Excellence in Multichannel Communications

Summary of work

Five times more British South Asian people have hepatitis C (HCV) than the wider UK population, and there is a significant barrier to this community getting tested. Many people neither know how HCV is transmitted, nor realise their risk can increase due to possible exposure when visiting places like India, Bangladesh, or Pakistan.

Gilead Sciences collaborated with NHS England and the Hepatitis C Trust to create *Hep C, Ki?*. The campaign uses humour to reach and engage British South Asian communities, known for using comedy to express relatable cultural experiences and family idiosyncrasies, helping to broach a taboo topic, reframing myths and reducing stigma.

Hep C, Ki? was launched in May 2021 with a series of high production comedy videos on the campaign website and YouTube channel. Top campaign ambassadors and comedians also shared video edits via their own influential social media, helping to reach the community directly. As a highly targeted multichannel campaign, the launch also included a month-long radio advertisement programme on Sunrise Radio, advertorials in key Asian media outlets, targeted media activity and a blog post from TV presenter Mehreen Baig.

Judges' comments

This entry from 90TEN and Gilead was creative, humorous and different. There was good situational analysis and the engagement rates were excellent, with the cultural ambassadors doing a better job of engaging than a spokesperson would do. The judges look forward to seeing this campaign develop.