Nicorette’s mission is to help people do something incredible and quit smoking. The brand is the market leader in the UK for nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and the objective is to maintain the number 1 position and grow market share, by evidencing the value NRT has in the quitting journey and communicating the superiority claims of Nicorette against the competition. In 2021, we decided to directly engage and support the LGBTQ+ community to quit. Informed by the fact smoking rates were on the rise overall, as a result of the stress caused by the pandemic. As worryingly, compelling research which showed the LGBTQ+ community were much more likely to smoke than the general UK population and had previously felt ignored by smoking cessation campaigns.

Nicorette research shows that shockingly, the LGBTQ+ community are 46% more likely to smoke than the general population. The New England Journal of Medicine, also outlines that smokers are 67% more likely to give up for good when they go on their quitting journey with a spouse. These compelling insights informed every aspect of the campaign. From the partner we selected, the branded content we created, the engagement strategy and as importantly, the timing, in order that Nicorette could provide the best possible support to achieve success.

We partnered with GAY TIMES, the world’s leading LGBTQ+ publication.

The creative idea was ‘Quitting Buddies’, a content programme following the quitting journey of a real couple, not actors, telling their story of how quitting with Nicorette helped them support each other to give up smoking for good

Our strategy in partnership with GAY TIMES, was to develop authentic content for the LGBTQ+ community to quit during ‘Stoptober’ the annual 28 day quit smoking challenge in the UK. Launched ten years ago in 2012, it is one of the most significant awareness moments in the UK calendar, supported by Government, NGOs, Business and the Media and has been directly credited with reducing smoking amongst adults during this period. The Stoptober initiative is based on research that if a smoker can make it to 28 days smoke-free, they are 5-times more likely to quit for good. “Quitting Buddies”, provided positive reinforcement and engagement through credible stories from the community, that encouraged the audience to think differently about smoking and built on the insight that people are more likely to succeed on their journey, when they try to quit alongside someone close.

‘Quitting Buddies’ was live 2nd Sept-11th Nov as 60s/15s hero videos on GAYTIMES social channels, featuring Sergio & Nicholas, telling their story of how quitting using Nicorette helped them support each other to give up smoking for good.

Articles and polls published on gaytimes.co.uk in a bespoke hub provided a useful resource of content, with titles such as “How to support someone who is trying to quit smoking” and “Why LGBTQ+ people are more likely to smoke”. We also created Instagram Stories that drove education through interactive polls, asking users to vote on questions such as “Why might LGBTQ+ people be more likely to smoke: A. Stigma and mental health issues. B. Social culture. C. Unequal health treatment. D. All of the above.” with the answer card explaining “it’s all of the above”, directing users to additional native content to learn why smoking rates are so high in the community

Our video content exceeded reach targets by 55%.

The videos received comments such as “So happy I quit last year!! You can TOTALLY do it!!” and “Well done to you both, I quit 10 years ago and I’m happy I did it”, as well as one user commenting they would use the campaign as a case study in their PhD relating to best practice of marketing to the LGBTQ+ community.

Our interactive polls garnered over 343,000 engagements thanks to their informative content.

Our bespoke articles saw dwell times of up to 3mins 59s - smashing the 1min 50s benchmark - showing that GAY TIMES readers spent time reading and digesting this informative content.

Ultimately, thanks to the partnership, we were able to create a detailed educational resource for the LGBTQ+ community to quit smoking, as well as relatable content that successfully demonstrated the benefits of Nicorette in the quitting journey.