MINISTRY OF HEALTH SAUDI ARABIA Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
Category
Public Education & Awareness
Idea Creation
MINISTRY OF HEALTH SAUDI ARABIA Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
Media Placement
MINISTRY OF HEALTH SAUDI ARABIA Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
PR
MINISTRY OF HEALTH SAUDI ARABIA Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
Production
MINISTRY OF HEALTH SAUDI ARABIA Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
The Campaign
Our idea was to save money that would have been otherwise spent on media placement to create anti-smoking awareness and replace it with real life solutions that are more beneficial to smokers like guiding smokers to health-cessation clinics or giving them advice regarding their situation and investing money in the places that matter and will have the biggest effect like clinics and health centers. And then announce this solution to the public to show that we still care but we changed our way of thinking and our strategy in tackling this public health topic.
Creative Execution
Instead of the traditional campaign launch, we want online with a video of the Health Minister stating that campaigns can’t help anyone quit smoking, only they can do it. So instead of awareness campaigns and fluffy talk, the money that was usually spend on advertising will be used to support smokers be it in health cessation clinics or anywhere else if they need.
The video was shared online with a hashtag in Arabic meaning: #Canceling_anti-smoking_Campaign.
Our campaign became a nationwide success mobilizing people and organization to join the cause. Careem for instance gave discounts and free rides to anyone going to smoking-cessation clinics. Other brands, celebrities, influencers and even famous football clubs in Saudi took our message and start sharing it with their fans and followers, giving us more exposure and reach.
In no time, our campaign reached the media (like MBC & Alarabia channels) and was showcased in news and talk shows who amplified our message further.
The cherry on top was the amazing results in the form of a 231% increase in visitors of cessation clinics compared to 2016 and a staggering $6 million in earned media all while investing 0$.
This campaign is a perfect example of successful use of PR through a smart stunt that was based on a commutation campaign that wasn’t really a campaign. By deciding not to go with a traditional campaign we managed to gain the spot light and highlight our work. It gained us credibility, excellent feedback and fame. And with a 0$ spend on media, we generated $6 million of earned media and PR.
We started with the fact that most of the public is aware of the dangers of smoking. And that many anti-smoking awareness campaigns are proving useless with very low ROI. Additionally, many smokers who want to quit are not always aware of all the options available to help them quit and all the support that MoH is doing to support them.
So, our strategy was not to create any traditional awareness campaigns and replace it with a video by the minister of health stating that if smokers don’t want to quit, no one can force them, however if they want help, we are ready and present and the money we save from no launching our campaign will be used to support smokers in health cessation clinics or elsewhere.