In an attempt to connect with Kiwis in an emotional way like never before, ACC launched a campaign around influencing behaviour at a societal level to prevent injuries that holds social, economic and health impacts to the quality of life.

ACC asks Kiwis to ‘have a hmm’

For years, ACC has tried to instil the message that injury prevention is the first line of defence against accidents in New Zealand where up to 90 percent of all injuries are preventable. 

It was important for ACC to make this message clear for New Zealanders as its scheme supports the injury recovery of over 40 percent or 2.1 million Kiwis every year, with 9.4 percent being classed as serious or fatal. 

The message of injury prevention at ACC has always been a targeted and fragmented campaign but coming into 2021, ACC wanted to market the message differently, in an inclusive and relevant way on a national scale that would reach the entire population. 

In order to get the message across, the marketing team made the decision to develop a campaign that was timeless and wove together various organisational activities around injury prevention, creating long-term positive behaviour. 

Creating a campaign that taps into perceptions of Kiwis instilled since birth or woven into cultural norms made it difficult for ACC to get this message across. 

For the campaign to work, ACC worked closely to identify stages in life, culture and settings to make the message as relevant and relatable as possible. The team worked alongside Māori, Pasifika and Asian collectives to understand how to tap into that audience and make it inclusive.

In this campaign, ACC ensured the injuries showcased wouldn’t be too serious to be improbable or too minor to be inconsequential. The campaign couldn’t be too dark and needed lightness and humour while also challenging the mindsets of Kiwis.

The ‘Have a Hmmm’ campaign by ACC shifts the focus from what happens to you on an individual level to what happens to the people around you when an injury occurs. Focusing on situations of consequences such as who will take the kids to sport if injured? And who will do the weekly shop?

The ‘Have a Hmmm’ campaign rolled out nationwide across a number of channels such as digital platforms and reached over 70 percent of the New Zealand population.

With the launch of the campaign, ACC saw an immediate change in perceptions about preventable injuries. Considered as a success, ACC analysed Kiwis before and after the campaign and saw a real increase in their behaviour from benchmark levels. 

The phenomenon of the campaign continues to build over time and mindset shifts on a national level are significant. 

Following this success, ACC will continue to extend it as a brand asset, focusing on making it more diverse and inclusive with their talent and approach to reach Kiwis from all walks of life.

Opportunities for the campaign are endless for ACC with it being used in daily life through crossovers with other brands and more.  

Category
Excellence in Public Sector/Government Marketing Strategy

Company
ACC

Marketing Initiative
If You Get Hurt, Who Gets Harmed

Marketing Partners
VMLY&R; TRA

Judges’ Comments
“Changing societal consciousness to prevent accidents is no mean feat – focused on collective responsibility to ‘have a hmmmm’ this successful strategy shows what can be done with excellent insights focusing on Kiwi sensibility. The use of relatable situations ensures future campaignability to become even more personalised targeted and spread organically with the ultimate goal of injury prevention and compensation cost reduction. A great example of a mass campaign which has personal relevance and really does make you think about your own behaviour. Unique to see a strategy talk directly to the original founders purpose.”

Finalists
Greater Wellington Regional Council; New Zealand Trade and Enterprise; Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission; Tertiary Education Commission; The Department of Conservation

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This article was originally published in the September/October 2022 issue of NZ Marketing. Click here to subscribe.