2021 Bronze Best Use of Email

Agency: MullenLowe Profero

Client: NHS England

Campaign Name: We Are The NHS: Then, Now, Always

Campaign Overview

The future of the NHS was at stake. Negative perceptions of healthcare careers during Covid-19 and 34,000 vacancies for nursing to fill needed drastic action.

Strategy

Across roles, the team found one unifying barrier to application: confidence.

People wanted to join, but didn't believe they could do it.

Data signals were used at registration to deliver personalised journeys based on prospects' life-stage, giving them reassurance and support at the right time, with the right content.

Creativity

The campaign-wide creative solution, 'Then, Now, Always’, aimed to build confidence in WE (the future of the NHS) and ME (to offset applicant anxiety). After inspiring people to register tailored CRM was developed that hand-held registrants, nudging them closer to application with each email.

Each journey educated registrants on the day-to-day of specific roles and showed them how people just like them were thriving in the NHS and changing lives.

To help prospective applicants feel more positive about applying and to gather meaningful insights into their motivations, hesitancies, interests and career timings, newly enhanced data enrichment tactics were followed by leveraging signals of interest at registration to deliver relevant information across the journey around role preferences.

Using dynamic logic, real-time optimisations on cadence and sequencing of emails were introduced, based on unique levels of engagement.

Email content was enriched by specially created CRM films, lifting the lid on the day-to-day tasks of each role to build confidence by showing people just like them who were already making a difference.

A re-qualification system was added to ensure that registrants with completed journeys were supported with their next steps and remained an active campaign prospect

Results

The campaign drove the highest CRM registrants yet at 112,000: 87% over target.

Relevancy and engagement increased +18% open rates, +3% click to open rates vs. the industry benchmarks.

The overall campaign generated the highest-ever year-on-year uplifts for nursing (+35%) and allied health applications (+36%), contributing to £248M in NHS freelance savings.

The Team

MullenLowe Profero - Jared Botha, Business Director - Bien Huynh, Account Director - Lucy Coombs, Account Director - Jessica Parish, Account Manager - Howard Pull, Head of Planning - Dean Lanzman, Head of Data - Rhianne Patent, Planner - Cece Tsang, Data Planner - Sam Brigstock, Planner - Helen Sharp, Lead Copywriter -Becci Winstone, Copywriter - Bradley Nicholls, Digital Designer - Karen Franklin, Head of Production

Mediahub UK - Sabina Usher, Communications Strategy Director

MullenLowe - Fran Griffin, Senior Strategist - Katie McCambley, Head of Account Management - Georgie Dale, Account Director - Harry Flynn, Account Executive - Jane Dorsett, Effectiveness Partner

NHS England - Ian Hampton, Lead Campaign Manager - Phil Bastable, Deputy Director, Head of Campaigns and Social Media