Behaviour Change Campaigns

MMResearch is best known for our intuitive and insightful research work in the development of social marketing campaigns, especially those focused on health behaviour change.

Our expertise crosses a range of health behaviours (smoking, tanning, nutrition, physical activity, drinking).

Case Study 1 - Amazing

Mental Health Commission Western Australia was looking to inform the development of advertising for the Alcohol. Think Again campaign. The overall aim of the campaign is to reinforce the guideline that women who are pregnant or planning pregnancy should not drink alcohol.
The objectives of the new campaign are to increase awareness of the guidelines, increase awareness that even small amounts of alcohol can be harmful, reduce perceptions that small amounts of alcohol are ok, and increase intention and confidence to abstain or support others to abstain from alcohol use during pregnancy.
For this project, we conducted two stages of research, testing and then re-testing campaign ideas. The objective of the research was to evaluate draft advertising concepts to determine which concept has the greatest capacity to achieve the communication objectives of the campaign.
We conducted a series of group discussions with women from WA who were either pregnant, planning to be pregnant or not planning to be pregnant but may become so.
We also conducted separate group discussions with the partners of these women.
Our research was used to inform the development of Alcohol. Think Again’s new campaign ‘Amazing’, which launched in April 2025.
The campaign aims to increase the proportion of the WA community who are aware that there is no safe amount or time to drink alcohol when pregnant, and that it is recommended that woman who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy should not drink alcohol.
The campaign’s key message ‘You know any alcohol you drink passes directly to your baby and can interrupt their development’ challenges the idea that ‘small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy are okay.’
Find out more about it here.

Case Study 2 - Anti-Vaping Campaign 2023–2024

Cancer Institute NSW was looking to develop a behaviour change campaign, aiming to reduce the proportion of young people aged 14-24 years in NSW taking up or using e-cigarettes.
The overall aim of the research was to explore responses to territories and creative concepts, with the focus of Stage A being on identifying the key messages for the campaign and the focus of Stage B being on identifying the best concept to further develop.
For this project, we conducted group discussions with teens and young adults aged 14-24, segmented by vaping status.
The developmental research for the campaign was conducted in two stages, including initial territory and message testing, followed by concept testing.
Our research was used to inform the development of Cancer Institute NSW’s Anti-Vaping Campaign 2023-2024 titled 'Every vape is a hit to your health'. The campaign highlights the health harms and harmful ingredients in vapes, and connects young people to more information about vaping and quit support.
Read more about it here.
Watch the videos here.

Case Study 3 - Clear the Air

This project was conducted for the Make Smoking History program of Cancer Council WA, and involved evaluating advertising concepts for a social marketing campaign.
The campaign aims to educate young people about the harms of using vapes, prevent uptake among non-users, and encourage those who do vape to stop.
For this project, we conducted group discussions and in-depth interviews with young adults and teens aged between 14 and 24.
We assessed each potential campaign concept in relation to aspects of likeability, personal relevance, message take-out, understanding, credibility, call to action, and likely impact on vaping behaviours, to assess the capacity of each concept to achieve the campaign objectives; and to provide guidance for the development of concepts.
Our research was used by CCWA to develop the campaign, ‘Rotten Fruit’.
You can see the four short videos here.
An interactive campaign website was also developed, which can be found here.

Case Study 4 - The Con that Kills

This project involved evaluating advertising concepts for a social marketing campaign that aimed to increase smokers’ knowledge of the way cigarettes are manipulated in the manufacturing process; and to create discord between the sensation of inhaling and the knowledge that the cigarette product is damaging to health.
This research is a part of a larger project that is designed to inform the development of corrective information about product attributes that have been determined to be misleading for smokers.
For this project, we conducted group discussions with Victorian smokers, with the research crossing two stages. The first stage involved an initial evaluation of concepts, and the second stage assessed refined versions of concepts. The research sample included smokers of both Tailor Made and Roll Your Own tobacco.
Our research was used by Quit Victoria to develop the campaign, ‘The con that kills’.
If you want to see the campaign, click here.

Case Study 5 - When you go out, don't let cancer in

SunSmart Victoria was planning the development of a new SunSmart campaign for implementation during the summer of 2023-24. As part of the campaign development process, qualitative research was required to evaluate a range of message territories, with the results of the research informing the creative brief for the campaign.
For this campaign, SunSmart Victoria wished to return to a broad-based population campaign to ultimately effect change in a greater number of Victorians, including those at highest risk of skin cancer due to poor sun protection behaviours.
We conducted a series of group discussions with men and women aged 20-49, with a mix of skin types, who reported having been burned and/or tanned in the last year.
The objective of the research was to assess advertising concepts in relation to aspects of attention, personal relevance, message take-out, impact on UV protection and any unintended consequence of the concepts among the target audience.
This research was used by SunSmart Victoria to help develop the advertising campaign titled, ‘When you go out, don’t let cancer in’.
Find out more here.
Watch the ad here.

Case Study 6 - Make Smoking History

This project was conducted for the Make Smoking History program of Cancer Council WA.
The Make Smoking History team were interested in developing a campaign aimed to communicate the serious health risks of smoking as well as encourage and motivate people to stop smoking, whilst increasing the self-efficacy of people who smoke to stop.
To inform this campaign, our research covered 3 stages: an initial stage of exploratory research to identify potential directions for the campaign, followed by 2 stages of concept testing research, to assess advertising concepts in relation to constructs of Attention, Identification, Communication and Effect.
This Watch the ad here. was used by the Make Smoking History program to develop the advertising campaign titled, ‘Worried about you’, a highly emotive advertisement that aimed to remind people who smoke about the worry that it causes their loved ones, and to motivate people to quit smoking.
You can find out more here.
And watch the ad here.

Case Study 7 - Outdoor Workers and UV Protection

The Cancer Institute NSW wanted to develop a campaign to increase the adoption of sun protection behaviours among outdoor workers in agriculture, construction and local government sectors. The communication objectives of the campaign were to promote awareness and knowledge that outdoor workers are at risk of cancer; that UV radiation is a workplace hazard; and of the effectiveness, benefits and proper use of sun protection within workplaces.
The project involved a series of group discussions with outdoor workers, and in-depth interviews with managers and employers. The research participants included men who worked in agriculture, construction and local government industries.
This research was used to inform the development of the ‘Change Your Routine’ campaign. The campaign used a combination of hard-hitting and supportive creative assets, and aimed to increase sun protection behaviours among outdoor workers to reduce their lifetime risk of developing skin cancer. It also urged outdoor workers to change their routine before skin cancer changes it for them by taking sun and UV radiation protection seriously.
If you want to see the campaign, click here.

Case Study 8 - LiveLighter® Campaign

The Cancer Council WA wanted to develop a new social marketing campaign for the LiveLighter® program.
The campaign aim is to raise awareness of the serious health risks associated with carrying excess body fat, while urging Western Australians to reduce their risk through specific changes in behaviour.
We conducted a series of group discussions with people aged 25-49 to explore reactions to a range of draft campaign concepts, assessing each concept in relation to constructs of Attention, Identification, Communication & Effect.
Based on this research, two campaigns were developed.
The first was The Menu App campaign, which leverages the insight that the growth of delivery apps has made the consumption of junk food easier than ever before. The advertisement reminds consumers of the health risk that comes with carrying excess body fat from eating too much junk, and links cancer imagery with high fat and high sugar menu items, with the message, ‘Don’t treat junk food as everyday food’.
This can be found here.
A separate campaign based on the ‘Reverse’ concept was also launched.
Find that here.

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