Finalist

Meningitis Matters: Evolving UK media reporting on meningitis

by Ruder Finn for Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Limited

Summary of work

Meningitis is the most feared infectious disease among parents in the UK, however seven out of 10 adults are unaware that their children are not protected against all causes of this devastating disease.

Inconsistency in media reporting has led to a worrying lack of awareness and understanding among parents about the disease. To tackle this, the agency used multiple media platforms to communicate that there is currently no protection against the meningitis-causing meningococcal B bacteria and underline the need for continued vigilance over the symptoms of meningitis.

The campaign delivered targeted on-message media coverage across multiple media platforms with over 200 million media impressions reaching in excess of 3x the UK population.


Judges’ comments

A strong, comprehensive campaign achieving national as well as regional outreach that covered all aspects of media relations well.

Testimonials and Judges’ comments

Communications manager: The team has been astounded by the media results achieved in 2011. A superb level of creativity and skill was demonstrated to build this meningitis story and communicate it so successfully in just six months. All aspects of the campaign were seamlessly executed. Thanks to the work of the agency and the internal team the UK is now seen as the gold standard globally across the company in terms of driving impactful and innovative media campaigns.