ABOUT

Mind the Grab: how a simple purple line made 37% of UK consumers change their kerbside behaviour on phone theft

Sometimes the simplest ideas have the biggest impact. To raise awareness of phone theft – often on busy high streets near Currys stores - we painted a purple line on the pavement of Oxford Street, marking the reach of a phone-snatcher’s arm.

With phone theft at epidemic levels, we rallied support from Westminster Council, the Met Police, Crimestoppers and Birkbeck University to fuel a national debate.

The brand also committed to offering in-store support for victims of theft, helping customers in the moments that matter most.

The impact was clear:
• 37% of UK adults say they’ll now change their kerbside behaviour (based on Censuswide pre and post campaign analysis).
• Brand trust in Currys jumped 10%.
• What began as a pilot is already sparking action - Newham Police asked for their own purple lines.
• The Home Office has pledged support.
• A national rollout is now on the table.

A simple idea, proven to change behaviour and set the agenda on a pressing national issue.

1) PLANNING

Insight:

A phone is stolen every six minutes in the UK, and snatch thefts from e-bikes and scooters are rising. The epidemic shows no sign of slowing, putting pressure on government, law enforcement and tech companies to act.

As the UK’s leading tech retailer, Currys understands how central phones are to modern life, and how directly customers, colleagues and their families are affected.

That’s why we wanted to use our scale and high street presence to take meaningful action, supporting national efforts to tackle phone theft head-on.

Objectives:

1. Mass awareness and conversation of Currys leadership position in addressing phone theft through positive earned media and social editorial coverage.

2. Change behaviours amongst UK consumers to help them protect their phones.

3. Garner MP and local council support

4. Increase brand perception and trust

Strategy and Creative Concept

Taking inspiration from the highly understood Mind the Gap yellow line transport safety cues, we created Mind the Grab.

This striking purple line, added onto the pavement - marking the reach of a phone-snatcher’s arm - visually reminded people to stand back from the kerb. In tandem, Currys’ colleagues were trained to offer in the moment practical support for victims in store, including the use of tech to contact police, banks, service providers and loved ones.

Of course, an idea with public safety at its core, and an emotionally and political charged issue, meant thorough stakeholder engagement, support and evidence of impact was critical.

Beyond comms campaigning and awareness, this is a behaviour change pilot study, under independent review by the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research at Birkbeck University.

2) EXECUTION

1. Stakeholder coalition

It was critical to the credibility and responsibility of this study that we worked with respected civic and crime prevention stakeholders.

We initially secured partnership from The Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research, Birkbeck, University of London, to validate our Mind the Grab hypothesis and approach, as well as to serve as independent evaluator into the effectiveness of the purple line on behaviour change once in situ.

Using data from the Freedom of Information act, we identified Oxford Street as the location for our trial - one of the most prevalent spots for theft in the UK.

We secured partnership with Westminster City Council, who’s permission was key to us taking over the pavement of Oxford Street for an eight-week period for testing and trial. Rachel Blake, Labour MP for Cities of London and Westminster, further demonstrated support for the initiative by attending the launch.

The Metropolitan Police Service and Crimestoppers UK were brought on board to ensure the advice we were offering was safe and credible. Their support also added weight to our subsequent communications outreach.

2. Mobilise store colleagues with training and through the line support.

Colleagues in our Oxford Street pilot store were trained to help victims contact the police and service providers quickly and efficiently: immediate reporting of the crime leads to higher outcomes for catching criminals, and quick cancelling of cards and blocking of apps minimises risk to personal data and finances.

Colleague were also given practical support to help victims contact loved ones and make their way safely home. Pre-paid TFL tickets and pre-paid Ubers were offered to victims so they could get home without their phone – a means of payment for so many.

In store and owned channels carried Mind the Grab advice, translated into six languages to further raise awareness of the advice.

3. Media relations

We launched the campaign live from Currys Oxford Street with spokespeople including Ed Connolly, Chief Commercial Officer at Currys, Kate Johnston, Director of Business & Fundraising at the independent UK charity Crimestoppers, and Superintendent Natasha Evans, the Met's local policing lead for Westminster. All undertook interviews from the line and shop floor with multiple media outlets including Good Morning Britain, ITV News, BBC Radio 4, LBC and the Daily Mail and Metro social news teams.

Thorough media outreach with a suite of assets including B-Roll, photography, stats and stakeholder quotes ensured blanket national coverage, social media engagement and debate and conversation that carried on for weeks after launch.

3) RESULTS RELATED TO OBJECTIVES

1. Mass awareness and conversation of Currys leadership position in addressing phone theft through positive earned media and social editorial coverage.

• 299 pieces of well messaged tier 1 media coverage (v KPI of 100 pieces)
• 11 broadcast segments (v. KPI of 8) including 3 segments on Good Morning Britain running at 6am, 7am, and 8am news bulletins.
• 53 National media hits including stand out pieces in The Telegraph, The Independent and The Daily Mail
• 29 pieces of social editorial including LBC TikTok which has received more than 4 million views (one of the highest performing on their channel). This is closely followed by their Instagram content which generated 2.6 million views.

Pre and post attitudinal data of UK adults conducted by Censuswide went on to demonstrate impact on awareness:

• 17% of UK adults recalled Mind the Grab in the last seven days; in London awareness was 40%.

1. Change behaviours among UK consumers.

The Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research at Birkbeck University study is ongoing at time of writing, but pre and post attitudinal data from Censuswide demonstrates behavioural intent and change:

• 37% say they will now “mind the grab” and step away from the kerb when using their phone
• 82% felt the campaign was a ‘step forward’ in the fight against phone snatching

2. Garner MP and local council support of a wider National roll out.

Once full Birkbeck results are in we will take findings to Westminster. However, as a result of the media success and conversation of the pilot, Newham Police have already requested Currys lay a Mind the Grab line at the ExCel Centre due to high phone theft rates in that area.

In addition The Home Office have asked to support the campaign roll out. Luke Taylor, Sutton & Cheam Liberal Democrat MP has also requested to visit the line and meet store colleagues and we have been offered support from the Policing Minister for phase 2 roll out to Westminster.

4.Increase brand perception and trust (Censuswide)

• A 10% uplift in overall brand trust following the campaign
• 21% say the campaign makes them more likely to shop in or visit Currys.
• 32% say the campaign made them think more positively about Currys as a tech retailer
• 84% net positive sentiment (with 54% ‘very positive’)

Dan Rubel, Brand & Marketing Director, Currys: "We’re proud of what we’ve achieved so far with Mind the Grab. As one of the UK’s leading mobile phone retailers, we have a responsibility to help tackle phone theft - and we’re uniquely positioned to drive change. This campaign is the result of bold thinking, meticulous research, and epic collaboration across our PR, Corporate Communications and store teams, alongside key partners like the Met Police, Westminster Council and CrimeStoppers. It’s a real-world initiative with real impact - and we’re only just getting started."