Lancashire County Council

Lancashire County Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire – it was established in 1889. As part of an initiative to promote healthier practices amongst new families, LCC wanted to introduce a behavioural change programme to improve the health of newborns.

The Brief

What we did

Based on 2013 and 2014 data, breastfeeding rates in Lancashire had fallen to 69%, well below the national (83%) and the North West (76%) averages. To correct this, Lancashire County Council created the 6 Week Challenge.

The initiative required us to develop a web-based app to help reverse the situation and get new mums to breastfeed, which provides many extra health benefits for babies and mothers. After a competitive pitch process we were selected based on our vision and track record of high-quality projects. Our fully integrated service ensured we would encompass the three key aspects of the project: a new brand identity for the campaign, an intuitive web-based application, and a digital marketing campaign to reinforce the council’s message and improve sign-ups.

Developing a brand identity

Warm and playful design

We set out to develop a visual style which was warm and playful, something which represented the bond between mother and child. The typography was selected to dovetail with this philosophy, accompanied by a contemporary take on traditional baby colour schemes, which supply the site with a personable, warm personality as part of our cutting edge medical web design.

Planning the user experience

Once we defined the core features which would benefit new mums we started to develop the wireframes. We mapped out the UX and journey, gradually evolving our drafts into the first usable iteration of the web app. Following an Agile approach we collaborated with numerous workgroups, adapting and developing the app based on customer feedback. This assisted development of the app as it became an essential tool for our key audience – young mothers.

User interface (UI) optimisation

Visually engaging design

The visual language of the app had to be clear, simple, and concise as screen estate is precious on mobile platforms. We introduced space saving and visually engaging bespoke iconography to emphasise, and provide, shortcuts to key features of the app.

Digital marketing strategy

We created highly targeted PPC advertising campaigns tailored towards an audience we pre-defined through extensive market research. We found mothers to be actively tuned into online communities, allowing us to display targeted messages in relevant online environments such as Facebook, Google Paid Search, and Google Display Network. The key benefit of this approach was a higher opportunity for engagement as ads were personalised to the needs of the audience. We were able to capture, in the first week of the project, 142 sign ups as part of our healthcare marketing strategy.

Going above and beyond

Telling the story

The app alone is a destination - above all else we wanted to tell a story about the benefits of breastfeeding, and give a reason to mothers why they should sign up. Although not part of the original brief, we realised telling this story sold Lancashire County Council's project vision perfectly.

Don't Just Take Our Word for it

Take a look at what Safika said about Soap Media.

Soap Media delivered a web-based app for our 6 Week Breastfeeding Challenge campaign with clever and lively brand design and a targeted digital marketing strategy. The message has been met well by new mums and partners, with the sign ups to date showing we can build on our success in the future.

Safika MunshiCommunications Account Manager