Galambila Aboriginal Health Service, Awabakal Aboriginal Medical Service, Bullinah Aboriginal Health Service

A brand to help tackle Indigenous smoking from the Hawkesbury to the Tweed.

Case study

37% of First Nations people aged 15 years or more identify as smoking daily. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are more than three times more likely to be a current smoker compared with non-indigenous Australians*. Whilst there has been a gradual reduction in smoking rates - it still remains the most preventable cause of ill health and early death.  

In 2024, Headjam were engaged by lead program delivery organisation Galambila, in partnership with Bullinah and Awabakal, to develop a cohesive and compelling brand that would elevate the regions’ Tackling Indigenous Smoking program.  

With collaboration and community at the centre of the solution, a name that doubles as a call to action was brought to life with a unique colour palette inspired by Aneika Kapeen’s artwork. This was then executed across a campaign that both introduced the brand and encouraged action.

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Background

The Federal Government established the Tackling Indigenous Smoking (TIS) program in 2010. The program aims to improve the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by reducing the prevalence of tobacco and vape use through population health promotion activities.

In 2024 Headjam were engaged by Galambila Aboriginal Health Service - partnering with Bullinah Aboriginal Health Service and Awabakal Aboriginal Medical Service - to develop a new identity for the TIS program that would be delivered across a broad service area from the Hawkesbury River to the Tweed Coast.

Each medical service had historical Tackling Indigenous Smoking programs in their respective regions - Solid Mob (Bullinah), Ready Mob (Galambila) and I’m Quitting (Awabakal). The challenge was to create a brand identity that would connect with indigenous communities across the broad service area, and a brand strategy that would meet the program KPI’s and reporting requirements.

Objective

To reduce smoking rates among the Aboriginal peoples of the NSW Central and North Coast regions by:

- Encouraging prevention

- Promoting cessation and pathways to do this (e.g. referral to AMS/GP)

Target Audience

Aboriginal peoples of the NSW Central and North Coast regions, specifically:

- Pregnant Women and families

- Youth

- Elders

Consumer Proposition

Liberating me, rescuing friends

Desired Consumer Response

Prevention - I'm going to keep making healthy choices for me.

Cessation - I'll make an appointment with my local Aboriginal Health Service or GP

Creative Solution

Collaborating with the Bullinah, Awabakal and Galambila teams, we took inspiration from the names of the previously existing programs from each of the regions. By combining one word from each, a strong brand and powerful call to action emerged.

The bold colour palette is informed by the beautiful journey artwork from Yaegl and Bundjalung artist Aneika Kapeen. An eye-catching event kit was developed, including marquee, pull up banners, staff uniforms, and engaging merchandise to attract community to start a conversation with the team.

A traditional, out-of-home and social media campaign were developed to launch the brand across the regions and hit the reach objectives for the program KPI’s. Working with local indigenous talent, two television and radio concepts were produced, expressing the action of quitting and the sentiment of the brand.

Content creation was also a key factor for community engagement. Ready.Quit.Solid. social media accounts were secured and a content plan was developed to support the team in delivering meaningful and engaging content. This included the production of Ambassador content with the Newcastle Knights, a Local Legends series that told community quit journeys and meet the team content - to encourage community to engage with the TIS team at events.

Evaluation

There has been a gradual reduction in smoking rates since the Tackling Indigenous Smoking program was introduced in 2010. We will continue to monitor the recorded smoking rates of community through the partner Aboriginal Health Services.

The team are active across the service delivery areas, with a focus on community events like NAIDOC, culture festivals and RQS lead events like ReadyFest. Their social media presence is growing steadily, reaching more than 40K since launch. The brand launched with a simple landing page to encourage community to get in contact if they were ready to start their quit journey. This has seen an encouraging 28% conversion rate, with plans to expand to a full website in the near future.

The brand has been embraced by community with a steady line up at all events for access to the colourful merchandise and t-shirts.