Mission: To make health a top priority for everyone in Northern Ireland.

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:
The slogan 'Get a life, get active' was used to brand the campaign and all work associated with it. Phase 1 was launched in June 1999 targeting the 40-60 year old age group. This phase stressed the benefits of 30 minutes of physical activity on most days of the week, 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 detailed information were also produced for distribution to the public.

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

In May 2000 phase 2 of the campaign got underway, targeting the same age group as phase 1 but focusing this time on walking and cycling. Phase 2 included two separate television advertisements, one on walking, and the other on cycling. The advertisements were supported by printed materials. An A5 booklet entitled Walking and cycling opportunities in Northern Ireland was produced together with separate leaflets on walking and cycling. Promotional items such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, certificates and badges were also produced to support events run at a local level as part of the campaign.

Click here to view the 'Go Walking' television advert

Click here to view the 'Go Biking' television advert

Phase 3 was launched in June 2001 and involved running the walking and cycling advertisements supported by updated versions of the posters and leaflets originally produced for the May 2000 campaign.

Also in 2001 the Agency 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 re-run of the advertisement originally produced for phase 1 of 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. The television advertisement was run again in September and October.

In June and September 2002 the ‘go walking’ television advertisement was broadcast on UTV and Channel 4. New posters promoting walking were also produced and distributed.

Evaluation:
An evaluation of phase 1 of the campaign was carried out 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 per cent 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 June 2000 phase 2 of the campaign was evaluated. The evaluation involved a quantitative survey of 1,214 people over 16. This time 63% of the sample reported having seen elements of the campaign, with the television element being the most frequently recalled. Twenty-three per cent of the respondents reported being more active during the campaign period and there was an increase in the proportion that reported taking walks during the campaign period.

The evaluation concluded that phase 2 had been more successful than phase 1 in getting people to be active and that there was a high awareness of the benefits of physical activity.

Phase 3 of the campaign and the all-island campaign were evaluated in September 2001 and again involved a survey of 1,214 people over 16. The survey found that 85% of the sample had been exposed to the campaign 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 per cent 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.

In November 2002 a number of questions were included on an omnibus survey to evaluate the 2002 campaign. Face to face interviews were conducted with 1,019 adults aged 16 years and over. The survey found that 82% of those interviewed were aware of the ‘go walking’ advertisement and 45% of this group said they had learned something new from the advertising. New information acquired included walking is good for you/good for your health, walking is a good exercise and walking is good for the heart. More than one in ten of everyone interviewed said their level of physical activity/exercise had increased as a result of seeing and/or hearing information about walking.

Media:
Link to the press releases on this campaign: 1999; 2000; 2001 (all-island); 2001; 2002