Winner
Small Talk Saves Lives
Summary of work
In November, Pegasus created a new suicide prevention campaign, for Samaritans working in partnership with Network Rail, British Transport Police and the wider rail industry – #SmallTalkSavesLives. It was the first time rail travellers had been openly asked to spot, report or intervene in order to help reduce suicide – a significant shift in focus for this collective of organisations.
The strength of the campaign lies in its authenticity. It tells a real story, and every aspect has been developed and shaped by experts, people with experience of suicidal thoughts and those bereaved by suicide. And there is no doubt that it has captured people’s hearts and minds. Of the 5m+ views, over 60% were driven organically and the 300,000+ comments and likes were all testament to the level of engagement it generated. In just two months, the campaign had achieved 315 items of media coverage.
Importantly, the post-campaign launch research has shown impressive results versus the objectives, with a noticeable shift in awareness, understanding, knowledge and intent. The campaign is also being explored to be used by UCL’s Centre for Behaviour Change as a key example of behavioural science theory working in the real world.
Judges’ comments
Pegasus and the Samaritans put together a really interesting piece of work with clear goals and a genuine need for the campaign. Judges said that if they had have worked for this team, they would have been really proud of this work and it is the standard used to aspire to when writing a Communiqué entry. It’s an outcomes driven programme which generates a meaningful response, with good social metrics and a strong range of stakeholder groups. Excellent campaign.
