Why is this work relevant for Integrated?

Our agency is a fully-integrated, strategic, creative communications and digital agency. Therefore we were engaged by the Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF) to lead a multi-staged integrated communications campaign that would help encourage Australians to be more mindful of their drinking habits at home, and engage in more healthy behaviours.

Background

COVID-19 has introduced new stresses into the lives of everyday Australians, and among the worse ways people have been coping is through increased alcohol consumption, particularly in the home. In 2020, as many as 30% of Australians admitted to drinking daily, a figure up from 6% in 2018. With ‘iso-drinking’ becoming a dangerous cultural norm, it was imperative that we effectively communicated the physical and mental health risks of excessive alcohol consumption, without shaming an already stressed population. For the first phase of this campaign, we would be primarily targeting parents of young children, helping encourage Australians to be mindful of how their own drinking habits inform their children’s future behaviours.

Describe the creative idea

We used a creative ‘big idea’ to anchor the campaign and unify PR messaging, including: - A powerful campaign theme, ‘You Haven’t Been Drinking Alone’, - Switched perspective from adults to children for a new way to talk about iso-drinking. - Tapped the ‘COVID zeitgeist’, filming children mimicking parental drinking behaviours while on Zoom. - Used a light, humorous tone to achieve broad appeal.

Describe the strategy

A round of quantitative (YouGov poll of 1,007 parents) and qualitative (in-depth interviews, focus group research) research provided us with a number of valuable insights around drinking habits, while helping define our primary audience as parents of young, school-aged children, as well as their friends and family. Research highlighted that young children were extremely vulnerable to picking up drinking behaviours from their parents, and as such, there was an enormous risk of increased iso-drinking at home encouraging future drinking among children. Our research had also indicated that parents were significantly more likely to modify drinking behaviour if they understood the impact it had on their children. As such, we would develop a campaign that shifts the focus from parents to children, focusing on their perspective in a humorous yet worrying way. We would then utilise EPOS channels (earned, paid, owned and shared) to drive awareness, engagement and genuine change.

Describe the execution

With a strong understanding of our audience, goals and the importance of our message, we ideated and developed a creative platform centred on the line ‘You haven’t been drinking alone’. We understood that while the topic was incredibly serious, approaching messaging in a stern manner would only push our audience away. Instead, we would imbed a serious message in a humorous advert, making it more appealing, shareable and engaging. A tongue-in-cheek video was produced showing kids online ‘sinking bevvies’ and mimicking their parents’ worryingly casual approach to alcohol. The video was boosted online through paid social and digital placements, and served as a launching point for more serious discussion in broadcast media and online. Kicking off in June 2020, Paid content was used to further drive and sustain momentum across Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, while thought leadership pieces such as editorials and content via blogs, influencers and media prompted further.

List the results

‘You haven’t been drinking alone’ was an enormous success, cutting-through in a time when the news was flooded with stories of COVID-19 and global political unrest. With nearly 1,000 broadcast and print articles, including significant coverage in tier 1 digital, print and broadcast media, the campaign had a total reach of over 152 million. The provocative campaign video garnered over 1.15 million views, while social content alone achieved 18.3 million impressions. Overall, the campaign achieved, and in many cases well exceeded, set SMART objectives, including campaign reach 500% above target, target tier 1 media hits 13 times over target and overall strong take-up of harm prevention messaging. In addition to powerfully positioning ADF as a thought leader on alcohol and other harmful drugs, the campaign increased the organisation’s media profile, enhanced their reputation among government and stakeholders and ensured and increased ongoing Federal government funding for additional campaigns.