Saving the NHS One Connections Touchpoint At a Time

The National Health Service was under siege: constant funding cuts, substantial workforce shortages and a scrapping of the undergraduate bursary means that an unprecedented number of nurses are leaving, and worse, never applying in the first place. Its future relies on driving a pipeline of student applications.We couldn’t afford to outspend, so we had to outsmart— building a foundation for the future, not just the now.

Qualitative and quantitative research found a large segment of our key audiences were motivated by altruism and making a difference, above traditional category drivers (pay, work/life balance). They became our bullseye but brand tracking confirmed we weren’t overcoming barriers at the point of consideration. Many barriers were rational (understanding what nursing life is like, or how to start) but we discovered a far more powerful unifying barrier: People want to change the world as a nurse but are scared they won’t rise to the challenge. Our media needed to ignite ambition by showcasing the extraordinary role, highlight role realities and fuel confidence, through the journey to application and beyond.

Bespoke customer journeys underpinned our entire approach and guided our multi-touchpoint plans across all stages of the journey; focusing our paid spend where it needed to pack the biggest punch. Broadcast ignited the extraordinary, paid social and media partnerships showcased the role reality and retargeting and search nudged considerers along the journey instilling confidence throughout.

By the application deadline, career Switchers consideration rose by 6% YOY, applications increased by 6% and we achieved the more difficult task of attracting career switchers +10% YOY.