A recognised brand

The NHS is one of the most recognised brands in England and NHS Direct was the first health service in the world to be delivered via the internet, interactive TV and phone. NHS Direct provides patients with easy access and 24 hour health, ensuring that health issues are dealt with by the right people in the right timeframe. However, awareness amongst the target audience was low and not everyone knew what the service was there to provide.

Shared ownership

Our brief was to develop a new brand expression for NHS Direct – to clarify just how accessible the service is and what patients should expect from it. It was important that the brand positioned the service within the wider NHS and NHS Direct was keen to express an identity which was very much their own. The creative solution complied with the stringent NHS brand guidelines and used a balloon device to represent the 24/7 offer to the very broad range of target audiences.

Resounding success

Following the rebrand, we created a national advertising campaign to increase awareness of the NHS Direct telephone, online and digital television services, especially amongst their hard to reach audiences. This was a resounding success, with post campaign research proving awareness was up over 75% in the specific socio-economic group targets, compared to pre-campaign figures.