We developed the programme around the Prochaska model – an academic behavioural model identifying stages of the giving-up cycle. We captured the intended stop date of each smoker and tailored our communications to reflect their physical and emotional state according to where they are on this model, with opt-in preferences for up to 21 outbound communications. Our research identified a key attitudinal insight: smokers hate being lectured to. Hence our creative adopted an empathetic tone with tips from ex-smokers, rather than the scare tactics used above-the-line. The name ‘Together’ reinforced this, creating a strong affinity with the brand.

This pilot was hugely popular with 15k registrations since launch. Achieving £11/£27 CPR across different recruitment channels, we convincingly beat the TV CPR of £67.

Effectiveness in helping smoking cessation is even more impressive. Six months after joining Together, 32% of the participants were still not smoking! (Compared with 27% of people who called the Helpline without joining Together.) Over half the Together participants rate the programme excellent or very good, with seven out of ten saying the programme made them feel more motivated to give up, confirming what we always believed – multiple interventions are effective in helping smoking cessation.