2012 Silver Best integrated campaign

Client Drinkaware

How did the campaign make a difference? Research showed that people justify how much they drink with various excuses. Drinkaware held up a mirror to harmful behaviour while providing relevant and personalised solutions. 83% claimed it made them think about their consumption. Over 250,000 people visited the site and 108,000 signed up for the tracking tool, resulting in a 20% decrease in consumption among active users.

What details of the strategy make this a winning entry? Alcohol education charity Drinkaware wanted to encourage people to sign up for a new online healthy lifestyle tool. MyDrinkaware.co.uk helps people keep track of the units and calories in their drinks and gives them personalised feedback on their drinking, with practical tips on cutting down. The people who stood to benefit most were busy professionals who regularly drink at home. However, telling this audience they’re binge drinking makes them reject the message. Knowing they don’t respond to alarmist health messages and scare tactics, the challenge was to find a fresh approach. Research showed that everyone in this group has an individual list of excuses to have quite a few drinks. The solution lay in helping them to self-identify, making them realise just how long and varied their lists were, and how often they were drinking to excess. An easily accessible solution to help change their habits and cut their alcohol consumption was the ‘MyDrinkaware drinks tracker’.

How did creativity bring the strategy to life? It was vital to empathise with this group. People's excuses for drinking provided the inspiration. The goal was a wry smile of recognition of their behaviours. Twinned print executions allowed juxtaposition of typical excuses, while digital display allowed a variation in themes and a direct link to the sign-up page. You could also share your best excuses for a drink with others online and so win glasses designed to make you think before you drink

Results Independent research among MyDrinkaware users found that 83% of people who had engaged said it made them think about how much they were drinking. 79% said it made them want to keep track of how much they were drinking. 75% claimed they related to the excuses. One user wrote “Thanks so much. No alcohol since 31st December. Resolution to stay sober until 31st March.”

Team Emma de la Fosse, Charlie Wilson, Rod Broomfield, Ruth Jamieson, Amy Ward, Brian Sassoon, Claire Cootes