Why is this work relevant for Direct?

Check Check Check solved an urgent industry and community issue within the hospitality industry in NSW, Australia. The impact of COVID and changing restrictions imposed on the hospitality industry, caused mass confusion about how to operate and socialise in a COVID safe manner. Posing an additional risk; the unsustainable opening of venues, impacting an industry at the heart of Australian culture. There was a critical need to provide guidance on how to socialise in venues safely, rapidly. Check Check Check did just that with a COVID safe ritual that contributed to the sustainable reopening of the hospitality industry in NSW.

Background

The rising awareness of community transmission of COVID, including venue clusters, meant that industry and patrons needed to be proactive in mitigating risk and complying with restrictions. As restaurants, bars, clubs and cafes prepared to reopen in NSW after COVID lockdown, an adjustment in patron and venue behaviour was needed to ensure that reopening was sustainable. The NSW Government used Health Officials and Government ministers to communicate COVID safe behaviour in venues through mainstream media channels, but this didn’t reach the core audience. NTIA’s brief was to create a campaign that would rapidly shift going out behaviours to a COVID safe ritual that was relatable and relevant to the 18-34 year old audience. The objectives were: Create a consumer-facing campaign that models good behaviours and drives meaningful change with how we interact at venues. Normalises positive behavioural change and drives a memorable adapted going out ritual under COVID19 rules

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

Our core task was to positively shift patron behaviour to a COVID safe ritual in hospitality venues. The campaign needed to be memorable, functional and stand out from government messaging. The creative idea developed a call to action that felt like a call to arms. To do so, we built a campaign slogan that was also a COVID safe ritual that could be immediately used by the audience when socialising in venues. We focused on three key behaviours that would make the greatest difference in reducing COVID transmissions. By using the power of three, we were able to create repetition and impact. The campaign slogan was: CHECK, CHECK, CHECK Check into the venue Check that you have sanitised your hands Check your physical distancing and distancing of your friends The idea was a flexible mechanic that was channel and format agnostic and had capability to seed into user generated content.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

We identified patrons have established habits when going out, so it’s easy to forget COVID safe behaviours; especially when patrons have been navigating the long tail of changing COVID restrictions Which caused confusion about venue requirements. The behaviours of a COVID Safe ritual were counter-intuitive to the going-out experience. We recognised the need for positive and repetitive design and communication to stand out from traditional government messaging that wasn’t cutting through with the 18-34 year target audience; who are most likely to go out multiple times in a week. By using the power of three, and focusing on the most critical behaviours that would reduce community transmission we created a call to action for the audience by encouraging them to simply: Checking into venue Check that you’ve sanitised your hands Check physical distancing and distancing of your friends Leaving the audience a repetitive slogan and mechanic of CHECK, CHECK, CHECK.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

Campaign implementation was initiated in NSW hospitality venues to seed the CHECK CHECK CHECK ritual in real time. To drive reach and awareness, this was then supported with targeted digital placements, social content and to drive broader reach, outdoor billboards in metro NSW locations were used. For campaign amplification, PR extended the campaign through radio and news outlets and ultimately prompted user generated content. The campaign ran from September 2020 and is on going.

List the results (30% of vote)

With the inception of the campaign, we delivered the following results: - 75 venues in NSW have on boarded the creative in venue - This saw an immediate shift in patron behaviour in venue From a media PR and placement perspective, we delivered: - $37mil in earned media which included - $500K in OOH media value, reaching 1.2m people - $50K in timeOut digital publisher media value and 300K in media reach - Media coverage across 9 x radio stations, 5 x TV Networks, 2 x major publications - Local government support by NSW Ministers Through the success that the campaign has delivered, it is planned to be launched in Victoria, Australia and is also under consideration for roll out across the UK.

Please tell us about the social behaviour that inspired the work

With the impact of COVID ravaging the hospitality industry, we identified that if patron behaviour didn’t evolve to be COVID safe, then the industry would be at risk of shutting down again which would create a significant impact on the local economy. To support both the hospitality industry in NSW, patron and community safety, we needed to evolve and positively change existing behaviours. The change of social behaviour needed to to be rapid and have longevity due to the unpredictable nature of COVID. With the adoption of the Check Check Check ritual, venues have had greater opportunity of managing their venues in a COVID safe manner and patrons have been successful in keeping their favourite venues open and safe for others to enjoy.