Two five-minute slots on GMTV and mass tabloid and broadsheet print coverage are the dream for most government campaign stories. Our 'home barman' story was just the job
The challenge
This long-standing client wanted to create a story to highlight the amount of alcohol that people drink at home but without using a consumer omnibus survey. Our response had to be original to cut through a busy news agenda and work both off- and online.
Our response
We devised a series of live experiments which took place across England in December, where we invited the public to come and show us how much alcohol they normally pour at home. We also invited the Sun's media doctor, Carol Cooper, along to oversee the experiments.
The experiments gave us the alarmingly high statistics we needed for our news headline, but also gave us the opportunity to obtain photographs and a video of the research to give us more online content.
Importantly, we chose our issue date carefully for the quieter news period between Christmas and New Year… and just after many people would have over-indulged in alcohol at home so they would identify with the messages in the release.
Results
Working closely with the DH Press Office, the news story was covered at length in the Sun, Mail, Express, Telegraph, BBC News Online and Guardian, as well as in two five-minute slots on GMTV, which fitted perfectly with our target audience. The campaign team also achieved a range of target regional coverage in the areas where we carried out the experiments.
