Jersey agency behind NHS campaign

Friday 28 November 2014

A local marketing communications agency has come up with a bus and billboard campaign for NHS Highland.

ORCHID has been engaged to help the health board attract more doctors to work in the region as part of a Scottish government initiative that aims to highlight the benefits of working in remote and rural communities.

Martine Scott, Remote & Rural Programme Manager for NHS Highland, said: “This campaign is incredibly important to NHS Highland. The strategy is a pilot for a potential wider campaign that could delivered by other health boards experiencing the same difficulties.

"We believe the strategy perfectly matches the brief to deliver a campaign that is creative, thought provoking and motivational. ORCHID showed their commitment to be physically present in the campaign preparation phase, as well as utilising video conferencing to ensure a smooth production process.

"Their experience and approach was systematic and creative and we are delighted with the end result, which has already generated interest from potential candidates – which will, in turn, help to deliver valuable services to our patients.“

Orchid reports that the campaign has already generated encouraging results in Liverpool following an ad van promotion last month to support NHS Highland’s presence at the Royal College of GPs annual conference. The success of the campaign is also being monitored with a view to rolling it out to attract other healthcare professionals to remote and rural areas.

It has also featured in BBC news reports, BBC Radio 4 You and Yours programme; the Scottish Daily Express and the British Medical Journal, as well as regional press and radio coverage.

The ORCHID project team has been led by director Sam Watts, who said: “There are many similarities between the problems faced by West Highland and the Channel Isles. Our experience and knowledge of working with organisations in small communities, which have complex needs that demand professional outsourced skills, was directly relevant to this task. It has been immensely satisfying to work with the team at NHS Highland, and to apply our diverse marketing and communications expertise to such a demanding brief."