Health Benefits (2011)

The "Health Benefits" campaign was included in the National Tobacco Campaign in 2011. The Campaign consisted of several ads, through print, radio, outdoor and online, highlighting the health and financial benefits from day one of quitting smoking. 
"Health Benefits" adopted a different approach than many other current and previous campaigns by offering a softer, supportive and positive tone for audiences. The campaign highlighted the positive effects of quitting, rather than the common negative messages of the effects of smoking.
The survey conducted in July this year by the Department of Health and Aging showed that the campaign made a strong contribution to the overall campaign recognition, with 60% of smokers (who contributed in the July 2011 survey) and 68% of recent quitters recognising the radio ad. Recognition of the magazine ad was particually high (38%) amognst 18 to 24 year old smokers. 

The following health benefits where identified through the campaign:

Man:

Body part	Benefit
Face	In 1 week your sense of taste and smell improves
Chest	In 3 months your lung function begins to improve
Chest	In 8 hours excess carbon monoxide is out of your blood
Hip pocket	In 1 year a pack-a-day smoker will save over $4,000
Head	In 5 years your risk of a stroke has dramatically decreased
Chest	In 12 weeks your lungs regain the ability to clean themselves
Chest	In 12 months your risk of heart disease has halved
Abdomen	In 5 days most nicotine is out of your body

Woman:

Body part	Benefit
Face	In 1 week your sense of taste and smell improves
Chest	In 3 months your lung function begins to improve
Right arm	In 8 hours excess carbon monoxide is out of your blood
Hip pocket	In 1 year a pack-a-day smoker will save over $4,000
Face	In 1 month skin appearance is likely to improve
Chest	In 5 days most nicotine is out of your body
Chest	In 12 months your risk of heart disease has halved
Abdomen	Today quit before getting pregnant and your risk of having a pre-term baby is reduced to that of a non-smoker

The effectivness of the communication was also evident from the proportion of respondents able to provide correct information from the messages in  "Health Benefits" about the time taken for the post-quitting changes to occur. The following results were obtained in the July survey:

• 56% of smokers and recent quitters correctly identified the time taken for nicotine to leave the body.

• 41% of smokers and 51% of recent quitters correctly identified the time taken for lung capacity to increase by 30%.

• 30% of smokers and 41% of recent quitters correctly identified the time taken for the risk of heart disease to halve.

• 15% of smokers and 18% of recent quitters correctly identified the time needed for the risk of stroke to dramatically decrease.

The weakest of these (the time needed for the risk of stroke to dramatically decrease) was also the one that recieved the least exposure in the "Health Benefits" advertising; being not included in the radio ad. It was also only displayed visually in the male version of the print and outdoor ads. This is one area where Quitnow could have improved. By making all messages as evident as eachother, each message may have been strongly recognised by thosed surveyed.

The campaign was highly effective in reaching Quitnow's behavioral and communication objectives. Overall 41% of smokers surveyed and 59% of recent quitters stated they had taken some sort of action as a direct result of seeing the advertising.

The results of the survey also exposed the benefits of including advertising in campaigns that employs a positive tone and message, as with "Health Benefits". This is refreshing for audiences as it serves as a counterpoint to the strong and sometimes negative approach of "Cough" and "Luke". The National Tobacco Campaign should consider this balance with future campaigns.

Paul Myers, David Blackmore, 2011, The Social Research Centre. 

Department of Health and Ageing: Evaluation of the 2011 NPAPH Tobacco Social Marketing Campaign Final Report, viewed 14th November 2011.

<http://www.quitnow.gov.au/internet/quitnow/publishing.nsf/Content/C47FE07472F78E1ACA25786000795457/$File/NTC%202011%20Evaluation%20Report%20FINAL.pdf>