Brief

Research shows that young mothers are less likely to breastfeed their children than mums over 30. In a bid to tackle this generation gap the Welsh Assembly Government wanted a media relations campaign during Breastfeeding Awareness Week to promote the benefits of breastfeeding to young mothers.

Actions

We secured the backing of young mum Charlotte Church to attend a launch and be the ‘face' of the campaign. Securing her support - a famous young mother previously better known for her enjoyment of alcohol-fuelled nights on the town - provided the perfect endorsement for the campaign messages from a figurehead that young mums could identify with.

Underpinning this celebrity backing with the stories of everyday mothers in the regions provided a dual-pronged approach that enabled us to secure coverage in all key target media in Wales, UK and internationally.

Young mothers across Wales bucking the trend and opting to breastfeed their babies were interviewed and photographed in order to maximise local and regional media coverage.

For areas where no case studies were available a letter to editor from Charlotte Church containing key campaign messages was ghost written and issued to press.

Health editors of key target publications were approached and features were sold into them.

A launch event - including an official photocall and press conference with Charlotte Church and other young breastfeeding mums - was organised in Cardiff Bay.

Results

Over 515 pieces of coverage were achieved including the Sunday Mirror, The Times, Daily Star, Metro and a double page photo spread in Hello magazine.  

The Cardiff launch was attended by over 30 journalists and photographers including representatives from Press Association, The Daily Mirror and Getty Images.

The story also featured on the BBC news homepage, Sky News and Sun Online in addition to many parenting and gossip sites as far afield as India and America. Features were also secured in glossy and parenting magazines.

Crucially all local newspapers in Wales featured the campaign.

Print coverage around the launch alone equated to over £500,000 worth of column inches, representing a fifty-fold return on investment. The client was mentioned in 70% of this coverage.

Print and broadcast media generated around Breastfeeding Awareness Week generated over 37 million opportunities to see and hear key messages.

Breastfeeding rates are only measured every five years in Wales, however a leading NHS co-ordinator commented on a "marked increase in interest and awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding" amongst the young mums she came into contact with as a direct result of the media campaign.

Don't take our word for it...

Susan Sky, Infant Feeding Co-ordinator for Wales at the Welsh Assembly Government said:

"Working Word PR prepared a bank of inspirational case studies linked to Charlotte Church's support for the campaign, resulting in more press, TV and radio coverage than we have ever had before. Response to the campaign has been extremely positive both from parents and health professionals. The campaign could not have achieved this level of success without them."