General awareness campaign

Feedback over the years has told us that one of the biggest issues for people with epilepsy is the stigma that continues to surround epilepsy. It would make a world of difference if the general public could recognise different kinds of seizure, and knew what to do if someone had a seizure in a public place. Sadly, we don’t have the money to run a national television advertising campaign like the ones for some other condition, such as stroke or heart attacks. However we do recognise that we have the power to reach a lot of people through the press, digital media and through our campaigning work.

We already do a lot of work in this area. Our website is the number one epilepsy website outside of the United States. Our accredited volunteers go into schools and companies to educate people about epilepsy and first aid for seizures. Our Right Stuff DVD and first aid posters are in high demand and our branch networks work tirelessly to raise awareness in local communities. Our media volunteers tell their stories in local and national media to improve understanding of this complex condition.

We have decided that in 2011 and 2012 we will take these messages to a much wider audience. Focussing on practical information about first aid, we will use all kinds of media to educate the average person on the street about epilepsy. This will allow us to open discussion about epilepsy, and to challenge the myths and stigma that surround the condition. We hope also, as the campaign develops, to target specific audiences such as employers, leisure facilities, the police and so on.

The campaign will begin later this year with a series of regional media campaigns and, we hope, national media attention too. We are still in the process of planning the campaign and we aren’t ready to unveil our plans just yet. However, we want to invite our campaign supporters to contribute your ideas at this early stage.

How do you think we can raise awareness of epilepsy? How do we get the message out there about what to do if someone has a seizure? What do you think are the important messages about epilepsy that you want the world to hear? Which groups do we need to reach in particular? And since the campaign doesn’t yet have a name, do you have any ideas about what we can call it?

We have some of our own ideas of course. We have also won a competition to receive free support from Just: Health PR agency in London, who are going to help us with a high-profile launch for the campaign. But we want to know what our stakeholders think and we will need your help to reach as many people as possible. Let your imagination run wild and email your ideas to campaigns@epilepsy.org.uk .

Aimee