‘Up For It’ campaign: Evaluation Report
Summary of findings
Brand awareness of Up For It is quite low amongst students, with three quarters of those taking part in the survey not recognising the Up For It logo. Of those who did, almost half did not know what it was about, and others had the wrong impression of what Up For It involved. This low level of awareness is fairly unsurprising given the ‘stealth not health’ approach that was taken to the programme, where awareness of the brand is not as important as the events and interventions themselves.
Awareness of other health campaigns which overtly promote healthier lifestyles such as Change4Life and 5 A Day is much higher, perhaps suggesting that there is scope for Up For It to be more widely promoted to ensure that students recognise the brand and its objectives – providing fun, social, quick, cheap and easy activities/events.
Two thirds of the students that took part in the survey said that health campaigns like Up For It do nothing to encourage them to change their lifestyle. However, those who did attend the Up For It events did give them generally positive feedback. This is possibly due to the fact that the events were promoted in the ‘stealth not health’ way. Initial insight findings showed that students would favour interventions that were fun and did not feel like they were primarily concerned with losing weight and that were also sociable and varied. The Up For It interventions met these criteria, showing that this approach can be successful and that Up For It does have potential. Perhaps if the brand and the events it organises become more widely known, whilst at the same time adhering to the ‘stealth not health’ approach, then it can have a greater and longer lasting impact on students’ lifestyles.
The Did You Know? leaflet seems to have been well received by students. High proportions of respondents said that the leaflet contained valuable advice that made them think about their current drinking habits. However, the proportion of respondents that went on to agree that this information would make them change their habits was much lower. Encouragingly, the majority of respondents found the leaflet well designed, saying that it was clear, appropriate, and well targeted to students.
Overall, the rating that respondents gave to their current diet was quite healthy. However, when looking at the amounts of fruit and vegetables eaten this does not necessarily correlate. Only one in five (18%) claimed to eat at least 5 portions a day, the recommended daily allowance for a healthy diet, and only a small number prepared their own meals from scratch. It is also important to remember that when respondents are rating their own diet or the ‘healthiness’ of their lifestyle, there may be a tendency to present a more favourable image than is in fact the case. In the current climate, where a healthy lifestyle is seen as more socially acceptable, people may feel under pressure to give a more positive answer to such questions. It is important, therefore, that students are made aware of the possible implications of, for example, not eating sufficient portions of fruit and vegetables.
· Measure awareness, perceptions and engagement of the ‘Up For It’ brand and events
· Measure awareness of other health focused campaigns and whether they had any reported impact upon their lifestyle
· Gauge feedback on the ‘Did You Know?’ leaflet
· Measure perceptions about current health and behaviours relating to their own health, such as frequency of exercise and alcohol consumption
In 2007, ten learning demonstration sites were set up by the National Social Marketing Centre with funding from the Department of Health. The aim of which was to help local areas apply and integrate social marketing into their programmes and strategies, whilst helping to develop a robust evidence base for social marketing. The learning demonstration sites are also a key component of the Department of Health’s ‘Ambitions for Health’ strategic framework to build capacity and skills in applying social marketing principles to health interventions.
The learning demonstration sites were based in Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and local authorities across the country and addressed a wide range of health issues.
The ‘Up For It’ pilot project in Kirklees was one of the demonstration sites selected for the programme, which aimed to halt in the year on year rise in overweight and obesity levels amongst 16-24 year olds in Kirklees through motivating and supporting the target group to be more active, and to replace unhealthy food for quick and healthy food options.
The ‘Up For It’ social marketing pilot project was one of ten learning demonstration sites, set up by the National Social Marketing Centre with funding from DH, to build capacity and skills in applying social marketing principles to health interventions. This pilot aimed to halt in the year on year rise in overweight and obesity levels amongst 16-24 year olds in Kirklees through motivating and supporting the target group to be more active, and to replace unhealthy food for quick and healthy food options.
· 86% White
· 7% Asian or Asian British
· 2% Mixed Heritage
· 2% Black or Black British
· 1% Chinese
· 1% Prefer not to say
· 2% Other
Over half of respondents (55%) were aged 19+ and the rest (45%) were aged between 16 and 18.
A street survey of 372 students was conducted from 20th May to 5th June 2009. A total of 186 interviews took place with students from the University of Huddersfield and 186 interviews evenly spread with students from each of the following colleges: New College Huddersfield, Greenhead College and Kirklees College.
Interviewers were located in areas of high footflow on or near the University and college campuses and approached target respondents based on pre set quotas on gender.
Data collection methodology
A street survey of 372 students