Excellence in Media Relations – Healthcare

Summary of work

The media launch of the Report from the All-Party Parliamentary Hepatology Group’s (APPHG) expert inquiry into the burden of liver disease exceeded all expectations. The one-off campaign reached over 100 million people in less than 24 hours, with over 300 million opportunities to see. Coverage included five minutes on both the Six O’clock News and News at Ten, eight minutes on BBC’s flagship programme The One Show, hourly bulletins on BBC News 24, 60 minutes of national and 220 minutes of regional BBC radio, 120+ pieces of local media coverage and coverage in the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Independent, Mirror and Evening Standard.

The broadcast-focused strategy delivered fully on its aim to put pressure on the UK Government, NHS England and Public Health England (PHE) to meet with the APPHG to consider its report’s recommendations. Indeed, PHE has agreed to a programme of work for tackling liver disease, to be released as a ‘liver disease framework’ this summer.

Our outcomes demonstrate that media results that deliver don’t always need an elaborate, super-creative campaign. Success was achieved through a high-impact media strategy that was perfectly executed to translate ‘policy’ content into compelling ‘scandal’ of liver disease and ‘catastrophic consequences of complacency’ engagement platforms.

Judges comments

This demonstrates the value of a well-executed media relations campaign in its pure form. Exclusivity is always a gamble but it really worked. Where media coverage is not the end game, but the vehicle for action and change, they held their nerve.