The NHS is spending up to £30 million on social marketing in the north West of England in the next three to four years. The North West Strategic Health Authority (SHA) has appointed 19 marketing agencies including McCann Erickson and Amaze (according to How Do) to run online health awareness projects. The SHA runs several online campaigns, often through its Our Life project and has appointed agencies to look after everything from ad buying and planning to ideas development and research.
This is another affirmation that online social media isn’t just a pastime for teenagers and bored officer workers but a serious and increasingly important way for businesses and public bodies to get their message across. And judging by the 120+ companies that entered the bidding for the NHS North West account — and the amount of PR agencies spinning off their own digital divisions, instead of hiring freelance experts as they used to – you could say social marketing is going through something of a mini-boom, despite a downturn in ad spend.

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