Smokers Helpline Reaching Workers Campaign Jane Hall Extreme Group and Canadian Cancer Society, Nova Scotia Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada NEED/OPPORTUNITY / While tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death, more than 1,600 Nova Scotians die each year because of smoking-related illnesses, and an additional 200 die due to the effects of second-hand smoke. Tobacco use costs the Nova Scotia health care system more than CAN$200 million annually, while CAN$396 million annually is lost in productivity due to premature death and absenteeism. If 10 percent of Nova Scotians quit smoking, it would save CAN$1 billion over 30 years and save 90,000 lives. The Smokers Helpline (SHL) has helped motivate smokers to take action toward quitting by referring them to addiction services available across the province. The SHL offers high success rates, doubling the chances of successful quitting and increasing the potential for people to take other action toward quitting. The SHL is one of few provincewide services available to those contemplating quitting, especially for individuals located in rural areas, who lack access to district health authorities. The Nova Scotia Comprehensive Tobacco Strategy identified workplaces as areas where smoking cessation support is needed, benefiting both smoker and nonsmoker. Provision of support at the workplace enables a more effective attempt at quitting. The Workers Compensation Board and other occupational health members (nursing, safety and wellness) groups were contacted and invited to participate in surveys, focus groups or other evaluative measures to help determine the needs of the workers they serve as related to tobacco use in the workplace. In addition, surveys were conducted with stakeholders, companies and smokers. Extreme Group was hired to research effective, practiced activities and strategies that have been used globally. The overall objective of the research was to identify opportunities for quitting smoking, perceptions of smoking and understanding the attributes of a stop-smoking program at work. Research findings revealed the psychological barriers to picking up a phone and talking to a stranger about an emotional, difficult and controversial subject. These insights assisted in the development of a campaign built to dispel misperceptions about smoking and the process of quitting. INTENDED AUDIENCE(S) / This campaign was developed to reach blue-collar employees, whose smoking rate is more than double the provincial average of 20 percent. This population of workers has a predominately lower income and lower levels of education. These individuals tend to be hard to reach with traditional promotional methods. They do not want to quit smoking. That s why a campaign targeting employees at work is an effective way to reach people in the workplace a prime point of behaviour. 360
Focus group research at the beginning of the project provided the insight needed to reach this targeted group. The communication team learned that there are sound reasons why people simply won t call for help or advice. People often fear what they will be asked to do or how they will be treated. Armed with this information, the team built a campaign around tackling and breaking down those preconceptions. Key audiences included: Blue collar employees in Nova Scotia aged 18 55. Large employers in Nova Scotia. Internal staff CCS-NSD staff and CCS call centre staff. Health care stakeholders such as Nova Scotia Health Promotion & Protection (NSHPP). GOALS AND OBJECTIVES / The aims of this project relate directly to the tobacco control initiatives in Nova Scotia, as well as to the National Tobacco Control Strategy, Moving Forward. Simply put, the goals of the CCS-NSD project were to: Generate SHL calls from targeted sources and methods by utilizing innovative and interesting promotional tactics. Give the SHL a presence in workplaces across Nova Scotia. Coordinate with and complement the current NSHPP antismoking messaging. The objectives of the project were to: Reach 6,000 blue-collar workers and employers in Nova Scotia. Gain participation from seven to 10 larger employers in Nova Scotia. Complete the campaign within budget. Increase call volume to the SHL among the traditionally harder-to-reach target audiences by 10 percent during the course of the campaign (the equivalent of about 20 calls). SOLUTION OVERVIEW / PROJECT ACTIVITIES/TACTICS Review research: Research from CCS, similar campaigns and other sources was reviewed to provide a basis for understanding the issue and to help gain insights to develop the creative campaign. Stakeholder and company surveys: Surveys were completed with key stakeholders and large employers in the province to get a sense of the issue and to build relationships. Focus groups: A great deal of emphasis was placed on the research activities up front, before the creative was developed. The objective of the research was to identify opportunities for quitting 361
smoking and perceptions of smoking. Other objectives included understanding the attributes of a stop-smoking program at work that would encourage employees to quit and to gauge awareness of the SHL. Creative development: The creative process was based on the creative brief developed by Extreme Group and CCS. Creative testing: Concept testing took place to test the idea behind the campaign. This was not a beauty contest to test the look just the idea. Current smokers, full- or part-time workers, and groups segregated by industry were involved in two sessions. The results showed an understanding of the concept. Communication with key stakeholders: Contact was made with CCS staff and helpline centre staff to make them aware of the campaign and its elements on a regular basis. Initial contact was made with NSHPP to ask them to inform the tobacco control coordinators across the province about the campaign and ask how they can help. They helped promote the project and kept materials on hand. Regular and frequent contact was maintained with NSHPP, Health Canada and other possible partners on the future of the project. CCS collaborated with NSHPP on a direct mail piece distributed to every household and business in Nova Scotia. The collateral informed all Nova Scotians that as of 1 December 2006, it is now against the law to smoke indoors in any public spaces and outdoors, including decks, patios, etc. Given the steps Nova Scotia has taken to discourage smoking, the team added the Smokers Helpline telephone number as a key call to action. CCS also collaborated with NSHPP to run the next anti-smoking TV campaign around the same time this campaign was implemented. IMPLEMENTATION / For this campaign, the team used nontraditional (and some traditional) advertising to reach workers at work. The components of the final project included: Posters: Through evaluation and focus testing, five posters were created and displayed at the various work sites. These posters addressed real concerns that were voiced through focus testing, and were aimed at reducing barriers to calling the SHL. These posters were also resized and used by the client as print advertisements. Stickers: Through the notion of repetition, stickers were placed on any suitable surface (pay stubs, time cards, coffee sleeves, etc.). The messaging on the stickers was identical to that on the posters. Self-contained telephones: To catch these audiences off guard, telephones were created to capitalize on the messaging of the posters and stickers. The phones were placed in locations that would catch the smoker s eye. When picked up, the phones played several messages that used humor, wit and truth to dispel misperceptions about the SHL. These devices stayed at the work sites for approximately 10 business days. Radio ads: The messaging used on the telephones was adapted into two radio advertisements to reinforce the important messages of the campaign. They ran during the last two weeks of 362
the campaign on stations across the province. Through negotiations, 276 bonus spots were also obtained free of charge. The combination of these pieces created a campaign that provided repetition and information to smokers in a familiar environment during their workday. Communicating effectively with the employers, and thus the employees, was at the heart of this campaign. EMPLOYER COMMUNICATIONS Packages were sent to 25 companies across the province. A follow-up letter was sent to confirm participation; the Extreme Group made a follow-up phone call. Extreme Group and CCS followed up with these companies on a regular basis to ensure they had what they needed. MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS The objective was to get some media coverage because of the unique nature of the campaign. Phone scripts were sent to media in advance to generate buzz. A media advisory was issued the week before the event. A news release with pictures was issued right after the event. The launch was held on 19 March 2007, with approximately 20 people in attendance. IMPLEMENTATION AND CHALLENGES / PROJECT TIME LINE STAGE TASK TIMING Prepare Phase 1 and Phase 2 estimates 18 October PHASE 1: Problem, Define the problem 7 8 November research, insight Conduct research/review existing research 6 23 November Prepare creative brief from insight 28 November 4 December Client approval of brief and critical path 8 December Brief creative team 14 December Creative development 15 22 December Internal creative presentation 2 January PHASES 2 & 3: Conduct peer review 3 4 January Creative development/ Creative revisions 4 6 January Sell the idea Client creative presentation 9 January 363
STAGE TASK TIMING Client feedback/concept selection 10 January Second round focus group testing 11 January Creative revisions 12 16 January Revised creative to client 17 January Final approval of concept from client 18 January Client final approval of artwork 2 February PHASE 4: Execution Prep files, send print ads to publications 5 February Print ads start running 12 February Confirm company involvement and mail materials mid to late February PHASE 5: Campaign end date 31 March Measurement Evaluation April Final Report 30 April BUDGET BUDGET ALLOCATION FOR THE PROJECT Smokers Helpline Salary Travel (car rentals, facilities, meals, hotels, flights, cabs, etc.) Agency/Research Research and planning (Extreme Group) Research focus groups/surveys Creative concept development Communication plan Production and disbursement of materials TOTAL COST CAN$4,150 CAN$9,000 CAN$5,500 CAN$23,800 CAN$30,700 CAN$3,500 CAN$146,800 CAN$223,450 SUMMARY OF CHALLENGE The greatest difficulty that this project experienced was related to the reduced time allowed during the fiscal year. What was supposed to be a 12-month project was reduced to nine months due to a change in government and the adjustments and delays that were incurred. As the client received funding five months later than anticipated, this project was forced to condense its original time line. Though the team was able to complete the project on time, the full 12 months would have allowed the project to be in market longer, giving greater follow-up evaluation data. The data that the team received, while informative, could have been more complete had there been more time to leave the surveys in the field. The reduction in time also meant that this project was not able to effectively expand its reach to as many work sites as originally hoped, and there wasn t sufficient time for follow-up and support 364
to those work sites that were slower to respond. The full 12 months would have afforded the ability to create stronger ties to the workforce. In addition, a great deal of time was required to get companies on board with this campaign. Relationships take time, and the more time afforded to build these relationships, the stronger the outcomes. MEASUREMENT/EVALUATION / Outside of the challenges above (and the opportunities from them), the campaign proved to be successful in meeting its objectives: Over 10,000 employees were reached by the campaign (Objective: 6,000). Over a dozen employers from across the province confirmed their involvement in the campaign, with another eight receiving campaign materials (Objective: seven to 10). The entire campaign came in under budget. While measurement of the campaign is ongoing, it exceeded the desired call volume (20 calls) for the SHL. To evaluate awareness of the campaign and reactions to it, five companies invited their employees to respond to an online survey; 312 employees responded to the survey, the majority of which work in one company and tend to work in an office environment. Here are some highlights: The campaign prompted action and intent to act. Eight percent of respondents (representing 25 individuals) called SHL as a result of the campaign, and an additional 37 percent intend to do so. The campaign provided information about where they could find help for quitting smoking or helping someone else quit. The campaign raised awareness of SHL. On an unaided basis, 85 percent recalled hearing or seeing information and/or advertising in their workplace about SHL in the past month. Almost all the workers interviewed were then exposed to some aspect of SHL, and 75 percent claimed that the campaign sparked conversation in their workplace about SHL and quitting smoking. The campaign provided information to respondents about SHL that they did not know before the campaign. The main messages about SHL communicated in the campaign are that the service is free, provides help when you need it and that you talk to a trained professional. While these features are well-known to a considerable proportion of workers, many became aware of these as a result of the campaign. Given these positive outcomes, the campaign is being implemented again this year to reach over 10,000 employees at new workplaces. 365