Treat Yourself Better Without Antibiotics wins Best PR Campaign at the OTC Marketing Awards
The Treat Yourself Better Without Antibiotics campaign which Red Door Communications ran for the Proprietary Association of Great Britain (PAGB) and Pharmacy Voice has won a coveted OTC Marketing Award and received a special commendation at the SMART awards.
The campaign
`stood out’ for judges in the `Best OTC Public Relations Campaign for a
Non-Medicine’ category at the OTC Marketing Awards.
Julia
Harries, Head of Consumer Health at Red Door Communications said: “Treat
Yourself Better is a rare example of true collaboration between numerous
stakeholders all pushing towards a common public health goal. The media results
are testimony to great teamwork and insight which tapped into a clear consumer
information need.”
The joint
PAGB/Pharmacy Voice campaign launched in November 2013 to spread the message
that antibiotics don’t work on most cold and flu symptoms so avoid a wasted
trip to the GP and speak to your pharmacist for advice instead.
A
comprehensive media press office raised awareness of the campaign in consumer
media and educated people on how they can self-treat cold and flu symptoms
without the need to visit their GP. The campaign generated 76 items of consumer
coverage reaching a potential audience of over 400 million. A website was created by DJM Digital
Solutions www.treatyourselfbetter.co.uk which, in response to research
demonstrating a lack of consumer knowledge, hosts a daily symptom checker,
informing consumers what symptoms to expect, how long symptoms typically last
and what they can do to treat themselves without going to their GP, unless red
flags (“warning signs”) are present. Consumers are asked to go to their
pharmacist for further advice.
In addition,
PAGB member companies and pharmacies included a campaign logo and the website
url on any relevant advertising; used social media to drive people to the
YouTube videos; and referenced the campaign in their own media outreach.
Judges of
the OTC Marketing Awards said: “The
campaign deserved top marks for its clear and concise messaging, which was an
impressive achievement, given the wide range of stakeholders.”
Sheila
Kelly, PAGB’s Executive Director said: “I am thrilled that the achievements of
the Treat Yourself Better Without Antibiotics campaign have been recognised
amongst the pharmacy sector. The campaign broke new ground through its
collaborative approach between the OTC industry and pharmacy, backed by the
support of organisations including Public Health England and the National
Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).”
Rob
Darracott, Chief Executive of Pharmacy Voice concurred: “I’m delighted that
Treat Yourself Better has been recognised in this way. The strength of this
campaign was everyone working together to raise public awareness and re-inforce
the same message. Research suggests that people often give up on self-treating
common winter ailments because the symptoms last longer than they expect and
our campaign was the first to highlight just how long such symptoms can last.”