ABOUT

Concept:
Winter brings significant pressures for the NHS, with the onset of cold weather, flu, and an
increase in respiratory illnesses putting an added strain on healthcare services, particularly
hospitals, during the colder months. These pressures contribute to increased hospital
admissions, longer waiting times and a higher demand for acute and primary care services.
In recent years this pressure has been felt not just in winter, but throughout the year.
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside commissioned ICE to execute a Stay Well this Winter/Seasonal
Vaccinations campaign in the Cheshire and Merseyside region, from November 2024 to
March 2025. The assets needed to be non-time specific, allowing NHS Cheshire and
Merseyside to use them flexibly and repeatedly whenever needed.
The aim and purpose of the campaign was to:
1. Provide practical information to support people to take care of themselves and their
loved ones throughout winter – helping to ease pressure on the NHS.
2. Raise awareness and understanding of the importance of vaccinations including
seasonal flu, COVID-19 and RSV, and encourage greater uptake, with a focus on
increasing uptake in the lowest uptake areas/communities.

Execution:
ICE responded to this brief by splitting the focus of the campaign into two strands –Prevention and Intervention themes- divided across a timeline from December to March, although the framework could take wider messages beyond March. Each strand also incorporated themes, as seen below.

1. Prevention: Focused on proactive actions to help individuals and their communities
stay well. This included areas such as:
• fall prevention
• hydration/nutrition
• staying warm
• vaccine uptake
• taking regular medication
• the power of connection
• self-care for common illnesses
• general well-being
• guidance on where to get help

2. Intervention: Targeted to encourage hospital discharge when safe to do so for the
individual. It included myth-busting and clear messaging that:
• empowered families and communities to support their relatives in their journey
of recovery
• encouraged independence
• settled them safely back home
• reduced hospital readmissions.

Our communications strategy aimed to empower the public to take greater ownership of their health, helping alleviate pressure on the NHS during the challenging winter period. The four-month social media campaign utilised a three-pronged approach(organic, paid and boosted content)to drive education, brand awareness, and traffic via Facebook and Instagram. This allowed us to deliver a highly targeted paid campaign while simultaneously boosting targeted engagement on the organic pages - creating immediate impact and laying the groundwork for sustained long-term benefits. This targeted approach enabled us to reach our intended audience, being the general population, with a particular focus on elderly people and their communities.

ICE developed all campaign content, intentionally differentiating it from NHS Cheshire and Merseyside’s usual style. To ensure the content resonated and targeted a wider audience, ICE adopted a more approachable, brand-driven tone, like what the public would expect from major retail brands. This strategy aimed to increase the likelihood of engagement by making the content feel more familiar and relevant. Examples included user-generated videos(e.g., "day in the life" content and myth-busting clips) alongside carousels and other visually rich formats to boost engagement and shareability.

Our social media campaign was strategically aligned with the regional monthly themes timeline to maximise awareness of these crucial topics, e.g. the theme in December was vaccinations and repeat prescriptions, so we posted a series of content on these topics.

Our Content Pillars:
• Educational
• Emotional
•Entertaining (engaging)

Each piece of content was created with these pillars thoughtfully integrated to provide a well-rounded experience that educated, emotionally resonated, and engaged the audience through a variety of tactics, including short-form video, eye-catching graphics, carousels and shareable content.

We scheduled a minimum of two organic posts per week and ran 3–5 paid advertisements each month. To ensure consistent engagement, our monthly content covered a range of themes and was delivered in a variety of formats—including video, graphics, and imagery—to effectively communicate key messages. For example, in December, the paid campaign included content on prescriptions (video), tips for supporting a loved one returning from the hospital (graphic), fall prevention (graphic carousel), and vaccinations (video).

As part of our paid media campaign and to maximise campaign effectiveness, we took a continuous test-and-learn approach, using A/B testing across paid ads to refine messaging, visuals and formats in real time. These insights directly shaped our content creation, boosting engagement across organic, boosted and paid posts. We tested formats including carousels, graphics and short-form video. For example, in month one, carousels performed best, achieving a 601.5Kreach, 853Kviews and 1.64Kclicks. A podcast-style reel had lower reach (383K) but strong engagement, with 495Kviews and 1.02Kclicks. Infographics reached582K, with 853Kviews and 712clicks. These results showed that different formats drive different outcomes- carousels were most effective for clicks, while reels fostered deeper engagement. We applied these learnings to future content, increasing the use of both carousels and reels.

Results:
This campaign had a transformative impact on the NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Facebook and Instagram pages. Through targeted efforts and engaging content formats, we significantly boosted overall performance. Facebook interactions rose by 215%, while Instagram interactions increased by an impressive 560%. Content reach also surged, with over 3.9M people reached on Facebook (a 1.7K% increase) and 892K+ reached on Instagram, marking a 1.6K% uplift compared to the same period prior to the campaign.

These results have left both pages with a stronger digital footprint, wider reach, and a highly engaged audience primed for future campaigns.

The boosted posts proved strong for raising awareness, effectively amplifying key campaign messages while also guiding users back to the original posts on our page for deeper engagement and information.

A modern twist on design and content style played a key role in the overall success of this campaign. The fresh, relatable approach helped capture attention and drive engagement across different platforms. Through ongoing testing and learning, we gained valuable insight into what types of video content resonate best with different audience segments. In particular, carousel posts proved highly effective, offering a visually engaging and easily digestible format that encouraged sharing and interaction, making them a vital part of the campaign’s reach and impact.