Senior freelance copywriter
The Phobics Society
Cannes Silver Winner
One of the most common phobias is a fear of germs. It can be severe enough to upend peoples' lives, leading to compulsive hand washing or endless worrying if they're unable to do so. Adding a call to action to the Department of Health's iconic hygiene sticker turned it into a powerful message for The Phobics Society (now Anxiety UK).
This was a speculative idea that we presented to The Phobics Society. They bought it. Even better, their annual national conference in Manchester was imminent and this would be a great way to draw attention to it. Two nights before the conference, we plastered Manchester city centre with 5,000 stickers on surfaces people had to touch. The grubbier the surface, the more resonant our message. Then we contacted regional media.
Look Northwest, a BBC regional news programme, picked up on the idea and broadcast a 12 minute feature about The Phobics Society on the eve of the conference. This airtime was calculated at £380,000 - not bad for a £5,000 budget. Best of all, it lead to an 11% uplift in calls from people seeking help with the condition, precisely the result The Phobics Society wanted.
