CREATIVE RFP ISSUED BY UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (UNICEF)
Overweight and obesity among Malaysian children are of great public health concern. According to the National Health and Morbidity Survey, 5.6% (95% CI: 4.13, 7.55) of children below five were overweight and obese. The prevalence is even higher among children aged between 5-17 years old. Three in ten children 15.0% (95% CI: 13.31, 16.82) of them were overweight, and 14.8% (95% CI: 13.06, 16.70) were obese, based on their BMI-for-Age status.
UNICEF has partnered with the Nutrition Division under the Ministry of Health to develop a Social Behaviour Change Communications (SBCC) strategy to promote healthy eating and reduce obesity amongst children and adolescents. The development of the SBCC strategy began with a solid understanding of relevant behaviours and social norms influencing eating habits amongst children and adolescents and what it takes to change these for positive outcomes. The SBCC strategy and creative brief were developed to guide the production of creative assets to promote healthy eating habits amongst children and adolescents.
The SBCC strategy was informed by formative research conducted in 2019 to learn more about motivations and barriers to healthy eating. Based on the qualitative and quantitative research findings and recommendations, economic and social challenges had put a toll on Malaysian health and wellness. The current lifestyles influenced the rise in the consumption of unhealthy foods, which leads to obesity. Common barriers to healthy eating reported by the respondents:
• Not enough time between work and family to even think of exercising.
• Long working hours – having late dinner/eating out/fast food helps save time, and is convenient.
• Malaysia is food heaven, and Malaysians love to eat.
• Ignorance. I know that I need to cut down on food containing excess fat, sugar and salt, but I still can afford to indulge because I am still young.
The most significant barrier is a lack of practice despite understanding. Modern lifestyle practices are one of the main factors that contribute to this problem. In this fast-paced millennium era, people are preoccupied with their affairs and careers, that ensuring a healthy intake of balanced nutrition in their daily lives is deprioritised. The willingness to change their eating habits becomes very difficult, especially with Malaysia’s strong food culture.
When it comes to children, the main priority for parents is to have a healthy child who has the energy to do what they want. The nutrition SBCC strategy identified three key nutrition-related behaviours for children and adolescents to adopt in order to combat obesity and overweight. These are:
i. reducing sugary drinks
ii. portion control
iii. healthy snacking
The SBCC strategy promoting healthy eating habits amongst children and adolescents is included in the Appendices of this document. UNICEF Malaysia and the Ministry of Health is planning to roll out a social and behaviour change communication campaign to promote healthy eating practices and to shift social norms on dietary habits amongst children with a focus on promoting the first key behaviour identified under the SBCC strategy – reducing sugary drinks through promoting plain water.
Purpose
UNICEF Malaysia seeks to engage an experienced and innovative creative agency to develop a digital communication and engagement campaign, based on the SBCC strategy and creative brief, to promote healthy eating habits amongst children aged 7-9 years old. The key behaviour of focus is the reduction of sugary drinks. The agency is expected to propose creative ideas to encourage children to reduce their intake of sugar for healthier alternatives (i.e. plain water).
Given the high internet penetration in Malaysia (84.2% as of January 20211 ) and social media usage (86% of the total population as of January 20212 ), the campaign and engagement plan should primarily focus on online channels of communication and optimise different social media features and strategies including the engagement of influencers and key opinion leaders (KOLs) pertinent to the target audience.
The campaign and engagement plan should be multi-level and consider the different societal influencing segments that would affect the primary target group’s behaviour. The primary target groups which the campaign will target are:
Primary audience:
• Children aged 7-9 years old as the main target group whose behaviour we want to change
• Parents of children aged 7-9 years old as the main gatekeepers to their children’s food choices
The campaign should incorporate creative concepts and content to address and engage the audience groups to encourage healthier choices amongst children.
Scope of Work
An experienced agency to undertake the conceptualization, coordination, management, promotion, monitoring and evaluation of online campaigns to support the promotion of healthy eating amongst children in Malaysia with a particular focus on reducing sugary drinks. The scope of consultative services include:
• To identify priority communication channels and platforms to reach the target audiences and their Influencers
• To develop creative concepts, messages, and products for online engagement to be shared across various communication channels, particularly digital platforms. The following are a list of examples for reference. The agency is expected to propose more relevant products for the target groups:
• Videos (compatible for social media dissemination)
• Advocacy video
• PSA / adverts (e.g. promoting benefits of drinking water)
• Music video (with dance) • Cooking/recipe videos
• Creative video for social media engagement
• Short animation • Social experiment viral video (https://viralviralvideos.com/tag/social-experiment/)
• Social media-based competition/challenge/call to action (e.g. no sugar challenge)
• Co-created videos with social media influencers and KOLs (e.g. talk show, cooking videos, etc)
• Infographics/factsheets (data presentation with key messages)
• Endorsement videos from celebrities and influencers (child stars, chefs, celebrity parents, famous athletes, etc)
• Catchy songs / Jingles • Online activities/games (e.g. food habit score)
• Collateral design package design (pen, note, t-shirt, banner, pouch, key chain, etc) for school engagement
• To design and produce advocacy and communication campaign materials (design, copywriting, sourcing talents, production)
• To mobilise support and engagement from appropriate influencers, including leading/popular social media users as well as celebrities, to take part in and/or promote the campaign
• To develop a timeline for communication posts, activities and interventions based on identified communication channels and taking into account target audiences’ lifestyle and interests
• To manage and implement the campaign, ensuring the agreed KPIs are met as planned
• To provide ongoing improvement initiatives and suggestions to deliver and improve the campaign
• To produce a final report to include lessons learnt, recommendations, challenges, agreed followup
The creative concepts should be solid and overarching enough to work for all messages and engagement activities. The target audience for the communication campaign are:
• Children aged 7-9 years old as the main target group
• Parents of children aged 7-9 years old as the main gatekeepers to their children’s food choices
All of the communication materials and content need to be in both Malay and English languages. It is important to solicit audience input and feedback to ensure the content is clear, relevant and useful. The format and content should be pretested with both girls and boys as well as parents. The materials, messages, and products should not reinforce negative gender stereotypes and should challenge negative gender norms related to nutrition. For example, fathers could be shown shopping for healthier foods. Ministry of Health Malaysia and UNICEF Brand Guidelines MUST be strictly followed. Ministry of Health Malaysia owns exclusive rights to all the materials and content developed. The materials and content must not be published in any other way without written permission from the Ministry of Health Malaysia.
Deliverables
The creative agency will develop and implement the communication and engagement products and activities that include:
• Inception Report (in English, Word and PPT): includes a detailed workplan with a timeline, fully methodology, a sample of the final report outline, and confirm the deliverables’ timing. The inception report will be presented to MoH and UNICEF to seek further feedbacks
• Campaign Concept and Creative Plan (in English, Word and PPT): develop over-arching concept for a holistic, creative and engaging campaign using various communication techniques and channels. Ideas will be presented through a presentation deck that includes key messages, key products/activities, proposed partners/influencers, target audience and proposed communication channels/ dissemination plan, and a detailed timeline for rollout of campaign activities.
• Creative Elements: based on the approved campaign proposal, develop specific elements of the campaign, for example: scripts and detailed storyboards, copywriting and design of visual and video assets, ideas for short films in line with core creative concept, design of print advertisements, copywriting and design of social media content, copywriting and design of microsite or Facebook application, etc.
• Campaign communications plan: ensure the timely rollout of campaign activities, including posting and publication, broadcasting and streaming, and dissemination through agreed communication channels.
• Production of Campaign Assets: based on approved creative elements, manage the production of campaign assets, including performing all aspects of video, radio, digital production, including creative direction, production, post-production/editing, casting, location negotiations and adaptation to different languages.
• Interim Progress Report: the report should reflect the campaign implementation and monitoring. Monitor and track reach and engagement of campaign activities according to agreed KPIs and ensure data is disaggregated by gender, ethnicity, age, location and abilities where possible.
• Final Report (in English, word format): the report should be in the format agreed to the extent practical within the agreed-on methodology and resources. MoH and UNICEF will review the report and provide comments to the consultants within the agreed period. The creative agency should address any feedback received. After the report is finalised, the creative agency must prepare a PowerPoint presentation presenting the final report.
Closing Date
6th February 2022 @ 5pm
Contact/Submission
UNICEF
P.O. Box 12544
KUALA LUMPUR
Malaysia
Telephone +603 20959154
Facsimile +603 20930582
Strong relevant agencies include MWWPR and Edelman PR.
