Background Research
Extensive research was used to come up with the strategic and creative concept of the Ex-smokers campaign. The Eurobarometer is a survey carried out for the European Commission to map the profile of smokers throughout all 27 EU member states (n=26,751). Respondents from different social and demographic groups were interviewed face-to-face in their mother tongue. Before launching, the Ex-smokers campaign was also pre-tested (n= 300 per country). The evaluation of print, banners, TV-spots and the i-Coach online tool resulted in some small optimizations of the campaign approach.
Strategy
Something magical happens once smokers get rid of their tobacco habit. They don’t just quit smoking. They start doing lots of other things as well. They make new plans, or dig up older ones, they become more active, gain more self-confidence, go out and travel more, and generally feel a lot better about themselves. In addition to that they save money, which aids in the realization of said plans and intentions. Furthermore, the feelings of conquest and independence, the first success that these attempts engender is quite familiar to a large part of the smoking population. Something remarkable happens to people who quit smoking.
Creative
The positive tone used throughout all communication efforts is what makes this Anti-Tobacco campaign stand out.
In addition to the motivational message in print, TV commercials, digital banners and search, the campaign offers free practical help and guidelines on how to stop through iCoach.
Created with input from leading scientists, psychologists and communication experts, the iCoach online tool guides smokers through a five-stage process that offers motivation, advice and tips, and sends daily help by e-mail so that they stay on course.
The campaign makes people aware of the multitude of reasons to live the life of an ex-smoker. And when that idea becomes real, we’re there with iCoach to help people on their way to achieve that goal.
Creative Examples:
TV1 PSA (1:13)
Video Case Study
Digital/Print Creative
Media
The campaign is communicated in print, audio-visual (television and seeding) and online (display ads, banners, search engine, social media) as well as at national and international events.
The campaign was launched with print and banners as these channels proved the most manageable budget-wise and provided full European coverage.
Metro (or newspapers with a similar profile) became the print partner, as this free newspaper is handed out on a daily basis in urban areas. Cover wraps and multiple executions highlighted advantages of quitting and, crucially, encouraged the press to dedicate influential column inches to the campaign.
In August 2011, Facebook fans were recruited and their personal stories were used in the autumn phase of the campaign. From mid-September until mid-October, print and digital media were the key media used – cover wraps, print ads, Facebook ads, online performance banners and search.
In addition, two television ads were featured on pan-regional TV channels, Eurosport and Euronews. They were also seeded online with Go Viral and EBuzzing to extend the reach and enlarge the potential for discussion.
Total media impressions give us a theoretical reach of 19,354,142 in the specific target age group (25-34), total reach across all 27 EU member states was 347,255,730.
Impact
To assess the effectiveness of the campaign, two sources of information have been taken into consideration. First, statistics on website visits and subscriptions to iCoach were collected. Secondly, the campaign was post-tested in all 27 EU Member States.
Objective 1: appreciation of the new approach
More than 50% of the smokers who have seen the campaign acknowledge it is telling them new things about giving up smoking. The large majority (67%) of the post-test sample was convinced that this new approach will persuade more people to stop, while an even larger group (80%) thinks that this campaign is doing a better job than previous efforts.
Objective 2: conversation and sharing potential
The post-test indicates positive results with both smokers and non-smokers, as 44% and 36% respectively say that they talked about the campaign. Moreover, 97% of all conversations about the campaign have been positive. On average, 18% of the smokers who have seen the campaign have recommended it to someone else.
Objective 3: effect on attitude and intention to stop
Having seen this campaign, 28% of smokers consider quitting smoking. Television and print have proved to be the most effective media in this respect. An average of 20% of the smokers claimed that they visited the website after seeing the campaign, which indicates that they actively searched for information.
Objective 4: iCoach registrations
In the period 15 June to 31 October 2011, more than 1 million unique visitors went to www.stopsmokingcoach.eu. There were 359 545 visits to the registration page, resulting in a total of 145 491 registrations on iCoach, which means that 40% of the visitors actually registered on iCoach.
