Message, Means, Measurement
How to get your message across in the new comms landscape
The government wants to pay less for comms across the board – less for production, less for distribution. And it would like to see more private sector partnerships in comms to relieve the burden on the taxpayer.
The biggest impact will surely fall on conventional TV advertising (which, were Mrs T still running things, she would no doubt be branding ‘the last bastion of Spanish practices’).
The government recently published its Review of Government Direct Communication and the Role of COI (click here). It demonstrates a clear aversion to the TV advertising regime of the past, with £0.5 bn. spent annually on comms, including millions on buying TV airtime for government messages. ‘Digital’ is the new mantra.
Read more here
Boring, boring, pensions…
A fairly standard reaction to the subject I suspect. And something we had to confound when we were thinking of an approach for the web film to accompany the new workplace pension for NEST (National Employment Savings Trust).
Our approach seemed like a good idea at the time – what would you say to your future or past self if you met? An excellent core idea on which to hang a positive message about saving for the future, we all thought. Now we had to execute it. And that’s where it got interesting. One actor at four different ages on screen at the same time. Two other actors at two different ages also on screen at the same time. Three versions of the film. Two days. Very busy make-up department. In a pub in Acton.
The technical challenges were met with a combination of split screens and chromakeying (and a lot of head scratching). Performance was even trickier – we couldn’t afford to stereotype but had to draw distinctions between the ages, plus timing and reactions were going to be essential for the right comedic tone to be created. Congrats need to go to all our cast but especially Jerry Lindop for his brilliant Brian, Brian, Brian and Brian.
Ahhh…. all in a days work!
watch the trailer here
Better outcomes for patients
Decision Aids are designed for patients with certain conditions who are facing healthcare decisions prompted by the alternative treatments available. They are used to facilitate shared decision making by providing the information that helps patients weigh up all the treatment options available to them, based on different consequences, long and short-term outcomes and support the process of constructing preferences appropriate to their individual situation.
Commissioned by Addenbrookes Hospital, we developed and produced the first set of UK decision aids in 2008 for localized prostate cancer and BPH. Subsequently in 2010 we delivered a knee replacement PDA and are now working on a further set of films for hip replacement, cataracts and end stage renal failure.
Structuring these communications to achieve the right balance of medical information and patient anecdote makes the development process challenging, especially given that our patient contributors have to be handled with great sensitivity (as do many of the consultants!). Given their importance as a recognized treatment option in and of themselves, we have been required to work closely with senior consultants and subject matter experts ensuring that all contributors stay on message and that where there are competing interests between policy and clinicians the films deliver the correct policy messages. There have also been the logistic challenges of finding the right patients and juggling multiple availabilities on the same shoot days.
“We were very pleased with the relationship that developed with your team and your immense patience with our developing materials and lengthy consultation. Please accept our sincere thanks for all your help and for an excellent finished result.”
Dr Mary Archer, Chairman, Addenbrookes Hospital
It has been shown that Decision support interventions have performed better than usual care interventions in a number of ways – including, most crucially, by showing reduced rates of elective invasive surgery in favour of conservative treatment options. This in turn has resulted in lower treatment costs across the health service.
We’ve worked extensively with the NHS and DH over the years, making films for Connecting for Health, the DH, NHS Direct and NHS Choices, as well as many PCTs and SHAs.
To see how the NHS use the Decision Aids films please click here
So Long, Rick!
Big thank you to Rick, our latest intern, for putting up with Dan and Fergus’ borderline madness and pitifull American accents. Rick managed to churn out his body weight in DVD’s while at Pukka, and delivered lunches like a ninja. God speed, Rick, tell others of this green land and the English folk within it, may the roof of your house never fall in and those within it never fall out!
Exposed picks up 5 awards at the IVCAs
Our in-house tailor had just managed to patch my knackered tux trousers, (previously held together by gaffa tape,) when the cab arrived and we all zoomed to the IVCA awards. We’d entered Exposed, and were joined at our table by CEOP clients Peter, Marie and Alex. The awards kicked off with their usual blow-your-ears-off montage and a comedian started to slag the whole event off – much to everyone’s delight.
The first award we scooped was a silver for best educational film, and the table exploded into whoops and cheers. Next up was Best Script, and it was quite a feeling watching bronze and silver announced not quite believing that the comedian was now saying my name for the Gold award! I happily fetched that and on my return found Paul had bagged another for Best Direction! Silver for Best Drama followed and the Gold Laurus Award also ended up in our pile… Needless to say we were still drinking champagne and dancing our socks off when they turned on the lights.
Congrats to our client CEOP. Their night resembled the final stage of Crystal Maze with the amount of gold and silver they grabbed for Exposed and their other films.
To see a trailer for the film click here
Or to watch the whole film click here
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