A young woman breaking a cigarette in half.

The mission.

To move and motivate residents to change the behaviours that negatively impact their weight and stop them from being more physically active, and help smoking residents to quit.

Buckinghamshire County Council was one of several local authorities signed up to a national pilot called ‘Prevention at Scale’. Our mission was to carry out research and uncover insight to inform a delivery plan to make change happen at scale.  

An animated gif revealing metrics and statistics related to the campaign/project.

The research.

We used a range of research methods to undertake research with Buckinghamshire residents, based on our initial scoping review of national and local data to understand the issues. Following this, we ran a lifestyle survey with residents to understand their views and behaviours related to smoking, food and diet, physical activity and local service support.

This survey then led to more in-depth work to uncover insight. We conducted telephone interviews, face-to-face interviews, focus groups and ethnographic research [embracing techniques including shadowing, observation and diary exercises].

An overhead shot of a report opened on pages about 'Target Audience Personas'.

The campaign.

Insight for action

We used the research to develop an insight pack. A number of very specific actions were recommended to the council  and key stakeholders that would help facilitate and encourage lifestyle changes amongst residents. We illustrated the customer journeys through a set of customer ‘personas’ and provided the client with videos to help bring the key audience groups to life.

This approach allowed us to identify key groups of residents in Buckinghamshire, and make recommendations on interventions that could be developed for the people of Buckinghamshire that will resonate with their wants and needs and help them to think, feel and act differently.

The impact.

The research findings, personas and customer journeys were used to develop an in-depth workshop with over 50 local stakeholders and service providers and help inform a strategy for Buckinghamshire that makes change at scale possible. 

50+ days in research
50+ stakeholders engaged
7 personas created
25 ‘insight into action’ recommendations