GambleAware, the charity and strategic commissioner of gambling harm prevention and treatment services across Britain, has launched major new integrated campaign aimed at reducing the stigma people feel surrounding gambling harms.
The new “Let’s Open Up About Gambling” campaign brings to life people’s experience of gambling harms in an effort to change societal perceptions and encourage affected individuals to seek support.
Latest figures from GambleAware’s annual Treatment & Support survey highlight 75% of people experiencing gambling problems feel like they cannot open up about the issue.
Gambling harms – or the negative consequences of gambling – are a complex and growing and public health issue, with data suggesting one in four of us think we know someone who has experienced problems with their gambling.
While addressing stigma as a barrier to accessing support has been a priority for GambleAware across previous campaigns, this is the first time the charity has launched a campaign directly looking to tackle it within society.
GambleAware chief communications officer Alexia Clifford said: “Gambling has been a ‘hidden addiction’ for too long, with feelings of shame, embarrassment and guilt preventing people from opening up to loved ones about the issue.
“It is clear that gambling harms can affect anyone and that this stigma needs to end. It has been co-created with people with lived experience of gambling harms, and puts their voices and stories right at the heart of our communications. This is a critical new creative platform for our work to keep people safe from gambling harms across Britain.”
The activity includes new creative across TV, OOH, radio, video on demand, social media, a national PR launch by Freuds and two begambleaware.org partnerships devised by 23Red.
In addition, a new Self-Assessment Tool, developed by creative digital agency Flipside, has been launched on GambleAware’s website.
The new TV ads by Lucky Generals were co-created with individuals affected by gambling harms. It uses conceptual drawings to illustrate the difficult emotions caused by harms from gambling, such as feeling like you are tied up in knots, unable to focus, or experiencing a heavy weight on your shoulders.
These visualisations are designed to bring to life the impact of gambling harms, helping the public better understand the issue and encouraging empathy.
Lucky Generals founding partner Andy Nairn said: “To show the impact seeking help can have we wanted to put the real stories of those with lived experience front and centre in this campaign. We hope to show the benefits of opening up in a way that will encourage a bigger conversation about the way gambling can make people feel.”
The PR push centres on the issue that stigma is the biggest barrier preventing those experiencing harm from accessing support, and features a new film has been fronted by TV and radio presenter Tyler West. In the film, Tyler interviews two individuals with lived experiences of gambling harms, learning about their journey and the positive turn it took once they decided to seek help.
The campaign’s media planning and buying agency, OmniGOV at MG OMD, developed a strategic framework built on behavioural science that resulted in a multi-channel plan for the launch, delivering education at scale, modelling and persuasion to vulnerable, disadvantaged communities with timely interruptions to encourage action.
Strategic partnerships, led by 23red, part of Capgemini Invent, will generate scale and raise awareness around the support available.
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