‘Let’s do it right’ is the endline and philosophy of home improvement brand Wickes. So when we discovered the shocking fact that their largest customer group – tradesmen, were dying at a rate of one every fortnight due to skin cancer from working in the sun, we knew they had to ‘do right’ by their biggest customer and help tackle this issue.

But there’s a problem. Research discovered many tradesmen don’t use suncream, seeing it as weak, unmanly or even getting in the way of a good tan.

We needed to do something truly unique to stand out and break the habits of this tough audience.

Last Summer, Wickes moved from home improvement to health improvement by taking the iconic paint pot and turning it into a pot of protection. Introducing Tradesman’s Suncream – a fun, no-nonsense way to make suncream relevant to the trade.

Available in Brickie’s Bronze, Plasterer’s Pink and Apprentice White, the free miniature paint pots replaced the language of a beauty brand with the language of tradesmen. Helping remove the stigma of using suncream for the UK’s most-at-risk workers.

The starting point was unearthing the shocking fact tradesmen were dying at a rate of one a fortnight in the UK. But there was hope; 85% of cases are preventable. Persuading tradesmen to start using sun protection however, wasn’t going to be easy.

Health education, sun protection products and their marketing clearly weren’t connecting with tradesmen. Research told us they saw wearing suncream as weak, unmanly or even getting in the way of a tan. We needed something truly different if we were to resonate with this group.

So we moved Wickes from home improvement to health improvement and took the much-loved paint pot and turned it into a pot of protection.

By replacing the language of a beauty brand with the language of tradesmen, we created a totally new way to connect with UK’s most-at-risk workforce. Grabbing their attention and helping change behaviours towards sun protection across the country.

The range was available for free at all Wickes stores nationwide throughout summer. Pots were named after the most-at-risk trade jobs e.g. Brickies Bronze. An on-pack leaflet included safety tips and directed customers to a microsite for more advice.

Pots were given away at experiential stands during peak trade hours and key dwell areas inside. We took the campaign further in-store by partnering with cancer charity Skcin, where nurses offered UV skin cancer checks which can detect the disease before symptoms appear.

We dropped the pots at large building sites and created a ‘how to spot for skin cancer’ video on Wickes’ ‘How-to’ YouTube page. To help raise awareness the pots were sent to trade influencers. As interest escalated the initiative was picked up by one of the country’s biggest DJs; Absolute Radio’s Christian O’Connell, who ran a nationwide competition highlighting the campaign.

• The campaign picked up over 12 million media impressions in just 48 hrs

• Pots were distributed to every Wickes store in the UK, getting into the hands of over 20,000 tradesmen across the summer

• The campaign’s charity partner Skcin saw a 160% increase in website visits

• Nurses conducting UV checks at the stores reported a record number of ‘recommended referrals’ for an external event, allowing tradesmen the opportunity to seek help at the crucial ‘early stage’

• Sign-ups to Wickes’ Trade loyalty scheme increased to over 2000 a week during the initiative

• The campaign became so successful, the UK Government decided to back the initiative for the following summer