2023 Gold Public Sector

Agency: MullenLowe UK

Client: NHS England

Entry Title: We Are Life-Changing Careers

Executive Summary

It was the worst possible time to try and recruit nurses into the NHS. Vacancy rates were at 47,000. The NHS perma-crisis was all over the media. The institution was in recovery from a pandemic. The cost-of-living crisis was also affecting people’s ability to take a pay cut to study, and the first-ever NHS nursing strike was announced on the launch day of the campaign.

Strategy

Alongside our lowest budget to date: the NHS had to divert funds elsewhere to support organisational recovery. It needed to get 43,000 people to sign up to the Nursing careers eCRM programme, requiring a hard-hitting campaign to allow people to see past the context and hit targets.

The team tackled the brief with one key insight: everyone seems to think they know the NHS, but very few really felt a career in the NHS was relevant to them.

Through qualitative research, it was discovered the NHS was talking to an audience both caring and ambitious. Many NHS staff and nursing students were inspired to start their career through personal associations, however varied. When people feel the impact of specific roles, they get inspired to do something similar.

The work culminated in a strategic proposition of ‘There are so many ways you can make an impact in the NHS: on others and on your own future.’

Creativity

The campaign told nurses’ stories through real patient experiences: the beautiful, painful, and rewarding reality of a life in the NHS.

Real footage was used which patients and their loved ones had captured, augmented with new footage to clearly communicate the roles. An exhaustive and exhausting casting process found two incredible patients who went through sustained illness or injury and recovery in the NHS. Ashton, a young boy who lost his leg. Ben, who had a horrific motorcycle accident. We created two emotionally-charged films telling their stories. Ashton and Ben’s real footage, from social posts and family footage from their time in hospital was woven together with newly-shot match cuts.

As always, only real NHS staff were featured, upholding the commitment to authenticity in all comms. The Films were overlaid with a bespoke re-record of ‘You’ve got the Love’, and all creative, across all channels, was summed up with the campaign line ‘We are Life-Changing Careers.

Results

Without the generosity of Ben and Ashton and their families, the campaign wouldn’t have had the pull needed to cut through the perfect storm faced.

The Team

NHS England - Phil Bastable Deputy Director, Head of Campaigns & Social Media - Ian Hampton, Lead Campaign Manager - Finian Scott, Senior Partnerships Manager - Kirsty Callingham, Senior PR Manager - Jennie Fergusson, Senior Insight & Evaluation Manager - Lily Elden, Assistant PR Manager/Strategy Directorate

MullenLowe - Tom Knox, Chairman - Nicky Bullard, Chief Creative Officer - Tom Hudson, Global Creative Director - Matt Collier, Creative Director - Wayne Robinson, Creative Director - Georgie Dale, Account Director - Harry Flynn, Account Manager - Ella Carroll, Account Executive - Vicki Holgate, Executive Strategy Director (Government Comms) - Sam Jackson, Senior Strategist - Simon Sole, Head of Business Affairs -Vanessa Hunt, Senior Producer (AV) - Maria Singh, Senior Producer (Stills) - Lisa Tuck, Senior Producer (Stills) - Cris Jones, Design Director - Danny Flint, Mid-Weight Designer - Silvia Sella, Creative - Helena Heras, Delgado Creative - Rachel Morcos, Senior Project Manager - Gavin Colwill, Head of Digital Design - Holly Murtha, Senior Digital Designer - Rachel Lipsitz, Digital Designer - James Ring, Digital Designer -Helen Sharp, Copywriter - David Mance, Copywriter - Jared Botha, Business Director - Bien Huynh, Account Director - Howard Pull, Head of Strategy - Sam Brigstock, Senior Strategist - Dean Lanzman, Head of Data - Emma Rathbone, Senior Data Planner - Dillon Jadva, Junior Data Planner - Karen Franklyn, Head of Project Management - Iain Hincliffe, Head of UX - Stephanie Kemp, Senior UX - Amy Robinson, Junior Designer

Spindle - Molly Burdett, Director - Lou Gagen, Executive Producer - Mike Carr, Producer - Elvis Scanlon, Production Assistant - Grant Freeman, 1st AD - Danny Stoker, 2nd AD - Adam Reed, COVID SUP / Runner - Joe Walsham, Runner - Lauriane Gele, Runner - Adric Watson, DoP - Sam Rawlings, Focus Puller - Philip Barnes, Clapper Loader - Sam Oxton, Camera Trainee - Marc Booth, Playback Operator - Nick Gillett, Sound Recordist - Leo Olesker, Gaffer - Robin Niedojadlo, Electrician - Joe Withers, Art Director - James Cross, Art Assistant - Chris Brake, Props - Ardalan Al-Jaf, Props - Emily Newson, Makeup Designer/Stylist - Natasha Dixon, Makeup Assistant - Wayne Sturt, Media - Tim Swaby, Editor

Company 3 - Simon Bourne, Colourist

Framestore - Robin McGloin, Flame - Venancio David, Flame - Ben Stell, Post Producer

No8 - Sam Robson, Lead sound designer - Chaz Mcelhinney, Producer - Rebecca Dale, Music and Vocals

Warner Chappell Publishing - Andrew Howell

John Truelove Publishing - John Truelove - Anna McAuley, Casting Researcher - Sue Odell, Casting Researcher

Lewis Khan, Photographer - Kay Edwards, Producer/Agent - Ben Quinton, Grade (Moving Stills)

Contributors

Spindle, Molly Burdett, No8 and Framestore