A winning public awareness campaign helping to raise the profile and issues facing carers.

1. Look after someone? Who looks after you?
Winner of Communications Management’s internal
INSPIRE awards scheme 2011

2. Overview
• Northamptonshire has over 60,000 carers and was designated a
carers’ demonstration site by the Department of Health to improve
carers’ health and wellbeing.
• Carers tend to have little time to focus on their own support and
health needs and may as a result suffer poor health.
• Although all carers are entitled to an assessment of their support
needs, many are unaware or choose not to take these up.
• A county-wide information campaign was required under a multi
agency banner including NHS, local authority, carers’
organisations and GPs.

3. Objectives
• To raise the profile of carers and caring in Northamptonshire with
the general public so that they better understand what carers
do, how they can support them and reduce stigma felt by carers.
• To encourage health and social care professionals to identify and
support carers more effectively.
• To promote the confidential carers’ assessment service and
increase take up.

4. Planning
• Insight and scoping research with carers and professionals
including carer e-survey to develop campaign and refine
objectives.
• Recruited and interviewed carer case studies for use in collateral
and media relations.
• Consulted target audiences – carers and health/social care
professionals throughout campaign development and
implementation

5. Strategy
A branded integrated communications campaign Look after
someone? Who looks after you? was developed following
qualitative and quantitative insight research with carers and
health/social care professionals, to run for six months.

6. Tactics – Campaign Website
Included information for carers and professionals and
acted as a portal to other trusted sites

7. Tactics – Campaign Materials
Campaign materials for the public and professionals
distributed via statutory and voluntary stakeholders and
intermediaries

8. Tactics – Facebook Page

9. Tactics – Carers Awards Scheme
County-wide carers award scheme launched. Awards
ceremony hosted by local BBC journalist at prestigious
venue, prizes donated by local companies

10. Tactics – Media Partnership
Media partnership negotiated with Northants Evening
Telegraph and Chronicle & Echo to promote the
Northamptonshire Carers Awards and secure coverage
for the campaign

11. Tactics – Case study led media coverage

12. Tactics – Schools resource
PowerPoint resource created for secondary school PSHE
co-ordinators to use, included:
Focus on young and adult carers
Lesson plan notes
Support for breakout sessions
Info for teachers on supporting young carers

13. Outcomes – Carer Feedback
• “This campaign is really necessary for more isolated/new
carers.” Female carer 45-60 yrs
• “You are doing a fantastic job and finally people are
realising so are we.” Female carer 45-60 yrs
• “Thank you for this piece of work to raise the needs of
carers.” Female carer 45-60yrs
• “This is important publicity. Very little has been said about
carers, young and old, and in the current climate we will
have to fight our corner.” Female carer 60yrs +

14. Outcomes – Carer Feedback
• 43% of carers had heard of the campaign
• 39% of callers to Northamptonshire carers’ support line (the
access point for carer’s assessments) had been prompted to
do so by campaign messages
• 35% agree that the campaign helped raise the profile of
carers in Northamptonshire

15. Outcomes – Carer Feedback
• 28% of carers said the campaign had helped them feel less
alone as a carer
• 20% agreed the campaign encouraged them to be more
open about their role as a carer
• 951 individuals visited the campaign website
- 1,316 visits /4,931 page views
• Ten items of regional media coverage including a 5 minute
piece on Radio Northampton’s Breakfast Show