Changing habits to ease NHS pressure this winter
We all know the feeling: a sore throat before a big meeting, headlice before school, or indigestion before a night out. These small inconveniences can throw everything off track. Traditionally, the first instinct is to head to the GP or A&E, but that adds pressure to overstretched NHS services and delays care for those who need it most.
The challenge: choosing the right care when minor illnesses strike
Our key campaign’s aim is to change habits and show that free alternative NHS services, such as the Common Ailments Service (CAS) available at local pharmacies, aren’t second-best, they’re the smart choice.
Our strategy:
turning frustration into empowerment
We built a campaign that feels personal, relevant, and timely. Using behavioural insights and the COM-B model, we reframed alternative services as expert-led, free, and easy to access. The message was simple: Help Us Help You – get the right care, in the right place, first time.
Our creative concept, including our hero film, sets the tone, light-hearted and relatable, showing how minor illnesses can disrupt everyday life, but highlighting that the smart move is to use free alternative services like CAS at local pharmacies. We featured pharmacists and healthcare experts to highlight trusted, personal expertise behind local services.
We then rolled out this compelling message across tailored assets for 25+ common ailments, from sore throats and UTIs to headlice and indigestion. These symptom-led campaign assets were fed into highly targeted digital campaigns and contextual placements, ensuring relevance and impact for every audience, from families with children to young people and elderly.
Smart Strategy.
Real Impact
The campaign is running across TV, radio, out-of-home, and digital channels, supported by stakeholder engagement and multilingual assets.
- TV & VOD: hero film across ITV Wales, S4C, Sky AdSmart, Channel 4, and ITVX
- Radio: targeted ads by demographic via DAX and major stations, plus community radio for rural reach
- OOH: bus street-liners and rears in urban and rural areas, hand-selected to reach diverse communities
- Digital: symptom-led ads across Meta, Google Display and YouTube, tailored by audience and illness
- Press: local and Welsh-language titles to reach digitally excluded audiences
From awareness to action
The campaign is live across Wales, driving awareness and behaviour change when it matters most.
Every click, view, and conversation brings us closer to a healthier, more efficient NHS.