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 heightened anxiety and compulsive hand washing. 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), helping to amplify the £5,000 budget.
While presenting the idea, we learned the Phobics' national conference in Manchester was imminent. The sticker would be a great way to publicise it. So, two nights before the conference, we covered Manchester city centre with 5,000 stickers on surfaces people had to touch. The grubbier the surface, the more resonant our message.
Look Northwest, the BBC's regional news programme, picked up on the stunt and broadcast a 12 minute feature about The Phobics Society on the eve of their conference. This airtime was the equivalent of a £380,000 media spend, giving an ROI of 76:1. It also led to an 11% uplift in calls from people seeking help for OCD, meaning The Phobics Society could help even more people.
