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 aimed 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 HPA was commissioned to develop the public information programme.

The campaign:
This campaign continued with the slogan ‘Get a life, get active’ that was used for the ‘No excuses’ campaign and targeted the same age group. This campaign was developed in May 2000 and featured 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 Go walking and Go biking. Promotional items such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, certificates and badges were also produced to support events that were held 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

In June 2001 the walking and cycling advertisements were broadcast on television again and the campaign was supported by updated versions of the posters and leaflets that were originally produced for the May 2000 campaign.

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:
In June 2000 the ‘Go walking, Go biking’ 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 percent 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 the ‘Go walking, Go biking’ campaign had been successful in getting people to be active and that there was a high awareness of the benefits of physical activity.

In September 2001 the ‘Go walking, Go biking’ campaign that took place during June 2001 was evaluated along with the all-island campaign that ran in May 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 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 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.

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: 2000; 2001; June 2002; November 2002