MORE HEART AND DIABETES CHECKS CAMPAIGN BACKGROUND
The Health Promotion Agency (HPA) is working with the Ministry of Health, Heart Foundation, Diabetes New Zealand and interested PHOs to increase the number of heart and diabetes checks across New Zealand. Building on the successful ‘Get a heart health check’ campaign, a new national campaign has been developed, encouraging people to ask their doctor or nurse for a heart and diabetes check. The campaign has been extended to include the diabetes check with an updated tagline ‘Get a heart and diabetes check’. This next phase of the campaign focuses on increasing awareness of the need to get a check and why it is important.
Heart disease and diabetes are serious problems in New Zealand, killing more than 6,000 kiwis a year. One New Zealander dies every 90 minutes from heart disease and more than 225,000 people have diabetes (mostly type 2). The earlier heart disease and diabetes are detected the easier they are to manage. The aim of this campaign is to communicate the seriousness of heart disease and diabetes in a way that connects with our audience to motivate them to get a check.
About the campaign
Former All-Black Wayne (Buck) Shelford will again be the face of the campaign, along with other familiar kiwis - actor Robbie Magasiva (ex- Shortland Street and Sione’s Wedding) and comedians Raybon Kan and Urzila Carlson - to promote the importance of getting a heart and diabetes check. The objective of the campaign is to both educate and change attitudes, positioning the heart and diabetes check as something that is easy to do. More importantly, it will help drive behaviour change, encouraging people to go the doctor or nurse for a check up.
The creative concept for the campaign uses humour to deliver the messages, directly engaging with our audiences to listen and act on the messages. By using Buck Shelford and well known kiwis it makes getting a heart and diabetes check seem less scary and OK, achieving the desired out-take of “if they can do it, then so can I”. We know from research around the National Depression Initiative that men, in particular, are reluctant to visit their doctor or discuss their health issues with anyone. To get men to act, we need them to listen.
Buck Shelford is a New Zealand rugby legend and a down-to-earth kiwi bloke, who has respect and mana to connect with men in a way that they will think “if it’s OK for Buck, it’s OK for me”.
Key messages
· Call to action: Get a heart and diabetes check. Ask your doctor or nurse now.
· A simple check could help save your life. The tests are quick and easy.
· Do it for your family (they will love you for it).
· Be there for your team (there’s a team at home relying on you).
· More than 6,000 kiwis a year die from heart disease and diabetes.
What’s involved in the campaign?
· Nationwide press advertising in main city centres and regions includes a mix of metropolitan, daily and community newspapers commencing the week 23 June. Metropolitan newspapers are Dominion Post, NZ Herald, Sunday Star Times, Herald on Sunday, Otago Daily Times and Bay of Plenty Times etc.
· Magazine advertising in NZ Women’s Weekly and Mana magazine.
· Radio advertising starting the week 23 June on mainstream channels Newstalk ZB, Classic Hits, The Breeze, The Sound and targeted Māori, Pacific Island and Asian channels.
· Two 30-second television commercials that involve a 'teaser' ad going to air on Sunday 30 June with a follow up ad on Sunday 7 July. The commercials will be on TV ONE and SKY channels and, after a week of the teaser running as a stand-alone ad, both will be rotated throughout the campaign.
· Print collateral and promotional items – posters and brochures available from 1 July via the HPA website.
· A toolkit containing resources for PHOs and workplaces, providing them with materials that can be localised for their community and initiatives (from 1 July via the HPA website).
Television commercial
The commercials feature ex-All Black Wayne (Buck) Shelford, New Zealand actor Robbie Magasiva and comedians Urzila Carlson and Raybon Kan. The teaser takes a light hearted approach to the demographics of the target audience for the campaign. The follow-up advert is set in a hospital with a team of nurses and doctors in action around a patient being rushed into ER. There is a humorous reveal at the end of the advert, while still taking a realistic approach to the seriousness of heart disease and diabetes.
Both of the television commercials use humour to deliver the serious message that heart disease and diabetes kill more than 6,000 New Zealanders a year and to encourage people to get a heart and diabetes check.
Who are we talking to and why?
Our primary target audiences for the campaign are:
· Māori, Pacific Island and South Asian males 35 and over.
· All other ethnic groups of males 45 and over.
· Māori, Pacific and South Asian females 45 and over.
· All other ethnic groups of females 55 and over.
These audiences are at a greater risk of heart disease and diabetes because of their age and ethnicity - a disproportionate number of Māori, Pacific and South Asian people are affected by heart disease and diabetes.
How can you get involved?
A range of toolkit resources and promotional items have been developed that can be used at local events and in the community to generate support and create awareness of the campaign. More information about the campaign will be available on the HPA website www.hpa.org.nz and our partners’ websites (Heart Foundation, Diabetes New Zealand and Ministry of Health). If you are in the target audience, get a heart and diabetes check yourself and encourage your friends and family to do the same – they will love you for it.
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