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How do you reach an audience that believes they\u2019re invincible? Bastion and Cancer\u202fInstitute\u202fNSW faced one of public health\u2019s toughest comms challenges: getting young Australians to see vaping as a genuine health risk when all they could see were the benefits, not the risks. Every Vape is a Hit to Your Health<\/i>, a Bronze Effie-winning campaign that drove real behaviour change, motivated 24,000 young people to attempt to quit, and a further 15,000 to consider it. Bastion\u2019s Angela\u202f Morris,\u202fNational\u202fChief\u202fStrategy\u202fOfficer, and Addison\u202fGazal,\u202fGroup\u202fStrategy\u202fDirector, outline how they used behavioural economics, empathy and evidence\u2011based creativity to change behaviour at scale.<\/strong><\/p>\n Angela:<\/b> Optimism bias – or, in Australian terms, <\/span>\u201cshe\u2019ll\u202fbe\u202fright.\u201d<\/span><\/i> It\u2019s that belief that bad things happen to other people, not to me. Young audiences feel invincible, so scare tactics alone won\u2019t land. We had to find a way to make the risks personal without sounding condescending or alarmist.<\/span><\/p>\n Angela:<\/b> The process was rigorous. Every Cancer\u202fInstitute\u202fNSW campaign is grounded in behavioural science and mapped through proven behaviour change models. We start with deep formative research into attitudes, motivators and barriers, then test strategy, creative territories and execution relentlessly. With youth, especially, the culture changes fast, so we begin each phase as a clean slate, building on knowledge but looking for new insights, new validation, no assumptions.<\/span><\/p>\n Addison:<\/b> That rigour takes time – often one to two\u202fyears from initial research to launch. And it doesn\u2019t stop once we\u2019re in\u2011market; there\u2019s constant optimisation. Each year we reassess behaviour shifts and refresh creative to keep the message credible and current.<\/span><\/p>\nWhat made this so difficult?<\/b><\/h4>\n
How did you tackle it?<\/b><\/h4>\n