South Tyneside Council Stoptober OOH Campaign

The brief was clear: maximise public health impact across multiple behavioural moments without inflating cost.

R4 approached this as a trading exercise first, not a planning one.

Through disciplined negotiation across paid digital, audio, out-of-home, transport and local press, we secured significant rate advantages across every media owner involved. Trading leverage was applied consistently, not selectively, ensuring value was created at system level rather than hidden within individual lines.

Instead of allowing trading value to disappear into "added value" or fragmented bonuses, all uplift was consolidated into additional delivery. This allowed the campaign to operate at a scale normally unavailable to a local authority budget.

Outcome of Trade

• Budget protected
• Media value materially increased
• No compromise on quality, format or positioning
• Trading value transparently reinvested into reach and frequency

Trade set the economics of the campaign before a single placement was planned.

Planning focused on behavioural timing, not just audience definition.

Smoking cessation is not a single decision; it's a series of motivation windows. The plan was therefore structured around three proven behavioural moments:

• Stoptober – social momentum and collective action
• New Year – personal reset and health intent
• National No Smoking Day – external trigger and reinforcement

Audience planning prioritised adults in South Tyneside with higher smoking prevalence, using Mosaic and location intelligence to concentrate exposure where it would matter most. Rather than broad coverage, the plan deliberately stacked frequency in high-intent environments.

Channel roles were clearly defined

• Paid social to drive immediacy, relevance and response
• Audio to reinforce messaging during habitual routines
• Out-of-home and transport to provide unavoidable, repeated cues in daily movement
• Local press to anchor credibility and community relevance

The plan was not about being everywhere. It was about showing up repeatedly, at the right moments, in the right places.

Activation was treated as an ongoing system, not a launch-and-leave schedule.

Each phase was delivered with live oversight across formats, ensuring

• Consistent message sequencing across touchpoints
• Correct weighting between awareness and action-driving media
• Smooth transitions between campaign phases without loss of momentum

Paid digital was actively managed to maintain frequency control and relevance, while fixed media formats were timed to align precisely with campaign peaks. Creative was adapted by phase, ensuring the same core message felt timely rather than repetitive.

Operationally, this meant

• Tight artwork deadlines met without slippage
• Zero dead air between phases
• Continuous delivery from October through March

The result was a campaign that felt present, not episodic — reinforcing quit intent over time rather than relying on a single spike.

This campaign demonstrates what happens when media is approached in the right order.

• Trading discipline unlocked scale
• Planning focused on behaviour, not channels
• Activation maintained pressure across critical moments

The outcome was a sustained, high-impact public health campaign delivering more than 6.3 million impacts, with media value significantly exceeding cash investment.

This is Trade. Plan. Activate. applied in the real world.