Primary target group:
40-60 year olds.

Objectives:

• To increase knowledge about what constitutes physical activity and how it differs from being generally 'active';
• To raise awareness of the health benefits of regular moderate physical activity among the target audience;
• To encourage a positive attitude towards physical activity among the target audience;
• To increase levels of participation in physical activity, particularly walking and cycling, among the target audience.
  

Background:
Research has shown that most people in Northern Ireland do not do enough physical activity to benefit their health. In March 1996 Be active - be healthy. The Northern Ireland physical activity strategy 1996 - 2002 was published. The Strategy aims to increase the level of health related activity particularly among those who exercise least. A Northern Ireland physical activity action plan was drawn up based on the Strategy and proposed the development of a programme of public information to persuade the public of the benefits of physical activity. The Agency was commissioned to develop the public information programme.

The campaign:
A slogan, 'Get a life, get active', was used to brand the campaign and all work associated with it. The campaign was launched in June 1999 targeting the 40–60 year old age group. This phase stressed the benefits of 30 minutes of regular physical activity, highlighting that exercise can take the form of everyday activities such as gardening, housework and climbing stairs. The campaign included television, radio and billboard advertising. Posters and leaflets with more general information were also produced for members of the public.

Click here to view the 'Get a life, get active' television advert

In 2001 the HPA joined forces with the Department of Health and Children in the Republic of Ireland to launch an all-island campaign to encourage the public to be more physically active. The campaign, launched in May 2001, involved a rerun of the advertisement originally produced for the campaign in 1999. The soundtrack from the advertisement was also run as a radio advertisement. The leaflet produced for the 1999 campaign was reprinted and distributed.

Evaluation:
The campaign was evaluated in May 1999 and involved a survey of 1,000 people. The survey found that almost half of the respondents (46%) were able to recall at least one element of the campaign. The television advert had the highest recall (29%), followed by billboards (18%), and radio advertising (14%). Fourteen percent said that their physical activity had increased over the campaign period.

The evaluation concluded that those from lower socioeconomic groups seem to be more unsure than others about the specific benefits and risks related to physical activity and recommended that the information needs of this group be taken into account in future campaigns.

In September 2001 the all-island campaign was evaluated along with the other physical activity campaign ‘Go walking, Go biking’ that ran in June 2001. The evaluation involved a survey of 1,214 people over 16. The survey found that 85% of the sample had been exposed to the campaigns with 76% reporting seeing or hearing publicity on getting active in the previous six weeks. Of these the biggest proportion (72%) recalled publicity about walking.

Thirty eight percent of those interviewed said they had been more physically active during the period of the campaign. The evaluation found that television advertising generated the highest levels of awareness of the benefits of exercise.

Media:
Link to the press releases on this campaign: 1999; 2001 (all-island)