Outdoor industry launches its second annual health and wellbeing campaign across the nation
Over the next four weeks, Out of Home (OOH) signs across Australia will feature a healthy eating campaign, Better than you remember, donated by the members of the Outdoor Media Association (OMA), and delivered in partnership with Health and Wellbeing Queensland and Nutrition Australia.
This pro bono campaign, developed by Health and Wellbeing Queensland is the second campaign run in partnership with government to encourage healthy eating. The annual campaign is part of the OMA’s world-first, National Health and Wellbeing Policy that aims to meet community expectations and support government efforts to tackle overweight and obesity in Australia.
OMA CEO, Charmaine Moldrich, said: “The Outdoor advertising industry is proud to launch its second health and wellbeing campaign as part of our commitment to encourage healthy lifestyles. With this campaign, we aim to support Health and Wellbeing Queensland’s mission to ‘make healthy happen’.
“We know that Out of Home advertising is a powerful channel that influences positive behaviour. Our research has proven these outcomes, particularly when it comes to lifestyle changes.
“The post-campaign study^ of the first health and wellbeing campaign we ran in January 2021, Add an extra handful of veggies, showed that 86 per cent of parents who saw the ad said they were encouraged to include veggies in their meals or snacks. While 80 per cent said they were encouraged to make healthier choices for their children’s meals. We ran Add an extra handful of veggies last year in partnership with the Australian Government Department of Health.”
This campaign, Better than you remember, encourages Australians to rediscover and think differently about how they consume vegetables. The campaign’s website boostyourhealthy.com.au shines a light on how delicious veggies are, and offers tips, resources, and recipes.
Health and Wellbeing Queensland Chief Executive, Dr Robyn Littlewood said she was delighted to see the work with the Outdoor Media Association and Nutrition Australia come to life on signs in Brisbane, regional Queensland and across all other states in Australia.
“We know every town and city across Australia is experiencing different food supply chain issues, so we’re encouraging people to make the most of what is available by trying different ways to cook the vegetables that are available. If you can’t get your favourite vegetables, substitute it for something you haven’t tried before.
“Vegetables play an important role in our overall health and wellbeing, they provide fibre and essential nutrients, and a vegetable rich diet is both good for a healthy gut and it can help prevent and manage obesity and chronic health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
“We’re committed to addressing health issues and promoting the importance of veggies in everyone’s diet, which is why it’s so rewarding to be working with the Outdoor industry to achieve this goal,” said Dr Littlewood.
Lucinda Hancock, CEO of Nutrition Australia Vic Division said: “We love seeing veggies on billboards and believe more promotion like this is needed. Eating a rainbow of coloured vegetables can ensure people are consuming a variety of important nutrients. We are thrilled to be involved in this year’s campaign and provide tips and recipes that can make healthy eating tasty and accessible. This campaign is topical as you can boost your immune system by upping your veggie intake. A great annual initiative by the OMA and their members.”
“We do hope to see similar positive survey results for this second health campaign. Staying healthy and looking after yourself is more important than ever,” concluded Moldrich.
Participating OMA members include: Australian Outdoor Sign Company (AOSCo), BIG Outdoor, Bishopp Outdoor Advertising, EiMedia, goa, JCDecaux, JOLT Charge, Motio, oOh!media, Outdoor Systems, Paradise Outdoor Advertising, QMS Media, Scentre Group BrandSpace, Shopper, Think Outdoor, Tonic Media Network, TorchMedia, Total Outdoor Media (TOM), and Val Morgan Outdoor (VMO).
The value of the Better than you remember campaign is estimated at over $3M* and will be in market for four weeks, from Sunday 30 January to Saturday 26 February 2022. Visit www.boostyourhealthy.com.au and www.healthyoutdoor.org for more information.
ENDS
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Emma Ward, Communications Manager, OMA – T: 0403 270 855
^Dynata survey commissioned by the OMA n=1200; parents with children under 15 n=775.
*The final media value will be confirmed at the end of the campaign.
About OMA
The OMA is the peak industry body which represents most of Australia's Outdoor Media Display companies and production facilities, and some Media Display asset owners. The OMA operates nationally and prior to July 2005 traded as the Outdoor Advertising Association of Australia (OAAA). It was first incorporated in 1939. The OMA's charter is to serve its members by promoting the OOH industry and developing constructive relations with its primary stakeholders. Its core functions are Marketing and Research (including audience measurement), Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs, Media Relations, and Member Services. The OMA is governed by a Board of Directors which is elected by the membership. Members of the OMA adhere to a Code of Ethics and abide by the regulatory frameworks in which they operate.
About the OMA’s National Health and Wellbeing Policy
The OMA’s National Health and Wellbeing Policy came into effect on 1 July 2020 and restricts the advertising of certain occasional food and drink products on OOH signs within a 150-metre sightline of a school. The Policy aims to meet community expectations and support government efforts to tackle overweight and obesity in Australia. With more than a decade’s experience in implementing and monitoring targeted geographical ‘place-based’ policies, the Outdoor advertising industry has previously met and exceeded community expectations around the advertising of alcohol, gambling, and adult products, ensuring these products are not seen within a 150-metre sightline of primary and secondary schools across Australia.