2014 Bronze Public Sector

Client Public Health England

How did the campaign make a difference? The nation is facing an obesity epidemic – with people at risk of dying from serious conditions such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Based on current evidence, 14% of children (aged 2-15) were obese in 2012.

Tackling this obesity crisis is one of the toughest challenges that Public Health England (PHE) has ever faced. By encouraging people to swap high calorific items rather than stop consuming them and taking them on a behaviour change journey, the team created one of the most successful campaigns PHE have ever run.

The campaign drove significant behaviour change – generating major response in terms of website visits, app downloads and Smart Swapper request and changing the way people shopped, with yearly sales of sugary drinks down by a staggering 5.7 million litres.

Strategy The strategy was underpinned by five key insights. C2DE families were shown to be largely unaware of the ‘hidden’ sugar and fat in their everyday diet – and of the health damage they could do – and were reluctant to ‘give up’ these favourite food items.

PHE supported families to change by encouraging key swaps to alternative food options that were comparable in taste and price but lower in fat and sugar-related calories, concentrating on highfrequency food such as breakfast cereal. And by encouraging the new behaviour regularly over the period of a month, it was more likely that the behaviour would ‘stick’.

‘Smart Swaps’ was truly innovative in its integration – engaging the audience through a whole range of channels at or close to the point of purchase or consumption.

Creativity TV advertising drove awareness of the amount of sugar in everyday foods and drinks and introduced the proposition of swapping ‘like for like’ – whilst radio was used to demonstrate specific smartswapping opportunities. People were invited to visit the Change4Life website to receive a free Smart Swapper ‘wheel’ and app, offered swap meal ideas. This put the campaign into people’s pockets and kitchens and acted as a mini ‘change buddy’ during the weekly shop and at snack and meal times.

An email support programme rewarded commitment with weekly shopping reminders, supermarket offers, swapping tips and the chance to share success via social media. Local authorities and schools proved invaluable to support Smart Swaps on the ground. And to nudge consumers at the point of purchase, 6-sheet and trolley advertising was used alongside POS to highlight healthier choices in supermarkets.

Results The campaign was hugely successful at driving response – with nearly a million visits to the Change4Life web-site, 160,000 Smart Swap app downloads, 380,000 requests for a Smart Swapper, 320,000 eCRM sign-ups and £14,500 vouchers redeemed.

The campaign really caught the national attention and put sugar on the agenda. Over £1.7 million of PR coverage was generated, and over 550 pieces of media coverage directly inspired by the campaign – with 95% positive or neutral in tone.

And, crucially, it changed the way people shopped. Sales of sugary drinks dropped 8.6% year-on-year as people swapped to sugar-free variants – meaning the equivalent of nearly 148 million sugar cubes removed from the nation’s diet. Sales of full fat milk, spreads, cheese and sugary cereals also reduced.

This is real and genuine behaviour change on an enormous scale.