A growing health initiative in the Wairarapa is making some solid headway into changing mindsets towards heavy episodic drinking, and a similar approach is now being adopted in Southland. Southland, and Invercargill, is over-represented in hazardous drinking national statistics. The local community has said it wants to take action, and it wants to work together to do this. This is the basis of What About You? Murihiku, a campaign for reducing harm, and modelled on the successful version used in Wairarapa. The initial focus on alcohol issues has broadened to include drugs and mental wellbeing in a phased approach, building year on year.

Collaboration and community-owned are the essence of What About You? The potential for impact is very exciting with the very real possibility of forming a movement as more groups come on board. Branding is recognisable across different users, but with tailored messaging for each group that sets it apart. This helps to make What About You? a collective movement. Each group is the owner of its mahi, and becomes owner of its own branding material and signage.

What About You’s strength is its ability to leverage off stakeholder’s existing communications programmes and operational activities. This saves labour resources, and leans into existing visibility and stakeholder-community relationships. By combining What About You messaging with the existing mechanism you create a powerful collective approach, increasing the potential reach towards the initiative’s target groups - youth, Māori, Pasifika, and sports teams.

What About You? Is easily recognisable because of the similar appearance of campaign material across all groups implementing What About You into their wellbeing programmes. There are common threads (print fonts, image style) that carry over from one campaign to another, but messaging is tailored – each community group or (sports) team chooses its own focus of hazardous drinking, illicit drug use, or mental health and wellbeing. Relatable and tailored messaging that speaks to each target group and connects with Southlanders is key. The goal is to make a long sustaining movement, rather than to run a limited time initiative.

Initially, funding is shared between the stakeholder and Healthy Families Invercargill, to create a pool of materials and build assets. It’s a way of saving money and increasing reach. Then going forward the stakeholder will use their own funding to sustain their branch of What About You?

Systems Innovator Sarah Tuapati is leading the Healthy Families Invercargill involvement. She recently attended a hui in the Wairarapa to gather learnings of their successful and established What About You? campaign. Sarah says we can take learnings from Wairarapa and have our own fresh start in Southland, “We have the advantage of seeing what worked well and what their challenges were, then adapt our approach to work in our Murihiku setting.”

The starting point for What About You? was extensive consultation and engagement with the community. This was the strong foundation required to ensure the initiative was both a good fit for Southland and an opportunity for organisations to work collaboratively for the good of the community. The information gathered provided a rich analysis of the risks, challenges and opportunities, all useful elements in creating community-led solutions.

New Zealand Health Survey statistics show that heavy episodic drinking in Wairarapa is declining, in line with the time that What About You? was introduced. Let’s hope it gains the same positive impact and outcomes in Southland.

Article added: Thursday 21 March 2024