Midland Health Board

Promoting health messages in the cinema

Testimonial

"Your [CSA's] participation, assistance and professional guidance in the development of this project is greatly appreciated. With 20.6 million cinema attendance at cinemas in Ireland we value cinema advertising as an effective means of promoting our product."

- Billy Bland, Suicide Research Officer, Midland Health Board

Executive Summary

The Midland Health Board ran 2 creatives in cinemas for Smoking Quitline and Crisis Helpline to ensure that it was reaching its target audience with the right messages.

The Results

• 

  The advert was highly recalled. Scores for spontaneous recall of the Smoking Quitline creative (32%) and recall after direct prompting (62%) being among the best recorded for an Irish cinema campaign
• The advert caught the cinemagoer's attention, with 15% of those who recalled the Crisis Helpline ad recalling the strapline: 'Don't get down, get help'
• Respondents could easily recall which company was sponsoring each creative. 22% recalled MHB for the Smoking Quitline and 44% recalled Samaritans for the Crisis Helpline creative.
• The adverts were well received among the 15-34 age group with 75% agreeing that Smoking Quitline ad was fairly/very effective at the cinema whilst 84% felt the same about the Crisis Helpline creative
• 52% of those who recalled the Smoking Quitline creative said they were more likely to stop smoking after they had seen the ad
• Due to the positive results of this research study, Midland Health Board have continued to book cinema campaigns through CSA.

Research was conducted by MORI on behalf of Midland Health Board - conducting interviews among a sample of cinemagoers exposed to the ad on the big screen.

The Background

Midland Health Board wanted to measure the awareness of their two separate creatives in terms of recall and impact within 15-34 year olds.

As well as gauging their target audience's perceptions of each creative, they wanted to test reactions to the ads.

The Solution

Midland Health Board bought a regional line-by-line campaign

By doing this they:

• Were able to target their key young adults in the relevant regions at a time when they were in a positive frame of mind and at their most attentive
• Showcased their advert with films like Black Hawk Down, Lord of the Rings and Rat Race, films perfectly suited to both the nature of their advert and their required target audience
• Capitalised on that fact that 86% of the respondents interviewed had been to the cinema at least once in the past month.

Research Agency:    MORI
Campaign Date:    January 2002
Cinema Campaign:    Regional line-by-line
Media Mix:    Cinema