'I care' campaign: qualitative concept test

The health and welfare sector needs many additional people in the coming years. If we do nothing now, by 2022 we will have a shortage of 125,000 people. In order to get people interested in working in the care and welfare sector, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) has set up a campaign together with the sector aimed at current and potential employees. Blauw used a concept test to investigate which of the two communications best matches the target group and the promise.

Challenge

Communication Goal

The communication goal of the campaign is to present working in care and welfare in a more positive light so that more potential employees:

find healthcare an appealing sector;
find healthcare a sector that suits them;
explore the possibilities of working in healthcare.

In addition, the goal is also to retain current employees within the healthcare sector. It is important that there is support for the campaign among those working in healthcare and that they too see the sector as one they would like to continue working in.

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Vision

Communication concept test

In order to reduce the shortage of personnel in healthcare and reverse the negative image, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport had two campaign directions developed. Using a concept test, Blauw tested whether these chosen communication directions fit the target group and the communication objectives. For this study, two concept directions were tested:

I care
Your world, your concern

Submitted materials in both directions are:

a script for a television commercial
various print publications
the campaign's payoff

In the study, we were able to find out which of these two aforementioned concepts best suits the target audience and communication objectives. We also identified the opportunities for optimization.

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Solution

In-depth interviews and duo interviews

With a campaign, individual behavior must be activated. To gain a rich insight into the personal assessment and appreciation of and effect on the target audience, we conducted individual in-depth interviews. Advantages of this type of qualitative research is:

That you can poll individual opinion without influencing others
really have time to bring up personal experiences with this difficult topic
be able to speak to a diverse audience on the topic

The "I care" campaign is primarily aimed at potential employees (schoolchildren, students, non-workers and employed/self-employed). The secondary target group consists of care staff and bystanders of the primary target group.
We conducted this research primarily through individual interviews and, for the young people specifically, duo interviews. Young people often feel more comfortable if they can participate in research together with an acquaintance. Students were therefore allowed to bring a friend along so that we also discovered how students talk to each other following the campaign.

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Result

Research results

Some highlights from the survey:

Support is high. There is strong support for a campaign aimed at getting people interested in a job in care. People see the shortage of care personnel as a social issue that needs attention.
Contribution to better image Both directions contribute to a more positive image of healthcare as a sector to work in. They offer a broader or different view of healthcare. This stimulates people to think about a job in healthcare.
The chosen direction is appealing and effective in its approach. The concept emphasizes the diversity and multitude of jobs and types of people working in care. It thus breaks through the stereotypical image of healthcare in a positive sense, in a way that is also recognizable for healthcare personnel. I care' is a catchy phrase with which everyone can identify. This direction thus invites a wide audience to think about a job in healthcare.

The end result: national public campaign

Based on the advice and conclusions that emerged from the qualitative concept test, the Ministry of VWS set to work on the optimization and further development of the campaign. A campaign was developed that combined the strongest elements from both concepts, so that the final campaign perfectly matched the communication objectives.
This elaborated campaign was further tested in advance using a communication pre-test.

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"Blauw took us through the process well and time after time their added value was in the sharpness of their analyses and good ability to distinguish main and secondary issues."