The Real Science Award for Excellence in Integrated Non-Promotional Communications

Summary of work

To grab the attention of different audiences across Europe, with a singular ‘red thread’ highlighting the danger of Tick-Borne Encephalitis (TBE) and the need to vaccinate was the challenge for the client & agency team.

TBE is an incurable viral infectious disease involving the central nervous system which causes permanent neuro damage if left untreated. The disease, spread from animals to humans, is endemic to Central and Eastern Europe as well as Northern Asia with the number of reported cases on the rise. In Europe, reported cases rose by 400% in the last three decades and TBE now poses a major health challenge to the continent. Yet many people living in and travelling to endemic areas have a lack of awareness of the disease, their own personal risk and are failing to get vaccinated.

Ticks are Everywhere, a fully integrated non-promotional marketing campaign with humour at its core, cut across cultural and language barriers employing a variety of digital marketing, advertising and printed assets, to raise awareness of the personal risk of TBE while motivating at-risk groups to act, in compliance local market regulations.

More than 50% of those who engaged with the campaign took positive action towards vaccination.

Judges' comments

Ticks are Everywhere was a stand-out campaign, educating locals and travelers going to high incidence countries. It is visually eye-catching and clearly BCW and Pfizer thought carefully about how to make it effective. It ticked all the boxes – no pun intended!