Health messages can be a little uncomfortable to hear. “Quit smoking”, “Exercise more”, “Cut down on sugar” – they’re all good ideas, but you need a compelling campaign to cut through and make a real impact.
Enter experiential marketing. Disruptive experiential campaigns can target the right people and bring health and wellbeing messages to life. Just take a look at these examples:
1. Nicorette virtual reality (N2O)
A Virtual Reality experience added a new dimension to Nicorette’s Stoptober campaign, “What will you start if you quit for good?”. Through the digital magic of VR, customers saw a tantalising glimpse of hobbies such as mountain biking and diving, encouraging them to start their quit journey with Nicorette.
2. Shadow Wi-Fi (Happiness Brussels)
Beachgoers were the targets of this ingenious sun safety campaign. It made the irresistible offer of free Wi-Fi – but only to those who stayed in the shade of this huge, eye-catching billboard. Happiness Brussels launched this campaign with the Peruvian League Against Cancer to deliver a sun-smart message in a very tangible way.
3. Hands on Healthy Eating (N2O)
This campaign made healthy living feel achievable by encouraging shoppers to take just a small step at a time towards better health – in this case, promising to increase their fruit and vegetable intake, even by just one portion a day.
After learning about portion sizes on the interactive screen, shoppers made their healthy eating pledges on a giant hand – reinforcing the size (one handful) of a single portion of fruit or veg.
4. Message from the lungs (BBDO Proximity Thailand)
Smokers were confronted with a shocking, sobering and fairly disgusting message when they received a bottle of black ink made from materials extracted from dead smokers’ lungs. The campaign made this serious health message even darker, rather than trying to sugar-coat it, and it worked: the Thai Health Promotion Foundation experienced a 500% increase in signups to its quit smoking programme, compared with the previous year.
5. Sure at Sport Relief (N2O)
Visitors to the 2016 Sport Relief Games were drawn in by deodorant brand Sure’s Skipping Arena, where they jumped, skipped and danced on the high-tech energy floor. The energy generated by the crowd’s movement was displayed on a large screen, setting the scene for an ‘energy battle’ between the two sides of the tent. Competitors were spurred on by upbeat music and guest performers, including acrobats and jump rope artists.
The exercise messaging was delivered in such a fun, interactive way that people took it on board without even realising it!
