The campaign is ongoing, and we’re excited to share more with the public in the lead up to Christmas.”
The main picture shows Andrea Nightingale and Grace Lindsay, from the Substance Use team at the Health Improvement Commission promoting Count 14.
